Anyone who knows me or follows my blog knows I’m a moderate, independent voter.

I’ve consistently fancied myself free thinker who takes into account all economic and social views to help develop my ideas and opinions.

The funny thing many have long thought I was a conservative, while others pegged me as a liberal. Both are true and both are false. At times I lean conservative, at others I lean liberal. Really, according to every personality test I’ve done, I’m a traditional liberal.

But, in voting, I’ve cast a ballot for three different political parities – Conservative, Green, and Liberal (that was alphabetic, not in order of preference). I just can’t and won’t bring myself to vote NDP for so, so many reasons.

I digress. The reason I’m leaning Liberal this election is because this really is a turning point in our nation’s history and I want to have a leader who knows how to deal with other leaders on the world stage.

Contrary to the propaganda and attack ads coming from the party with zero tangible policy, Mark Carney is that leader. He has been no the world stage and knows how to navigate difficult economic situations – like the one we’re facing now.

He will not back down to threats, but will be prudent in rebuilding Canada’s economy with real plans and policy. Though many may be annoyed that there was a pseudo-endorsement from United States President Donald Trump, they should be happy that our biggest ally and trading partner finally has some respect for our nation’s leader.

Having a “productive meeting,” as Trump noted on his social media accounts, is a step in the right direction. You don’t have to like Trump to understand that our Prime Minister will need to build a solid relationship with Washington, especially after the last few months.

I could sit here and list all the policy I agree with or how Carney is the moderate, Red Tory style Liberal we need right now. But, that is all easily found online – if you take more than a millisecond to learn about the things that really matter.

Instead, the main reasons I’m leaning Liberal in this election are because I want to ensure our nation remains the amazing place we all know and love.

Too many times I’ve seen Conservative supporters around Ontario wearing MAGA hats – yes, MAGA hats in Canada. I have promised a friend of mine I’ll take a picture because she doesn’t believe me.

Though they are the fringe Conservative Party people, they are still not being admonished or called-out by the leadership. They are being politely ignored, despite openly stating they would like to see our nation annexed by the United States.

Not calling them out shows a distinct lack of leadership. Perhaps even a touch of cowardice.

I’m also tired of the constant propaganda, fake stories, gross overreaches, and even outright falsehoods being bandied about social media by the Conservative Party, their leader, and the legions of right is right pawns.

Poilievre attacks Carney on his former Brookfield investment firm connection, but has an investment fund where one of the top assets is Brookfield. For the record, the Brookfield asset is under Vanguard FTSE Canada Index ETF.

Poilievre is attacking crime in the GTA and trying to scare people into voting for his party. But, Toronto remains one of the safest cities in the world according to most indexes, and is definitely one of the safest in Canada. It’s homicide rate was ranked ninth in Canada last year despite having by far the most residents of any city in the country.

Toronto also has lower violent crime rates than other similar sized cities – and even lower than smaller cities in Canada and North America. Though it must be noted that property crime is relatively high – higher than New York City – but still not the highest in Canada.

Still, the Poilievre playbook isn’t saying we’ll protect you from property crimes because that doesn’t resonate. Rather he’s using misleading conjecture to scare voters – that’s not leadership.

Enough is enough. Show me policy – and real policy that makes sense, not what has been spouted so far. Show me leadership, not pandering to an underinformed and misinformed base that felt legitimately unsupported by former PM Justin Trudeau (whom, as anyone will tell you, I have absolutely zero use for).

The “we’re not Justin” trope won’t work anymore. The carbon tax has been halted for individuals and families, and will be repealed (for individuals) if the Liberals come into office.

I don’t mind a version of a carbon tax for industry – as long as it’s reasonable and fair – as there are years upon years of scientific evidence pointing out that balancing our emissions is vital to the environment.

I wish I could share a lot of the off the record stuff I know, but I’ll leave this right here: Carney and other Liberals were advising Trudeau against a lot of the decisions that hurt businesses and people. A lot more than those in opposition would have you believe.

When you’re the son of a beloved Liberal PM and happen to be the PM of the day, there are a lot of pressures you can put on the people in your party to force them into “towing the party line.”

That’s all done now. It’s a new day and time for a new future. Many intelligent Conservatives that I have a lot of respect for have told me that they like Carney, they like his fiscal responsibility, they believe he would be an overall unifying force, and that they would vote for him if he had blue on his sign.

These are people who read, listen, and understand the difference between policy and propaganda, facts and falsehoods.

That resonates with me. That tells me a lot about where the moderates and independents should be looking to cast their vote.

So, those are the reasons why I’m leaning Liberal this election. You don’t have to agree with me, as long as we can be mutually respectful to each other.

I’m not going to tell you who you should vote for, that’s your right as an individual to make your own choice and I’ll respect that.

Just please, please, please base it on facts and policy. Don’t base it on propaganda and lies.

That’s it for me. Ciao for Now!