Liberal Leadership: How To Fight Youth Discontent

On the YLC’s Policy Pledges

One of the issues that is going to animate the political discourse and the election this year, whenever it is, is a realignment of young voters. The US election saw a considerable move right, even above and beyond the country’s rightward swing. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while, and while I think Liberals and progressives need to embrace a better, more productive approach, I’ve been reticent to act like I have a cogent policy plan - especially given my advanced age. (I turned 28 on Monday. I’m an old man.)

That’s why I was heartened to see the Young Liberals Of Canada releasing their Nation For A Generation policy pledge - a set of values and ideas to help revitalize the party amongst young voters and try and stem the decline. I won’t claim to love every idea in that proposal, but it’s a worthy document and a great jumping off point for a needed, broader conversation for the future of the Liberal Party’s youth outreach in this era.

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Let’s start with the good - I’m glad to see the Young Liberals advocating for a saner, more restrictive TFW policy, I’m thrilled about the fact that housing is referred to as an emergency and is the first bullet, and I think the idea of a form of voluntary service, in the form of a Youth Climate Corps, would solve a lot of problems on both a societal level and an environmental one. It’s a strong baseline for the party, and one that all the candidates should embrace.

Calls for party renewal are also important - a stronger Liberal Party, and plainly one that is less a vessel of whoever is the inhabitant of the Leadership at any given time - is crucial. Strengthening the Young Liberals with a full time national director, prioritization of younger candidates in winnable seats (especially after this election, when the party will have a lot of open, winnable low hanging fruit for 2029), and financial support for younger candidates for both internal and national election is all good.

I’m not going to pretend I love making the Liberals’ stupid and dumb points system more obtuse and disproportionate, but it is also worth pointing out that I loved the campus clubs rule in 2023 when it helped Nate nearly win, so I’m a dirty hypocrite. CANZUK is similarly worthy of a shrug from me, and its inclusion is worth neither my indignation nor my energy of any kind.

In terms of what’s not on the list, I’d say that the case for a fast transition out of fossil fuel subsidies would make a lot of sense on this list. It fits with the idea that climate is a bigger issue for the young than the old, but it also appeals to people on multiple levels. Obviously, if you’re a left winger, the types of subsidies for oil and gas companies are obviously evidence of moral failure, the type of heinous policies that we should have abandoned years and years ago. If there is a business case for these sorts of companies and projects, they should make them, and if not, they can fuck off. (I would exclude Carbon Capture from this, but the broad point stands.)

But, if you’re a fiscal conservative, again, there’s a case against them. There’s every reason to think that Canada might need a broader look at competitiveness and tax policy, but the idea of picking winners and losers is antithetical to actual conservatism. If you’re wanting to move the party back to the middle you don’t do it by signing checks to Big Oil you do it more holistically. And, the brass tax of it all is that the Liberals’ crass political reality should remember that there are more seats in Brampton we can win than in all of Alberta and Saskatchewan put together.

One of the lessons from America is that there is a significantly smaller penalty, if any at all, for being honest about the fact that you are going to govern for the people who elect you. Liberals bend over fucking backwards to appease people who will call us communists no matter we say or do. It’s remarkable how nonsensical it is that we do this. Cutting subsidies that go to Alberta oil and gas is absolutely the kind of thing we should be doing immediately, especially if Danielle Fucking Smith is going to be undermining the PM at every opportunity.

The other thing I’d love to see the Young Liberals champion is a firmer commitment to anti-corruption and a standing commission into it. One of the things that had become a staple of our political discourse, aided by the intensely dirty system of campaign finance down south, is the idea that all politicians and all politics is corrupt. It is one of the few things that is almost universally agreed amongst the right, left, centre, the politically engaged and the least likely to vote.

Too often we make our arguments for strengthening anti-corruption law only in Opposition, and only when the Government of the day is in ethical trouble. We need to commit to it at all times, as a priority. The point of the Young Liberals is to champion ideas that were dismissed as impossible, like legal weed or gay marriage. I owe my right to marry at least in part to the Young Liberals and it’s why I’m grateful for them. But anti-corruption legislation is a clear place where we can show ourselves to be better.

It’s important to champion this initiative at this point, to show that we actually care about the issue and understand that our side are not perfect. It fits with the history of the Young Liberals’ priorities, and it would help us usher in a sense that a new generation is really running the show.

But regardless of what isn’t in this proposal, the Young Liberals have done this leadership race a service. The campaign needs to focus on solving our problems with young voters, and these ideas form a credible basis for doing so. It’s a good first step towards helping the party with one of its huge problems.

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