Fall election for Canada would be self-serving

“We can be the smartest, healthiest, greenest, most open-minded country there is,” federal Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff told his caucus this week.

“But only if we choose to be.”

Unfortunately, Canadians cannot choose when their country holds a federal election. Because of that scenario, we may be forced to go to the polls just one year removed from the last election, thanks to Ignatieff, Opposition leader in a minority government parliament.

With his announcement this week that he will seek a non-confidence vote at the earliest possible opportunity – likely Oct. 1 – Canadians could be facing their third federal vote since 2006. It remains to be seen if the Bloc Quebecois and NDP will support a Liberal non-confidence motion, but they have said they would.

The sudden push for an election comes at a time when, frankly, not much has changed in the country since the last vote.

There have been no stunning cuts, changes of course or scandals within the federal government in that time. The economy has suffered with the rest of the world, and recovery has been slow – slower, we learned this week than in any other G7 nation – but there has been no outpouring of dissatisfaction.

Indeed, the only major shift on the federal political scene since October 2008 has been Ignatieff’s election as Liberal leader.

So, if he wants an election, his first challenge will be to convince the public that they want one as well, before convincing anyone to change the vote they cast just months ago. There seems little appetite to repeat the exercise so soon.

More than an exercise in frustration, another election at this time will only interrupt the work of government.

It will not serve the interests of Canadians.