Jason Kenney and his strategic brain trust have proved themselves to be either sympathetic to that caucus or too fearful of raising its ire to act decisively in dealing with the COVID situation. This is what happens when you let the tail wag the dog. Will O’Toole have the stuff to rein in a caucus loaded with members who answer to the loud-mouthed minority? I’m not optimistic.

Where every other party is obliged to broker the interests of working class and colonized people to the grand abstraction of ‘The Economy,’ balancing corporate interests with the best of their respective platforms, the Communist Party of Canada can confidently name the profit system that dispossesses all, however differently—of land, of lifetime, of the wealth that we incessantly create.

Erin O’Toole’s childcare strategy misses the mark: it contains no plan to bring more women into the workforce, create new daycare spaces, or provide more equitable pay to childcare workers. And while there’s little doubt providing more cash to parents would help with affordability, the Conservatives’ planned tax rebate gets nowhere close to reducing the accessibility gap, particularly in underserved communities or cities with a high cost of living.

There is much economic uncertainty as the country uneasily exits the pandemic. Now is not the time for governments to be timid. Now is the time for the federal government to lead. Bold spending can deliver long overdue government programs that support those in greatest need and stimulate the economy. As it stands, the NDP’s promises are the only ones that approach the necessary scale of action.

Throughout the federal election campaign, Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole has taken to referencing his time as a student at the Royal Military College of Canada, describing how his education instilled a “sense of determination” that fuelled a commitment to a life of public service. But how many Canadians are aware of the troubling history of the Kingston-based university and its connections to the racism and violence of British imperialism?

It matters who wins the election and better is preferable to worse, but while we focus on how to solve the challenges of our day, we ought to also focus on the structures that produce the problems we face time and time again. That shift in focus requires us to imagine a world beyond the constraints of the current political and economic order, and it requires that political elites take up the cause.

Jagmeet Singh and the NDP have come out with a bold costed platform that is a marked departure from Canada’s long neoliberal consensus. It makes a concise and powerful pitch: Canada is plagued by social and economic injustice that has only been intensified by COVID, and as we build out of this crisis, regular Canadians need help, and the rich have the responsibility and ability to contribute to a just recovery.

In late April, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro brought down the gavel on the sale of water and sewage services from the publicly owned Companhia Estadual de Águas e Esgotos to Igua Saneamento, confirming the privatization of part of Rio de Janeiro’s public water utility. The selling off of parts of CEDAE is worthy of raised eyebrows on its own. Yet also in need of attention is the integral role which Canadian pension capital played in the process.

Recent polling shows that more than ever, Canadians cite housing affordability as one of their top election issues—especially young Canadians. This should come as no surprise: years of political inaction has led us to a desperate housing emergency in which speculators and developers reap massive profits, while working class Canadians pay record amounts of their income just to have a roof over their heads.

The narrative that has emerged in the current election has given eco-socialists an opening that is unprecedented. Government activism has never played such a starring role in a federal election. Austerity, lower taxes, cutbacks—the usual themes on the electoral political stage—have been written out of the campaign scripts and the loosening of public purse strings now implies placing the public interest above private greed.