Throughout my academic career, I have often been asked why diversity is important by my professors - why are diverse perspectives important in decision making? Why is diversity important in a business and the economy? Why are diverse options important in the food that we eat? And of course - why is diversity important in politics and political parties?
All of these questions share an answer: by pursuing diversity, we can perform at our best. Through diverse food options, we can get the nutrients we need to be healthy; through diversity in decision making, we can better incorporate perspectives from underrepresented groups and create more effective and inclusive decisions.
In politics, having diversity in our government gives us the gift of balance - balance in decision-making and balance in the representation of voices wanting to be heard. However, since only three of Ontario’s political parties have largely represented politics in the past, achieving this can be tricky. This is where growing parties like the Green Party are important in creating this balance.
Growing parties often have the advantage of being smaller, allowing them to engage with voters on a more personal level. The outcome? They are less pressured to achieve a “win” for party gains and are instead more interested in advocating for the people. This way, as more and more growing parties begin to gain more mainstream support at election time, the variety of concerns that we have as a society can be more equally represented through these growing parties. These parties can help to better point out overlooked shortcomings of proposed policies from larger parties and act as excellent enforcers of accountability for larger parties that stray from promises or overlook the impacts of their decisions.
Growing parties like the Green Party are vital and hold great value to having a healthy democracy. Without a strong presence in our government, there will be no one to hold Ontario’s three largest parties accountable for their decisions, no third or fourth party to add in their opinion or view, and much less advocacy for minority voices.
So, why does your vote for the Green Party matter? Your vote for the Green Party matters because by voting Green, you reinforce diversity, balance, representation, accountability, and efficiency in Ontario’s politics. You signal that the Green stance matters. It is through these qualities that we can construct a fairer and more balanced Ontario. If you value this diversity in politics, there is really only one way to have it: by voting for it.
Written by Elizabeth Schnurr & Jesse Shoults-Roy