Fringe Votes: Smaller Political Parties Want Your Votes Too

NANAIMO - During federal elections we hear a lot from special interest groups and the main parties.

The conservatives, liberals, NDP and even the Greens are getting a chance to have their say, but it's a bit more difficult for the smaller parties to get their message out.

We call them "fringe parties" and in Nanaimo a new party has entered the fray.

It's called the Pirate Party and despite Nanaimo's storied history of swashbucklers it's not what you might think.

Jesse Schroeder is a Student/Activist/House Painter and more recently, a federal election candidate for the Pirate Party of Canada -- a political party that believes in digital democracy, informational freedom, copyright reform and government transparency.

Despite winning a seat in the Swedish parliament, the Pirate Party of Canada is what you'd call a fringe party - defined as a political party with a negligible constituency relative to the total national electorate.

In the Nanaimo-Alberni riding that would also include the Marxist Leninist Party and the Christian Heritage Party of Canada.

The front-runners in the Nanaimo-Alberni riding this election: incumbent Conservative James Lunney and NDP candidate Zeni Maartman.

Renee Millar is running for the Liberals. Myron Jesperson is the candidate for the Green Party.

But if you mark your ballot for anyone but the frontrunners are you throwing your vote away? Some would say no.

Retired teacher and Christian Heritage Party candidate Frank Wagner says to vote for anything you don't believe in is undemocratic - even immoral.

All the political parties - whether fringe or mainstream agree - for true democracy to take place, everyone needs to exercise their democratic right on May 2nd - and get out and vote.

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