by Catlin Hogan

Created on: August 09, 2008

Third party politics, it depends entirely on what part of the world you live in, and it depends on what type of parliamentary system you have in your country. The United States has been a two party country since the revaluation with all other party members simply being referred to as independents, but if you live in Canada or the United Kingdom, third parties such as the New Democrats and the Bloc Quebecois in Canada and the Labour Party in the UK.

In the United States, there are sometimes up to five "third party" candidates on the ballot. There have been times when the Democratic or Republican nominee has ended up being the name on the ballot for these third parties. Nine times out of ten if you are running for these third parties, you know you are only running as a spoiler to try and take votes away from the two main parties. At the same time you need to give credit for these "sacrificial lambs", they are standing up for what they believe in, and while some people may look at these people and say "what's the point?", they stand strong for what they believe in, and that is what the first amendment is all about.

In Canada, the New Democratic Party is essentially the same ideology of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom, they are a socialist party who helped bring universal health care or socialized medicine to Canada back in the 1960's. The Bloc Quebecois are a federal party, but they only run candidates out of the province of Quebec. This party's main platform is to separate from Canada and become their own country. Currently both of these parties have over twenty seats in the Canadian House of Commons, and the Bloc Quebecois did in fact form the official opposition in the early 1990's. While the Bloc Quebecois will never form government, the New Democrats could someday, they have candidates in all 308 ridings. There is one third party in Canada that I did not mention, and that is the Green Party. While they have never held a seat federally in Canada, many suspect they could break that streak sooner rather than later.

The third party option is there to be just that, another option when you vote in elections. So if you live in the United States, don't feel you HAVE to vote Democrat or Republican, if one of the third party candidates meets more with your ideals, than vote for him or her. While in Canada and the United Kingdom, be sure to look at the platforms for all of the parties, not just the ones mentioned, you need to make the best decision for you and your family. Do I want tax cuts or free health care? The choice is yours, and remember, there are more than two.

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