Have you thought about becoming a candidate for the Libertarian Party of Canada? Jacques breaks down some of the requirements for you here.

When I was elected leader of the party, I stated that my priority was to run a much larger number of candidates in the next general election. Afterall, we are not a think tank but a political party. Our purpose is to give a voice to Canadian libertarians. After the last election, too many people reached out to me to express their disappointment that we didn’t have a candidate in their riding. I want to minimize that, which is why I’m urging you to run in the next election.

I want to make it clear that being a paper candidate is perfectly fine. A paper candidate is one who has met the requirements to be on the ballot but who doesn’t canvas, participate in debates, do interviews etc. Some might argue that it’s not much, but it does give an opportunity to libertarians to vote for someone who speaks for them. That’s important.

The biggest hurdle to overcome to be a candidate at the federal level is to gather the signatures of 100 people who live in your riding. This is something I dislike doing and I offer the following steps that I have taken to make the process much easier.

Step 1

Start early. As long as people who signed are still living in your riding at election time, their signatures are valid even if done a few years before the election.

Step 2

Spread the load. Give sheets to your family members, friends, work colleagues or fellow members at your club or house of worship. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll get to 100 if 10 people each get a sheet.

Step 3

Once you have verified that the 100 signatures are valid hold on to them until the writ is dropped and then drop them off at your local returning officer. Once s/he approves them, you are done. There nothing else for you to do.

Having said that, if like most libertarians you are well read, I’d encourage you to participate in debates. It’ll give you an opportunity to show the people in your riding that you are likely a far better candidate than the other ones.

Official agent

You will also need to find yourself an official agent. If you’re planning on being a paper candidate and/or running a campaign without raising and spending money, the official agent still needs to open a bank account and submit your return. In my case, my wife is my official agent. You could have a spouse, friend or family member as your agent. However, if you have problems finding one, let us know as we might be able to assign you one.