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An update on our progress
May 19th, 2023
By Rick Peterson
What an incredible week!
Eight days ago, Centre Ice Canadians announced it would explore the possibility of creating a new centrist political party to fill the void we see in Canadian politics. We were expecting a good response. We were not expecting what we got. Thousands of Canadians have contacted us with pledges of support, money and expertise. Media has swooped in to see what’s happening. Check out this article on CBC: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/centre-ice-canadians-looking-to-form-political-party-1.6839129 Or this one in the Hill Times: Launching new centrist party a ‘long shot,’ but could ‘disrupt the political system’ says Abacus CEO Coletto
There is clearly a huge appetite among Canadians for a serious party with serious ideas.
While Liberals and Conservatives devote their energies to one-upping each other in the bad melodrama that Question Period has become, big files are ignored. Russia and China hungrily amplify misinformation to undermine our democracy while they eye our natural resources, freed in our rapidly warming Arctic. Climate change that could soon be irreversible. A healthcare system that hasn’t been seriously reformed since the 1960s is clearly not serving our country’s needs. Our population is aging. We have a housing shortage. On top of it all, fiscal mismanagement is piling up an unprecedented debt, as if your tax dollars were an unlimited resource.
With all these pressing issues, what did the Liberals and Conservatives debate last week while all this is going on? Pictures on passports. As one of our co-founders, Dominic Cardy, pointed out in an interview on CJADRadio, can’t we do better than this?
As our friend Tasha Kheiriddan says here, this is not a Conservative movement. Many on the Liberal side of the spectrum are just as disillusioned. Read her thoughts here:
Canadians from coast to coast to coast are speaking out. They are telling us they want – that our country needs –something new. We are so grateful for this enthusiasm as we build momentum.
As we continue the work of gauging support across the country, we need your help. We can’t offer a tax credit. We can offer hard work and an honest assessment of how realistic a new party could be.
Please help us show where Canadians stand when it comes to building a new political option. Please consider making a donation to Centre Ice to support our research and our outreach.
Our all-volunteer team needs to raise at least $30,000 to cover our expenses – research and outreach - as we head into summer. I hope you will help with a contribution of $50 or $500 – whatever you can afford. Please ask yourself: what is a better choice for Canada worth to you?
Centre Ice is off to a stronger start than we could ever have imagined. Let’s keep building!
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Rick Peterson is founder and chair of Peterson Capital of Edmonton, a capital markets advisory firm with offices across Canada and in Europe. He’s co-founder and director of Centre Ice Canadians.