For Canadian voters gradually making up their minds as the April 28 federal election approaches, the methodology is sometimes reminiscent of a golden oldie by The Police.
鈥淓very move you make, every vow you break, every smile you fake, every claim you stake, I鈥檒l be watching you.鈥
A panel of undecideds convened by the Star over the last three weeks brought their own background of experience, profession, past political engagement and partisanship to the exercise 鈥 in addition to following the news, watching the debates, checking out the party platforms.
In the end, however, their decisions seem not to have been about specific promises, particular numbers or breezy economic forecasts in this very uncertain time.
As they took the measure of the men who would be prime minister, it came down to that most time-tested of human virtues, and human concerns.
Who do I trust?
And further, who do I trust at this crucial moment to safeguard Canadian values and sovereignty? Who do I trust to help provide better opportunities for my children and grandchildren than they have today?
Carol Easton, a legal historian from Guelph, Ont., said as far as party platforms go, 鈥淚 can鈥檛 tell you if they鈥檙e really going to follow through on this stuff.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if it鈥檚 billions or millions or GDP and what all is actually going on there and I鈥檓 not going to pretend I do.
鈥淲hat it came down to for me was, do I trust this person to tell me the truth? And for me the answer was not (Conservative Leader Pierre) Poilievre.
鈥淪o I went with my gut feeling, my feeling that (Liberal Leader Mark) Carney was more trustworthy,鈥 she said.
Rob Fulford, a labour relations specialist in the 海角社区官网riding of Don Valley West, said his decision crystallized during the leaders鈥 debate 鈥渁nd it comes down to who I trust the most or trust the least.
鈥淔or me, I came away from the debate convinced I can鈥檛 trust Pierre Poilievre and therefore the Conservative party.
鈥淚 voted NDP,鈥 he said, even if, in his riding, it鈥檚 鈥渘ot going to make a difference.鈥
Trust in a leader鈥檚 integrity, intention and intelligence underscored the deliberations of many panellists.
鈥淚 want to believe that my leader鈥檚 smarter than me,鈥 said Ina Ornstein, a voter in the 海角社区官网riding of York Centre. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 looking for. Smarter on economics, smarter on border security, smarter on everything.鈥
Panellists picked up influences on their vote in many ways and from many places.
Blaise MacLean, a Cape Bretoner who once worked for the Liberals, practised law in Nova Scotia and Ontario now teaches law in Bogota, Colombia. He had to dispatch his vote-from-away early to ensure it was counted in the riding of Oshawa.
MacLean said the experience of fellow panelist Brendan Monk, a 32-year-old from a younger generation, made a big impression on him.
Monk, who practises criminal law in Toronto, came out of law school with $100,000 in student debt, said he was far from being able to buy a home, and had nothing like the opportunities MacLean did as a young man.
鈥淚 was able to get a house when I was in Nova Scotia. I was able to buy a house in Oshawa, sold it, went back to university, got my education degree, came down here (to Colombia) and I live in a house here, too, that I own.鈥
It鈥檚 that sense that the system鈥檚 not working for the young that, in the end, made the self-described 鈥渢ribal Liberal鈥 opt not to support that party for a fourth term.
The Liberals have had three terms and 鈥渇or the life of me, Carney is the same party,鈥 said MacLean.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the same party, and I thought to myself, are we going to see a change from that?鈥
MacLean voted for the Conservative candidate in Oshawa.
鈥淚 have to break it to my family at some point.鈥
Carol Easton backed Carney, but for similar concerns.
鈥淚 have children who would like to buy a house and have a family, too,鈥 she said. 鈥淪o, it鈥檚 probably uppermost on my mind this election, not the issues that affect me personally.鈥
Thomas Curran, who retired to Prince Edward County after a law career in Ottawa, is a Red Tory who ran for the party 25 years ago under Joe Clark, and had fears similar to MacLean about getting more of the same from the Liberals. But he was also deeply troubled by another issue.
He was alarmed by foreign interference in Canadian affairs by China and the series of Liberal members and candidates embroiled in controversies about ties to that country.
Carney, he said, has been slow to act or speak up.
鈥淚 expected to hear a lot more than I did from the Liberals out of this,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e the ones who have been caught in it.
鈥淚 think China is a much bigger concern than the U.S. Trump will be gone. I think he鈥檒l be powerless after the midterms. He鈥檒l be gone after four years, but China is going to be around for a long, long time.鈥
For Blaise MacLean, the late release of the party platforms 鈥 the Liberal and NDP version issued 10 days before the election and the Conservatives less than a week 鈥 was 鈥渕ore than a little bit irritating.鈥
He had to send in his vote before they were released and more than seven million Canadians voted in advance polls without having access to them.
Still, none of the panellists said they pore over such documents, with their large numbers and self-serving assumptions.
Rather, they saw platforms simply as frames for values and intentions.
鈥淚 think they鈥檙e there to set a philosophical tone that everybody can identify with,鈥 said John Penturn, an executive headhunter from the downtown 海角社区官网riding of Spadina鈥擧arbourfront.
Rob Fulford, says 鈥淚 kind of view them as working documents.
鈥淓ven going into the election, we had an idea where the party stood on major issues,鈥 he said.
Sean Aubin, a software engineer from Toronto, said two organizations with which he volunteers, More Homes Canada and More Neighbours Toronto, 鈥渨ere able to create report cards around housing policy based off previous statements that really weren鈥檛 updated that much by the actual releases of the platforms.鈥
As always, there are issues in the way politics is practised that troubled the panel.
For Blaise MacLean, it鈥檚 the centralization of power in first ministers鈥 offices that has reduced the influence of MPs.
John Penturn noted the shrinking number of all-candidate debates in the ridings as evidence of a dysfunctional democracy.
In the end, Penturn decided to back the NDP. But with a twist. And an eye to the future.
He would not have done so, he said, had he thought Leader Jagmeet Singh had any chance of becoming prime minister.
鈥淪ingh is basically a dead man walking now,鈥 he said. 鈥淗e has almost no time left.鈥
But Penturn knows the local NDP candidate from his community activism and was impressed.
鈥淚鈥檓 voting for him simply because I would like to see him perhaps be in a position to run for the leadership.鈥
But that, of course, is a decision for another day.
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