I know that many others share my disappointment and trepidation at the election results.  That’s not a reason for us to simply express disenchantment with the system and turn our backs on it, it’s a call to renew our investment in change.  Clearly there will be battles to be fought in the coming years through social media and grassroots networking to preserve the Canadian values and rights we treasure, so I beseech you to play a role in expanding the momentum of the already highly motivated and informed people that worked hard to protect a Canada they love, and who feel disenfranchised by what just happened.  I will be proud to be a part of that effort. 

As before, I have made the above comic in a series of small slices, so that if you are inclined you may easily share any part of it. 

This entire project has been an unpaid labour of democratic hope, made with volunteered hours and personal resources.  It’s heartbreaking to see that I reached many people with my message and still feel that I failed to create the positive change I hoped for, so perhaps it’s slightly crazy for me to contemplate expanding my comic project immensely.  The original page about the actions of the Harper government - “Which Canada will you vote for?” - will remain online and continue to see additions as events transpire.  I am grateful to people who sent suggestions, links, donations, and requests to cover additional issues - I only wish I could have done more.  It was also said, quite reasonably, that a more comprehensive approach that included the track record of all parties might be more universally interesting, useful, and appear more balanced, and I agree that that’s the direction I wish to continue as opportunity permits.  The vision that I have at this time doesn’t split my comics up into a narrative about each party, though.  I’d rather build a website around different specific issues, and compare the policies of all players and offer updates of the state of Canadian affairs in those key areas, so that visitors can look at the issues that have heart and meaning for them personally and make informed choices from there.  This is rather a large idea, so I will certainly be looking for others to share ideas and links, dialogue on the issues, and help spread the word.  If you’d like to be a part of it, please consider joining our facebook community (which will probably change its name to ‘A tale of two Canadas” or something like that in the near future). 

If you would like to support further projects like this in future, any donations would also be greatly appreciated and put to a good purpose.  More than a hundred hours of personal time went into this project over the course of April 2011, and I clearly can’t sustain that level of investment on a volunteer basis without occasional assistance.  Any new donations you may be generous enough to offer will help make further expansions of this effort to reclaim our democracy with comics possible, including things like purchasing stock photographs. 

I still have faith in the potential of democracy, and in the community of my fellow Canadians, who, while we collectively are as prone to making uninformed decisions as any other nation on Earth, I generally find to be almost universally highly decent people.  Never let yourself doubt that together we can create the Canada we believe in.

I like working for ethical causes. If your event, program, organization, or cause would value a playful way to convey your compelling message, contact me.  The audience my election effort reached proves comics work as a medium that engages people.