Who Even Are These Parties? (A Look at NOTA, New Blue, and the Populist Party of Ontario)

Ontario May 31, 2022

Ok, so I've been doing some digging lately, cuz we're in a provincial election and I'm trying to understand what actual options people have besides the same old parties that just screw us over again and again.

Most people only ever talk about the big 3—PC, Liberals, and NDP. But there's actually some smaller parties out there that are way more interesting than you'd think. Like they're not perfect, but at least they're different. At least they actually got ideas.

Here's three I found that stood out the most:

NOTA / None of the Above Direct Democracy Party

lawn sign for the None of the Above Party featuring their logo and web address. Photo credit: None Of The Above Party, X

At first, I thought this was just a protest party or something, like "vote NOTA to say you hate everyone" lol. I was technically right, but it's actually way more than that.

They're all about direct democracy, which basically means regular people like us would actually get a say in big decisions. Like, instead of electing a party and then just hoping they do the right thing, you could have referendums on stuff. Citizens could propose new laws. There's no "party leader", either they run on ideas, not personalities.

Honestly it's super based. Imagine voting on stuff directly instead of waiting for politicians to maybe do what they promised. It's not just yelling into the void. It's like real democracy.

New Blue Party of Ontario

This one's kind of like if the PCs were even more conservative. They're very anti-lockdown, anti-mandate, and really big on freedom (whatever that means to them). The people running it split off from Ford's party cuz they said he wasn't being conservative enough or transparent.

They’re against a lot of things: like CRT in schools (even tho that’s not really a thing here?), woke politics, high taxes, big gov’t, all that. If you’re into that kind of thing, I guess that’s your spot. They’re not really my vibe tbh, but at least they’re honest about where they stand.

Populist Party of Ontario

Jim Torma wearing a white PPO hat beside a purple Populist Party Ontario campaign lawn. Photo credit: Populist Party Ontario, X

Lately I've been seeing all these signs around my area for this thing called the Populist Party of Ontario. At first I thought it was maybe a PPC thing, like federal, but nope it’s its own thing. But the branding is definitely trying to look like the PPC. Purple, similar fonts, even the name feels like a copy. And I think that’s the point. They want confused people to go “oh yeah, I support the PPC” and just vote for this one by mistake.

So I looked into their platform, and it's literally just “End all COVID mandates.” That is it. No plan for health care, housing, schools, literally nothing. The website is sketchy as hell. You can't even tell who half the candidates are. And the “leader” looks like he might be some kind of grifter who just wants donations from anti-vaxx boomers. Honestly, I don't trust it at all.

Ontario party

Then there's the Ontario Party, which is being run by Derek Sloan. Yeah, that guy who got kicked out of the federal Conservatives for being TOO FAR RIGHT.

They go on a lot about “parental rights” and “freedom,” which is usually code for anti-trans, anti-vax, and basically stuff that sounds good if you don’t think about it too long.

A lot of fear-mongering and culture war stuff. Their platform makes it sound like schools are brainwashing kids, and the province is under attack, and they REALLY want religion mandated into Ontario law. Weird vibes all around.

So, what's the point?

I'm not writing this blog to say any of these parties are perfect. Some of them have stuff I really like (like NOTA's democracy reform ideas), and others have stuff I completely don't agree with. But it just shows there's more out there than the same boring choices.

We always act like we gotta pick the “lesser evil” but… if enough people actually knew about these smaller parties, maybe we wouldn't have to keep doing that. Maybe we'd actually get reps who care what people think. Too bad the media doesn't talk about any of them. Too bad most people don't even know they exist.

Anyway, just wanted to put this out there. Do your own digging too.

This piece is an archival work of the author, originally published elsewhere, and is presented here for historical record. The views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of the Provincial Times. Read our Content Policy here.