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Libertarian David Sabine believes Canada is on the wrong trajectory and could be a far more prosperous nation.
“I think libertarian-leaning voters in Airdrie-Cochrane are concerned about Canada’s authoritarian drift,” says Sabine. “This is marked by high taxes, market interference, and a new sort of censorship regime. I mean, even Margaret Atwood has criticized this Liberal party’s ‘creeping totalitarianism.’”
“We should embrace policies that recognize our federal government is too big, too expensive and interferes too much in provincial jurisdiction. I would hope that a libertarian philosophy would influence policy to reduce the cost and size of the federal government and keep it within its domain.”
These are the core reasons why the Airdrie resident has entered the political ring in the federal Airdrie-Cochrane riding — although he’s been surrounded by politics all his life. His father ran for the NDP, his sister is a councillor in northern Alberta, and he recalls many kitchen-table political arguments with his uncle at a young age.
He’s not quick to pin American President Donald Trump for the economic woes forecasted due to the current trade war. Sabine says Trump is only the current catalyst.
“We are in this position because we’ve had decades of policy in our country that has limited our industry, limited our economy, and favoured specific monopolies. We’ve got interprovincial trade barriers that are way more costly than the tariffs currently threatened by Donald Trump,” says Sabine.
“I know people are concerned about that, but I’m far more concerned about the fact we have 100 per cent tariffs on canola from China. We have huge tariffs from India on lentils and soy produced in Saskatchewan. We have problems across the country with foreign trade, largely because Canada is an economy that is very protectionist.”
He believes Albertans are known for their entrepreneurial spirit and says many are frustrated by high taxes, market interference, and declining rights like freedom of speech and property ownership.
“We have Ottawa’s constant mismanagement and the mounting debt. We have very restrictive climate policies, which of course disproportionately harm Alberta’s resource-driven economy, and the province continues to send massive equalization payments to other regions.”
He says a recent meeting among Canada’s premiers — during which they pledged to work toward economic unity and break down provincial trade barriers — was no more than a façade.
“Have you heard any news about that since? Because I sure haven’t,” he says. “It doesn’t seem anybody is taking seriously the issue of provincial trade barriers.”
Sabine grew up in Saskatchewan, has lived and worked throughout Canada and the U.S., and returned to Alberta about a year ago with his wife and daughters.
He has 30 years of experience in software product development and digital systems management, and has co-authored books and blogs on cloud services, project management, and software development.
Sabine is expected to be in Cochrane this week to speak with students at Mitford School studying Canadian politics.