Countries Need Leaders. Not Bosses.

This isn't a piece about which political platform is best. It's not about whom you should vote for in the coming federal election. It's about overturning the ridiculous notion that making a lot of money makes you a good leader. So let's get this out of the way: it doesn't.

Countries, like businesses, need leaders. Actual leaders. Not bosses. Anyone who says otherwise—anyone who says that Harper, because he made a lot of money in business, is the ideal Prime Minister—hasn't been paying attention. Indeed, he has made a lot of money…for himself. As for the country: 8 deficits, 2 recessions, an over-dependence on failing oil and gas investments, cuts to education, cuts to healthcare, overspending taxpayer money on electioneering, etc. Also, our government has given up authenticity, transparency and credibility. It is a matter of record that the Harper government has muzzled party members, environmental scientists and the media while being at the center of scandal after scandal. This is failed leadership. Anyone who changes the name of the "Government of Canada" to the "Harper Government" is only focused on one thing, and it isn't leading a country.

Leaders, true leaders, understand that the moment they choose to lead, their personal wants and needs no longer come first. They understand that in the line of duty, they might have to sacrifice the perks, the money, and even their lives for the betterment of their people/organization/family/country. What's more, they engender and espouse a clear vision toward which their people can work. They don't hide from truth or responsibility; they own it. They don't stand on ten-point plans and shaky promises—and most importantly, they don't care what their competition is doing. They don't need to spend taxpayer money on smear ads. It's not them against someone else; it’s them working for the future they believe can, and should, exist. Political platforms and promises don't matter much in the long run because the right leader will do the right thing, always.

A boss thinks they have all the answers. They don't trust easy and they don't go first. Money is their bottom line, not people. Nobody likes working for a person like this, so why would we want them running our country? A person who is selfish enough to think they know better than everyone else is arguably the most uneducated person (regardless of intellect) you will ever meet. Leaders know they don't have all the answers. That's why they make sure they have advisors, directors and cabinet ministers who do. It is the leader's job to inspire trust, innovation and cooperation towards that clearly defined future. It is the privilege of those ministers and managing directors to be inspired by that vision and to work to make it reality.

No matter who wins Canada's federal election, no matter what they promise, what they outline and what they plan to do, when it comes to the kind of leader that person will be, there are no guarantees. For those generations who were there during the NDP's last shot at the throne, there's a long way to go before they gain back any trust. But, like it or not, we can't base what might happen on the mistakes of the past. This refreshed and invigorated wave of orange that won over an exhausted Alberta is a basic unknown. If Mulcair is a good leader, he'll take the past as the cautionary tale that it is and do better. The Liberals are similarly unfamiliar. Trudeau is untested in the political arena, British Columbia's Liberal leadership might as well call themselves conservatives, and Canada's last Liberal government under Paul Martin failed and failed quickly. Basically, we are in the wind with no certainty at all.

The political selling points highlighted by the Liberals, the NDP and the Green Party are basically the same. So when the time comes to vote, it's not going to come down to party platforms. Instead, it will come down to the person who can rally the country behind them. The person who can inspire us to follow. The candidates have yet to clearly articulate a future we can all see; a future that we WANT to see. "No Harper" is not a vision to work toward. "A Canada that becomes an example for the world in green energy initiatives and quality of education" — that's closer.

At the very least, we should all accept that Harper is not the man to lead us. We are poorer, angrier and more divided than we once were. So I'm ready to let someone else prove to me, and to the rest of the country, that they are a real leader. That they have the courage to go first, to not care what the competition is doing, and to sacrifice immediate profit for long-term prosperity. It's hard to come by in politics, I know, and that's why most politicians fail. But if one of the current candidates steps forward and tells me who they really are, what they actually believe, what they want to see our country become… If that future agrees with the one I envision for my country… They will have my vote.

Leading a country means uniting it.

So to the candidates I give this advice: Prove that you're a leader and the country will follow. Act like bosses and the country will vote three ways.