Grande Prairie—Mackenzie Rhinosaurus Party candidate Donovan Eckstrom knows the self-identified satirical party may get its share of funny glances but believes there is a good reason why they push what he calls “the ridiculous”. Eckstrom says in 2021 his platform will give everybody what he thinks they’re looking for.
“We want to one-up all the separatist parties and actually kick out all the rest of Canada from the west and Quebec,” he says. “The rest will be “Not Canada” [Editor’s note: the new country name, he clarified], the west will be Canada, Quebec will be Quebec, and everybody will be happy.”
Eckstrom explains the mighty rhinosaurus was selected as the animal of choice because, in his words, it represents a politician; it’s got thick skin, it’s a little bit slow, and it knocks a lot of things over. However, as a registered candidate in a registered political party, he says there is a tinge of seriousness in his pitch, particularly when it comes to voter apathy.
“Even gathering signatures, I noticed a lot of people said upfront, ‘I don’t like any of the of options, I don’t really bother to go out,'” he says.
“Now you have a way of getting a protest out that isn’t, ‘I’m not going to show up and get lumped in with the apathetic people’, or you spoil your ballot and get lumped in with the people who put a happy face instead of an X.”
The 2021 federal election is set for September 20th.