Ralph Nader is, once again, throwing his hat in the ring for the U.S. presidency, marking the fifth time the 74-year-old has made a run for the White House.
Nader will be in Toronto on Monday to host a campaign fundraiser with Americans living in the country, and to talk about what's at stake for Canada in the U.S. election.
He will also be presenting "An Unreasonable Man", the documentary about himself that appeared in last year's Toronto International Film Festival.
The man who has been dubbed everything from a crusader to a troublemaker and meddler, told CTV's Canada AM he and running mate Matt Gonzalez believe neither Barack Obama nor John McCain will take the United States in the right direction.
"What drives the Nader/Gonzales campaign clearly is the country is in deep trouble," said Nader, who is running as an independent this time around -- his third national campaign and fifth White House bid.
"The giant corporations are tearing the heart and soul out of America in so many ways, the corporate crime wave being the more recent one. And John McCain and Barack Obama are ignoring corporate crime. They want a bigger military budget, they want to stay in Iraq, they want to expand the war in Afghanistan and they're not good on consumer protection at all."
Nader slammed the two-party system in the U.S. as providing too few options for voters and said there is actually little that separates the two main candidates.
"They're using a lot of money in their campaigns from commercial interests and in many ways they're similar," Nader said.
"They're not really for a living wage, they're both opposed to a Canadian-style health care system which gives you free choice of doctor and hospital. How's that for starters?"
There are a number of areas where the U.S. could learn from Canada, Nader said, listing the Canadian system for public financing of elections, a multi-party political system and universal health care as key examples.
"No one dies in Canada because they can't afford health insurance. Everyone has it. But 18,000 Americans die every year according to the National Academy of Scientists, because they can't afford health insurance."
Nader noted that even the Green Party has growing credibility in Canada, suggesting leader Elizabeth May has a good chance of winning a seat in the next election.
Nader returned to a familiar theme for the consumer advocate, restating his long-held opposition to the North America Free Trade Agreement.
He said Canada, Mexico and the U.S. should all withdraw from NAFTA and renegotiate the agreement "so it does not subordinate environmental, consumer and labour rights to the supremacy of commercial power."
According to Nader's website, he already has enough signatures to get on 26 state ballots and he's aiming for 45 by September.
According to an AP/Ipsos poll released on Aug. 5, Nader has three per cent support, while Obama has 47 per cent and McCain holds 41 per cent.
Another poll, however, showed Nader with 10 per cent of the support in Michigan.
