TORONTO — Trucker Darcy Neal Donnelly may have been the only candidate in this month’s federal election who was inspired by the Canadian rock group Trooper to run for public office.

The cement truck driver from eastern Ontario was motivated to "raise a little hell" for the Libertarian Party in the riding of Stormont-Dundas and South Glengarry.

"If you know the song Raise A Little Hell, you’ll know it has motivating lyrics," he says. "They say, ‘If you don’t like what you got, why don’t you change it? If your world is all screwed up, then rearrange it. If you see something wrong, why don’t you right it.’
"Well, I see something wrong, and I’m doing something about it. I’m protesting in a non-violent way."

By any measure, he got creamed in the election, winning just 161 votes and coming in fifth in a field of five candidates. But Donnelly says it was never about winning. Working in an industry that is heavily regulated, he wanted to ring a warning bell about intrusive government.

"I knew going into this that I wasn’t going to win," he says. "My mission was to create awareness. I achieved what I wanted to do.

I persuaded 161 people to vote for me. That’s cool! And I’m still on that mission. Even after the election I’m still trying to recruit people to join a philosophy that protects individual rights. If you believe your rights outweigh the rights of corporations and governments, then you’re a Libertarian. If you fight for human rights, you’re a Libertarian." 

Darcy Neal Donnelly: Another trucker stung by
the ‘random application of unjust rules’

He says truckers are particularly vulnerable to the whims of government intervention.

"We’re very regulated, with more regulations coming all the time," he says.

He himself was stung some years back by what he considers a random application of unjust rules, when he was charged, wrongly he says, for having an unsecured load.

In his view, he was the victim in that situation, and the government victimized him even more.

"It pissed me off big time because it will effect my reputation as a commercial truck driver," he says. "I got so angry that I had to protest in a non-violent way. My weapon of choice was the people’s right to vote. I found a political party that I believe in, and they granted me the power to use my weapon."

Donnelly booked a month off work from Eastern Ontario Redi-Mix in L’Orignal, Ont., to pound the pavement and attend all-candidates meetings.

"It was an incredibly valuable experience, and I learned a number of things, including that people are extremely cooperative. Even the competition helped me out. It’s amazing," he says.

And throughout the campaign, he met a wide assortment of people – not all of whom agreed with his message of smaller government.

"There were some people who believe government has the right to control their life. They agree with paying taxes in order to get taken care of by the government," he says. "Hey, people are entitled to believe whatever they want to believe. I respect their decisions."

As for himself, though, he sees evidence of increase government influence on day-to-day life, and he’s looking for ways to opt out of the system and beat it back. For example, despite his devotion to trucking for a living, he now refuses to own a truck.

"I own and operate my own licence," he says. "There’s too much potential liability tied to truck ownership. It’s why the big carriers are dumping the ownership liability onto brokers. And the ones who are buying into that plan are the 57-year-old non-high school graduates. That’s why brokers are going broke."

He insists that drivers can make a good living without assuming a lot of risks.

"It’s not how much you make, it’s how much you keep. If you look at what a broker makes – let’s see he’s able to generate $200,000 in gross sales – after he covers his operating costs and capital costs, he takes home less than $50,000 a year. And then the government takes a big chunk of that. I can get the same kind of take-home pay without the liabilities," he says.

His appreciation of the trucking life is clear, though.

"I would drive for free. If I didn’t have to work for a living, I’d do it for free. I enjoy it. It gives me a feeling of being free in an unfree world," he says. "I don’t look down at a desk all day, I have a mobile office, a view from my window that’s constantly changing, I deal with people all day long, driving into the future, and delivering deals. What’s wrong with that?"

Donnelly has a wife and "three Libertarian children" who follow his simple rules: "Have fun, don’t piss people off, and protect yourself. When in doubt, go back to number one. Have fun. Do what you enjoy doing."