It was a tough election. The incumbent was entrenched, well-funded, known. But I’d spent almost a year knocking on doors. Wore out a perfectly good set of cowboy boots doing it. And the polls were at my back.

E-night came. I’d rented a hall. Hired a cheap rock band. Bought the booze. And then the place was swamped. Campaign workers, supporters and a boatload of people I’d never met showed up, along with the local and city media. Backslapping was everywhere. The sound of ‘Attaboy!’ filled the room. Me, hero. Elected. Goin’ to the House.

Four years later, another night, another vote.

I lost. Same guy, but different context. This time I was the Man, not the face of change and optimism. Everything that had gone wrong in the past few years was on me, and others in office. My opponents seized all chances to hang blame and guilt. The constituency work, the public meetings, problem-solving and the policy push in Ottawa just didn’t matter. I realized my naiveite. Canadians don’t vote for. They vote against.

This time the hall was almost empty. People don’t show up to celebrate defeats, or express support. The media guys came, however. This was news. And my parents. He had Alzheimer’s then. Confused. A reporter got past me and asked, ‘How do you feel about your son losing?” He began to cry. A TV cameraman rushed in to catch the moment. I hit him.

This is the glamour of public life.

An hour after being elected you have currency and purpose. From there until the moment of defeat, it is steadily spent. Lost. We have made citizens who enter politics into punching bags. They’re not regular people trying to make a difference, helping the common good anymore. Over time they become the enemy, responsible for every failure, annoyance and hardship their constituents endure.

These men and women don’t turn callous and uncaring. We just expect them to be omnipotent. Make the economy better. Make life easier and richer. Make prices fall and wages rise. Make benefits greater and taxes lower. Make us safe, satisfied and prosperous, whatever the world is doing. Makes homes affordable. Make crime go away.

Or else. You’re out.

There are 338 elected MPs in this country of 40 million citizens. So, 99.2% of us never contest a nomination, fight an election or win. Those who do face years of travel, family disruption, disjointed living in two cities and sustained criticism leading, on average, to defeat within eight years. And still, passionate people fight for the right to sit in one of those green chairs and strive to make Canada better.

The rest of us rip them apart in anonymous social media comments.

Maybe more folks should take a few minutes to reflect on why they would not – and do not – seek the job. We should perhaps be relieved there are citizens among us who step up, knowing the risks. Even be thankful.

At the end of the day, the hall will always be empty. The applause gone and the haters near. Meanwhile the shiny new candidate is ascending. For now.

Thank you for your service, prime minister.