So an election was called today out of nowhere for October 14th...


See in 2 months we are going to from having hardly talk about an election to a whole new government.

In the US you guys have been going since Jan 2008.


Anyways expect record low turnout.

People are bored with the leaders and are more focused down South.

Imo that was the point of the Conservatives calling the election. Hope for lower turnout so the base vote has a larger impact. IMo a higher turnout favours the Liberals.


I see a Conservative Minority Govt, and I hope they do not win a majority of seats.

Really this is going to be the most boring election since 1997.

It will be the same thing.

Conservatives will in rural areas and exurban areas and out West.

The Liberals will take the North, The East Coast and Urban and Suburban areas around Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.

Lovely!

Heh.

Harper is terrible, but liberal leader Dion also sucks (unfortunately). I predict it will be another minority government, this time liberal. I'm not sure what to think about being stuck with another minority government. The Liberals will garner back some votes now that most realize how shitty it was to decide to put Harper in power, but Dion still isn't that attractive a choice.

Peace,
Mike

I'm voting NDP. Maybe a waste, but considering the alternatives....

Not really out of nowhere, I've been hearing "they're going to call an election any day now" for the last 2 months.

Anyways, there was a report a little while ago that Canadians really are more interested in Obama and the American election than the prospects of an election up here. Hell, I am too.

I'm NDP too... and it'll actually matter now that I'm in BC. They're leading in the polls as of like last week.

Note Canada has a parliament system and the PM is the leader of a party with the most seats.
I am going to vote Liberal....
1. If you vote here for anyone else its a waste of a vote, this is Liberal COUNTRY...

2. The Local MP has served the South Asian community and the whole community well for over 15 years...

3. The other candidates are a bunch of disgraces...


In Canada politics can get very local yet it has implications across the nation...


It appears though the cities like Toronto and such will Liberal...

I really should go NDP. Sigh, I'll have to see how the Liberals are doing in my area first. If it's close between them and the Cons, I might go with the Libs just by default.

Canadians aren't allowed to vote!

Jack Layton has obviously been paying clsoe attention to Barrack Obama. He's clearly trying to emulate the "Hope" and "Change" mantra in his speeches.

Not sure how I will vote yet. My riding has traditionaly been a Liberal stronghold that went Conservative last election. Therefore, I may vote strategically for the Liberals (although I'm not particularly enthusiastic about it).

I'm in the midwestern US and Iheard the rumblings.

I don't know the conservative Candidate is...

Liberal hold here in Brampton East...

Elizabeth May is on FIRE!



She makes a really good point about bi-partisanship. I remember having to watch Question Period for my high school civics class and let's just say it wasn't the most glowing example of how a democracy should work.

The Obama phenomenon is clearly taking off in Canada. It wouldn't hurt if our politicians took a few notes.

Dion's coming here on Friday. Not sure how big the "meeting"(as advertised on the flyers) will be, but will still be cool to see him in person.

Fuck yes! May is now in the televised debate.

I hate Jack Layton. His response to wanting to keep May out of the debate was absurd. I'm so glad the Green supporters raided an NDP rally.

Peace,
Mike

I loved how Harper says he can't promise to keep people jobs.


He is right, the role of the Federal govt on jobs is not as significant as people think. Many people especially NDP supporters think the Govt controls everything and can give magically everyone a new job.


All the Federal govt can do is really invest and spend and cut taxes.
Real Fiscal policy is left to the Bank of Canada.


Imo, I will stay Liberal however someone please tell the NDP to hire an economist.

Lets shut down the Oil Sands and clean them up!!!

I wonder how the NDP will implement thier socialist nanny state polices when tax revenues shrink???

Oh wait we will just go into deficits!!!


Why people support the NDP is beyond me.
I can see Liberals, Greens, Tories and even the Bloc but the NDP are so out of touch with reality its ridiculous.

the PM is saying Canada is leaning Conservative...

I say that Canadians are quite fiscally conservative and they see the Conservative as being such.

The federal Liberals were some of the most fiscally conservative people out there in the 1990's.

They know have gone far to the left and join the environmental movement.

Imo expect a shift to the centre for the Liberals in the last election.

Dion was awful. AWFUL. His speaking skills aside (it wasn't just the french, he was having "ums" and "uhs" and the sort all over the place, it felt totally amateurish), the content was an elementary school level spiel consisting of "we're gonna improve the environment! Harper's not doing enough!, as if they didn't expect us to keep up with any issue discussion more complex than that. That's literally ALL he mentioned.

It was a poorly run event too, they put him indoors in a regular classroom that could fit like 100, there was probably 200-300 outside trying to get in to see a look, it was a pain in the ass to wait and squeeze through to it.

Does the US have the longest election period in the world?

Canadian politics use to be interesting.


You Had Mulroney trying his hardest to imitate Brian Mulroney.

You had Trudeau who use to act like one of those snobby British celebrities.

Lets not forget Diefenbaker and Joe Clark

Fuck it, I'm voting Green.

I've decided that I'm not rewarding my vote to mediocrity in the interests of voting strategically. The Liberals and NDP can go to hell, for all I fucking care. Harper can keep his minority for now.

Elizabeth May has impressed me.

In the French debate:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/stor ... rench.html

May against Harper: "You are trying to create the impression of a youth crime crisis but that's not true," she said.

It's absolutely NOT true. Harper is ignoring criminologists, those who actually know what they are talking about in the area of youth crime. In fact, he basically insulted them and accused them of remaining in their "ivory towers". What an asshole. Harper spews out a certain anti-intellectualism just like George Bush, which frustrates me. He follows his passionate response to crime, as opposed to real data. Furthermore, he's against the arts, another certain kind of anti-intellectualism. I enjoy Dion's response to Harper there:

Dion shot back: "For us Quebecers and francophones all across the country, culture is what really makes our language live. The current government is not just cutting but really is working against artists."

Interestingly, Dion was ranked highest in a performance poll put out after the debate. 40% of the French-speaking Canadians polled say Dion won the debate. It's possible the conservatives under Harper won't gain too much, or hopefully at all. That would be great. Really, I just want people to vote AGAINST Harper. Vote for anybody but Harper, please.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/stor ... ebate.html

Peace,
Mike

The English debate is tonight, which is fuckin' terrible scheduling. My friends and I are set to catch the US VP debate, but I we'll have to flip to the Canada debate once in a while.

Peace,
Mike

That would be great.

This is definitely not good for Harper, especially since he seems to have placed all his eggs in Quebec's basket in order to gain a majority.

I only watched the last 45 mins or so. My favorite part was when Elizabeth May shouted out the word FRAUD because she couldn't think of it in French. That made for a great sound-bite.

I'm voting NDP for the first time (well technically, it's only my 2nd time voting federally). I'm no longer carrying about splitting my vote. I hope the NDP gets more seats. The liberals are just horrible right now... I wonder if Peter Mckay will run for Conservative leader if they lose this time around. If the Liberals lose, I hope Stronach runs, only bc she's at least interesting.

I just cast my vote, half-heartedly.


Our leadership is so fucking disappointing

I hate Harper, but would still pick him over Dion. God help us all if Dion is elected.