[mykalberta]

I guess I dont see this as one of those issues. All he needs is 5% of the people who vote to change their vote to get a majority. I dont see anyone who voted Conservative to vote against him because of it. The only blunder IMO was underestimating how many government jobs and media jobs are related to this census (media in particular).

I equate long form census to ER doctors supporting the gun registry. Both have a much bigger bang than buck politically and can be very easily managed.

I see it as a classic politcal game of chicken. The Liberals see the poll numbers and sense weakness and so they try to embarass the government in a way they know the media will get all over (because the media loves reporting useless facts and figures garnered from this census). I personally hope the government makes this a confidence motion which will force either one of the opposition parties to capitulate or will force an election.