Federal Election Called for Oct 19, 2015

[eddly]

Can we really trust the general population to make the right voting decision with this election? I've never seen 3 parties so close like this with many voters passionately believing their choice is the clear obvious choice. I guess it is kind of nice that they all have pretty different strategies they want to implement which clearly differentiates them from each other.

Such a scary thought to think NDP is seriously being considered by people. I was in Toronto last week and it is amazing how well NDP is doing out there. Do people just want change for the sake of change without considering the implications?

So when does the NDP provincial government have to make good on their promises? I guess just say anything to get elected, exactly what Mulcair is trying to do. Figured he would name drop Jack Layton tonight and he delivered there too.

[zamler]

Originally Posted by Canuck-Hater

Based on what? 4 months of power? Get real.

Based on hearing him speak.

[schooner]

Is there a way to watch the debate in full? Would really like to see it now.

[FacePaint]

I think somehow Mulcair was the least bad. Seemed calm, thanked the moderator and pretty much catered to either side.

Mixed thoughts on Harper... I thought he looked foolish saying that the other parties would let terrorists in without screening and the scare tactics came in again and again with the economy and now is not the time to trust another party. I also think that his he's not being truthful about skilling up Canadians.

Trudeau... Broken record with the Harper history. Like, did he assume the online feed would repeatedly cut out? I was disappointed as I actually think that his plan of investing in infrastructure and working closer with the Provinces makes sense right now.

Lots of time left though, am I right?

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by eddly

Can we really trust the general population to make the right voting decision with this election? I've never seen 3 parties so close like this with many voters passionately believing their choice is the clear obvious choice. I guess it is kind of nice that they all have pretty different strategies they want to implement which clearly differentiates them from each other.

Such a scary thought to think NDP is seriously being considered by people. I was in Toronto last week and it is amazing how well NDP is doing out there. Do people just want change for the sake of change without considering the implications?

So when does the NDP provincial government have to make good on their promises? I guess just say anything to get elected, exactly what Mulcair is trying to do. Figured he would name drop Jack Layton tonight and he delivered there too.

I like how you basically just said Canadians can't be trusted to make the right decision unless you make the "right" decision to NOT vote NDP. Ooga Booga Orange!

[Zach]

Mind boggling if Harper wins.

[Zach]

Also that was one of the worst moderated debates I've ever seen. That guy should never be allowed to moderate a debate again. Just awful.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by schooner

Is there a way to watch the debate in full? Would really like to see it now.

Link posted to watch live still works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbnMz7tsXjo

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Dion

We need fact checkers when we have a leaders debate.

Could just invite May, she was pretty good at it last time.

=====================================

Originally Posted by Johnny199r

Harper says the housing story in Canada is positive. Ya right! Maybe if you've owned one for 10+ years! Try telling that to the first time buyer!

That's the thing about the housing market. A lot of sales are re-sales, and affordable housing is directly opposed to the interests of homeowners. I think a useful way to help with housing affordability is to tie federal transit grants to zoning standards - where the zoned density is lower than market density, upzoning would increase housing supply at no cost to the government beyond the cost of the incentives (which they might be offering anyways). While the increased supply would be detrimental to existing homeowners, because it would be moving up to the market level it's a net benefit overall.

I have no idea if this is legally doable from a seperation of powers perspective though.

[longsuffering]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Anyway, just to type out my thoughts somewhere so I can crystallize them, this thread seems to be a reasonable place.

Trudeau: I really dislike this guy.

Mulcair: Way less of the "creepy" factor than in the first debate, though it started to come back towards the end.

Harper: Someone above said "Harper was Harper", which about sums it up. Generally what he says strikes me as reasonable, even if cast in a favourable light for his party, and the criticisms of his opponents also struck me as generally fair.

I would say for me, of the three, Trudeau performed the worst but on an economy-based debate he may still have exceeded expectations relative to the other two and won on handicap. No earth-shaking moves will result from this, in my estimation.

Originally Posted by Daradon

Thanks for the synopsis CHL. Some interesting points and ideas in there.

Do you hyper-partisan CPC supporters really believe anyone buys into your 'impartial and unbiased' analysis of the debate?

It's a joke, right?

[saillias]

Mulcair tried to dismiss Trudeau with smarmy one liners and it was sort of pompous. Repeatedly made reference to his family of 10 and how they're all civil servants and I was struggling to understand why I should care about this.

I dunno. I'm scared for my job and the industry I work in and he's telling me about moral obligations to bring in refugees, to rescue the homeless and to save the children. I don't have kids and I don't want kids. I've heard what happened with $15 minimum wage in Seattle.* His obstinate opposition to Keystone alone would be enough to never give him my vote.

*Wrong and redacted

[GaiJin]

Originally Posted by longsuffering

Do you hyper-partisan CPC supporters really believe anyone buys into your 'impartial and unbiased' analysis of the debate?

It's a joke, right?

I'm an undecided voter and totally agree with his analysis, your post sounds to me like griping from a hyper-partisan supporter from one of the other parties.

[PeteMoss]

Debates don't serve much purpose for the firmly decided voters. Those people see what they want to see and with no one looking awful - they aren't wrong in their opinions. Although I do shudder at people who support their parties like a sports team and will vote for them regardless of what is happening out there.

Its the undecided voters and their opinion of these things that matter.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by saillias

Mulcair tried to dismiss Trudeau repeatedly with smarmy one liners and it was sort of pompous. Repeatedly made reference to his family of 10 and how they're all civil servants and I was struggling to understand why I should care about this.

I dunno. I'm scared for my job and the industry I work in and he's telling me about moral obligations to bring in refugees, to rescue the homeless and to save the children. I don't have kids and I don't want kids. I've heard what happened with $15 minimum wage in Seattle. His obstinate opposition to Keystone alone would be enough to never give him my vote.

The family of 10 thing is so people see him as a human being and not just a politician.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Debate pretty much changed nothing, we're headed to a minority. What'll be interesting to see is what happens if it's the likely CPC minority. I could see the next election featuring three different leaders in charge. Surprised the media seems to think Mulcair was the winner, he came off as a condescending dad. I don't think any leader said anything too damaging, although Harper dropping "Old Stock Canadians" was a pretty bad, sort of racist line.

[Ducay]

While I wouldn't mind Liberals disrupting things, based on discussions with some executives in the oil patch over the last few days, its been quite consistently noted that either a Liberal or NDP gov't will only throw more of a wrench into future spending with uncertainty around taxes rates and environmental issues.

Sounds like CPC is the best choice for the industry, so I will likely be voting that way. We've got enough of an uphill battle going on right now, no sense in voting to make it worse for ourselves.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by eddly

Such a scary thought to think NDP is seriously being considered by people. I was in Toronto last week and it is amazing how well NDP is doing out there. Do people just want change for the sake of change without considering the implications?

Look what happened here and what's happening now.

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

The family of 10 thing is so people see him as a human being and not just a politician.

It's very bizarre how our own views of politics interpret a statement so differently.

I suspect that Mulcair, telling people he's from a family of 10, who are all civil servants, plays very well with a certain portion of his base.

I, on the other hand, think "wow, 10 children seems incredibly irresponsible, and all of you are sucking off the teat of the government...not a single one in the private sector....."

I mean, this is isn't going to change my opinion of the NDP one way or the other, but I just find it funny how I view that as such a negative but others will find it endearing.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by Ducay

While I wouldn't mind Liberals disrupting things, based on discussions with some executives in the oil patch over the last few days, its been quite consistently noted that either a Liberal or NDP gov't will only throw more of a wrench into future spending with uncertainty around taxes rates and environmental issues.

Sounds like CPC is the best choice for the industry, so I will likely be voting that way. We've got enough of an uphill battle going on right now, no sense in voting to make it worse for ourselves.

I'm not so sure it's a safe thing that governments are elected to please a private sector industry and grease its wheels. Who's really running the country then? Have mercy on our souls if we really do live in a dystopian corporatocracy.

[edslunch]

I love how government jobs are always devalued like anyone working there is a scammer. In my experience the oil industry has huge teats, even if they running a bit dry at the moment