2011 Canadian Election Thread

[wpgflamesfan]

Originally Posted by TylerSVT

It would be sweet for Quebec to finally break off and Canada can have a coalition government that actually works. Quebec pretty much ruins everything.... again.

Someone should start a party whose whole objective is to get rid of Quebec.

Montreal & Quebec City are both awesome cities (Montreal is probably my favourite city in the country to visit) but that whole province is completely screwed up financially & politically.

[SeoulFire]

Originally Posted by TylerSVT

It would be sweet for Quebec to finally break off and Canada can have a coalition government that actually works. Quebec pretty much ruins everything.... again.

I dislike the fyp thing so I will just rewrite with some edits.


It would be sweet for the West to break off Canada and have a government that may actually work.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by TylerSVT

It would be sweet for Quebec to finally break off and Canada can have a coalition government that actually works. Quebec pretty much ruins everything.... again.

I wouldn't be so sure if I was you. Remove Quebec from the equation, and the Tories would have won a majority in 2008.

[RubberDuck]

You want to get rid of the Bloc? Don't like so many elections? Quit giving them money.

http://www.calgarysun.com/news/canad.../17742446.html

[Devil's Rule]

I just wish someone would campaign for fixed date elections as in the US....oh wait someone did. Lies I say.

As a matter of fact they are all lairs Cons, Libs, NDP, etc... so I always vote for one that is not currently elected simply based on the HUGE amounts of money they receive if elected twice.

It's like opposition roulette every time I hit the polls

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Devil's Rule

I just wish someone would campaign for fixed date elections as in the US....oh wait someone did. Lies I say.

As a matter of fact they are all lairs Cons, Libs, NDP, etc... so I always vote for one that is not currently elected simply based on the HUGE amounts of money they receive if elected twice.

It's like opposition roulette every time I hit the polls

I would actually prefer a less centralized republican style government over this parliamentary democracy. I just don't think it functions as efficiently. Canada is too big and diverse to be ruled how it is.

It's funny, because when modern western countries partake in nation building, we never recommend this system for them.

[SeeBass]

I wonder how often we will keep hearing about the fighter jet purchase now?

[Azure]

I don't think it was a wise move to lower the GST to 5%. Should have kept it at 6%, and lowered it now.

Then again it can help lower income families, so no big deal.

There is no reason we can't run a balanced budget or a minor deficit as well while at the same time still having adequate funding for health care and such.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Devil's Rule

I just wish someone would campaign for fixed date elections as in the US.

Fixed election dates don't really work without a huge overhaul to the system. The PM's mandate comes from the confidence of the House.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by SebC

Fixed election dates don't really work without a huge overhaul to the system. The PM's mandate comes from the confidence of the House.

Well, the current opposition has shown that "confidence of the house" relates exclusively to the selfish interests of said opposition, and not the opinion of the people they nominally represent.

The difficulty, however, is that without the ability to legitimately defeat the government, a crippling stalemate could happen - such as in the US when budget wars paralyze governments. So pick your poison - paralyze the country, or deal with the inherent instability that a minority situation creates. Ultimately, I think the current option is preferable, even if not all that palatable.

And, FWIW, Ipsos-Reid's latest poll argues that Ignatieff's ploy here is not starting well: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/Tor...903/story.html

Tories up 43-24 nationally, 46-30 in Ontario and 25-18 in Quebec on the Liberals (PQ at 41). It will be interesting to see if the other polling firms also show an increasing Tory lead in the next few days.

[killer_carlson]

this question will come down to (as has been identified by some in the media):

Do you want a coalition government of left of center parties?

If Ignatief doesn't come out and say that he'll do a coalition, it will dog him the entire campaign. If he does, then he'll be dogged about each policy announcement or platform of the NDP and how that fits with his party's.

If the Canadian public is ok with having Bob rae and Jack Layton rubbing their greedy hands above the public purse strings, then Igantief will be Prime Minister. If they prefer to have Harper ignoring basically all of the procedural rules in the interest of getting things done, then it will be a Harper majority.

That's the choice.

A bigger question I have is what will each of the PC candidates to replace Stelmach are prepared to do if the NDP Coalition comes after Alberta oil in the guise of a carbon tax or environmental levy?

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Azure

I don't think it was a wise move to lower the GST to 5%. Should have kept it at 6%, and lowered it now.

Then again it can help lower income families, so no big deal.

There is no reason we can't run a balanced budget or a minor deficit as well while at the same time still having adequate funding for health care and such.

It also permamently cripples the federal government's ability to raise revenue. Good in the long-run, in my opinion.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

A bigger question I have is what will each of the PC candidates to replace Stelmach are prepared to do if the NDP Coalition comes after Alberta oil in the guise of a carbon tax or environmental levy?

http://andrewleach.ca/oilsands/when-...the-oil-sands/

Just putting it out there. (Also, false dichotomy says hi.)

[John Doe]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Well, the current opposition has shown that "confidence of the house" relates exclusively to the selfish interests of said opposition, and not the opinion of the people they nominally represent.

Really? Do you think that the MP's don't need to know how much a bill will cost before they vote on it? Do you think that it is acceptable to lie to Parliament? And do you think that the people they represent feel the same way?

[WilsonFourTwo]

Originally Posted by RubberDuck

You want to get rid of the Bloc? Don't like so many elections? Quit giving them money.

http://www.calgarysun.com/news/canad.../17742446.html

You're right. We should only fund parties that have platforms we agree with.....

I don't like Separatist ideology either, but they're a valid, recognized and democratically elected party. The system works.

[SeoulFire]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

...

A bigger question I have is what will each of the PC candidates to replace Stelmach are prepared to do if the NDP Coalition comes after Alberta oil in the guise of a carbon tax or environmental levy?

My guess is that we will do what we have historically done - bend over and wait to get reamed by the feds with or without lube.

[WilsonFourTwo]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

this question will come down to (as has been identified by some in the media):

Do you want a coalition government of left of center parties?

If Ignatief doesn't come out and say that he'll do a coalition, it will dog him the entire campaign. If he does, then he'll be dogged about each policy announcement or platform of the NDP and how that fits with his party's.

If the Canadian public is ok with having Bob rae and Jack Layton rubbing their greedy hands above the public purse strings, then Igantief will be Prime Minister. If they prefer to have Harper ignoring basically all of the procedural rules in the interest of getting things done, then it will be a Harper majority.

That's the choice.

That's a whole lot of characterization, but I gotta admit, your analysis appears to be spot-on. Nicely summarized.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by John Doe

Really? Do you think that the MP's don't need to know how much a bill will cost before they vote on it? Do you think that it is acceptable to lie to Parliament? And do you think that the people they represent feel the same way?

Given that this fiasco has not negatively effected the Conservative's popularity, I'd say that most people who already support the Conservatives don't care.

People care more about who has the best ads more than they care about the issues. I don't just mean Conservative supporters, but people in general.

[Cscutch]

Originally Posted by WilsonFourTwo

You're right. We should only fund parties that have platforms we agree with.....

I don't like Separatist ideology either, but they're a valid, recognized and democratically elected party. The system works.

We shouldn't fund any party.. Parties should have to fundraise all their money.

I believe that is one of the things that caused the Lib/NDP/Bloc to try and join together a few years ago, the con’s tried to push through a bill that would eliminate or reduce funding to the political parties.

Chris

[GirlySports]

Around the office everyone is complaining about this election and how we have another one and it's the same old same old. To me, I'm pretty excited about this election. It's been 3 years, it's not like we're having them back-to-back and I think alot will change this election. All the leaders are at risk. If Harper doesn't get his majority he's probably gone. If Ignatieff doesn't win at least a minorty, he's gone. And it's most likely Layton's and Duceppe's last election campaign. Layton for health reasons and Duceppe is being lured by the PQ for a fight with Charest.

The election will change alot. Could be a country-defining one.