Federal Election Called for Oct 19, 2015

[Leeman4Gilmour]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

How does Harper even let himself become associated with the Fords?

I don't know, but a very very stupid decision. At least from my perspective. I had pretty much fallen off the fence and away from my normal Conservative vote anyway, and this actually makes me feel good about that decision.

[rubecube]

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/lo...ener-1.2086184

At the Green Party’s Victoria office Tuesday, beside a news release about poverty sat a magazine story about Rankin’s role as an administrative law and environmental law expert on behalf of Delaware-based company Bilcon. A North American Free Trade Agreement tribunal’s ruling this year could see the Canadian government have to pay more than $300 million to the American company because its proposed basalt quarry and ship-loading facility on the Bay of Fundy was rejected by a federal environmental review panel.

The Greens say Rankin’s role in the case shows he’s not the environmentalist he claims to be. Rankin, who beat the Green candidate by just 2.9 percentage points in the 2012 Victoria byelection, said he’s disappointed that this is where the Greens want to go in the dying days of a campaign.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, now the incumbent in Saanich-Gulf Islands, had fought against the quarry plan in her former role as Sierra Club executive director until 2006. Among other things, the quarry and terminal threatened the endangered right whale population.

Rankin, an international expert on environmental-assessment processes, was hired by international law firm Appleton & Associates to do an expert report.

That report, written before he was an MP, he said, concluded the environmental-assessment process was flawed.

“The government messed up the process … and I stand by that conclusion,” he said in an interview. “They changed the rules midstream; that’s unfair.”

In 2013, when he was an MP, he was called back before the NAFTA panel for cross-examination on his report. He was “compelled” to testify, he said.

May said Rankin took a case on behalf of an American company against Canada that could affect future decisions against this country. She said she’s shown “enormous forbearance” in not sending out news releases or talking about the issue unless asked — and only after the story was published.

NDP are clearly reeling, but I know a number of Greens who were originally considering the NDP but went back to the Greens because they thought Mulcair's environmental platform was extremely dubious, and we're incensed at the way the NDP marginalized the Greens all throughout the campaign. There's a prevailing sentiment that the NDP's concern for the environment is incredibly insincere and superficial. Most of Greens I know firmly prefer Trudeau to Mulcair, even if they're not thrilled with the Liberals plan either.

[V]

I was going to vote Green, I think, but I just found out they got rid of the 2 bucks per vote. So what's the point? Maybe I'll just vote for whoever isn't trying to take all of my money.

[Slava]

I just think it's amazing that over the course of the long campaign how little the CPC seems to have campaigned in Calgary. It's kind of appalling really. I don't think Harper was here once? Jason Kenney was in town briefly, but in my riding they've done almost nothing.

It could be that they're taking Alberta for granted, but that might mean a rude awakening on Monday. One article today points to Lethbridge as maybe going NDP. Three ridings in Calgary might go Liberal, and Edmonton might elect a Liberal and couple or more NDP. Just over confidence maybe, or perhaps terrible strategy?

Trudeau is back in Calgary this weekend...I think his third stop here during the campaign. That's pretty telling I think.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by Slava

I don't think Harper was here once?

Harper was in Calgary for the debate on September 17, but other than that, I don't think he's campaigned here at all.

[EldrickOnIce]

22 minutes was outstanding tonight

[Slava]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Harper was in Calgary for the debate on September 17, but other than that, I don't think he's campaigned here at all.

Yeah, I forgot about the debate, but I was meaning to campaign and such.

[Jacks]

Well looks like we'll probably have a Liberal government, even though I despise Trudeau I can live with it. Hopefully if they do win they get a majority so the NDP don't have control over budgeting, I'd be happy if the NDP go back to being a small party that is nowhere near the checkbook.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by Jacks

Well looks like we'll probably have a Liberal government, even though I despise Trudeau I can live with it. Hopefully if they do win they get a majority so the NDP don't have control over budgeting, I'd be happy if the NDP go back to being a small party that is nowhere near the checkbook.

I hadn't thought of it that way.
I didn't want a LPC majority.
This post has shown the error in that thinking.

[MarchHare]

I was actually wondering if this might happen -- if a subset of Conservative supporters would strategically vote for the Liberals to keep the NDP from holding the balance of power in a minority government situation.

[Drak]

The Liberals support pickup in Ontario is nuts.

Latest projection - 69 seats

CPC has dropped like a stone in that province. Also projections down to 11 in BC, I think it was 13-14 yesterday.

[N-E-B]

Originally Posted by Jacks

Well looks like we'll probably have a Liberal government, even though I despise Trudeau I can live with it. Hopefully if they do win they get a majority so the NDP don't have control over budgeting, I'd be happy if the NDP go back to being a small party that is nowhere near the checkbook.

Agreed 100%. Voted CPC but could live with Liberals. Don't like Trudeau but then again, I don't like Harper or Mulcair either.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

I was actually wondering if this might happen -- if a subset of Conservative supporters would strategically vote for the Liberals to keep the NDP from holding the balance of power in a minority government situation.

Whoa there, let's not get crazy now!

[Looch City]

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

I was actually wondering if this might happen -- if a subset of Conservative supporters would strategically vote for the Liberals to keep the NDP from holding the balance of power in a minority government situation.

That's an interesting perspective, but if I was a conservative supporter, I would expect that the CPC work with the Liberals to pass sensible budgets, rather than creating a situation where the Liberals are forced to give concessions to the NDP in order to pass budgets.

How strange would it be (and not impossible, though still unlikely), if Ontario swings hard Liberal, Maritimes stay Liberal, NDP does well in Quebec and BC and some cities, and we're left with a Liberal minority, NDP OO, and the Conservatives needing to support Trudeau while they rebuild.

[WCW Nitro]

With the playoff game being held in Toronto this Monday, I wonder how much this may impact voter turnout-and which party may be most hurt.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Leeman4Gilmour

I don't know, but a very very stupid decision. At least from my perspective. I had pretty much fallen off the fence and away from my normal Conservative vote anyway, and this actually makes me feel good about that decision.

The current Toronto mayor, John Tory, is also a CPC supporter and a relatively influential one in the GTA, and I can't imagine Harper is winning him over with this either.

I guess it comes down to the fact that the 905 ridings have a stronger Ford support and the Toronto core ridings are becoming more and more of a long shot for the CPC in the election.

But still, I thought Harper had more integrity than that. It's one thing when someone in your party is exposed for something that you didn't know was going on, or even if you try to hide something after the fact. But the Ford issues are right out there. It's a proven fact that Rob Ford consorts with criminals and there are allegations about Doug Ford, yet Harper has no problem using them right now. It makes me question whether it was really vetting issues when he was having issues with candidates, or if he just didn't care and thought he could get away with it.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

This struck a chord with me today.
http://calgaryherald.com/opinion/col...ction-campaign

Maybe this sort of thing gets written every election, but man this one has been depressing.

Harper is seemingly intent on proving his most hysterical critics right, and is seems to be basically just an a-hole.
Trudeau has dumbed down every policy conversation to a mushy grade 2 nothing, leaving us with really no idea wtf he's going to do, but is winning anyway by being mostly not repulsive while he talks about how repulsive everyone else is
Mulcair as far as I can tell just wants everyone to feel ####ty about everything, and harper gone.

For all the talk of proportional representation I think the biggest issue is all the parties are total asshats. Why would anyone vote for any of these guys. (And yet I will, holding my nose)

/getoffmylawn

[CampbellsTransgressions]

I like to think that a shift towards a system with some form of proportional representation would encourage the growth of smaller parties (and hopefully a new PC party), which will decrease the impact of party whip and give incentive for all of the parties to campaign for Alberta instead of against Alberta. Right now I can't bring myself to vote for the Harper stank, but hate that I have to vote for a guy that is so afraid of losing supporters he refuses to speak in detail.

[Scrambler]

Here are my basics...

I hate Harper and believe he should go, along with most the Tories.

I do benefit from the Family Tax Cut with income splitting (I make ~$100k per year, my wife makes $0; we are raising a 11 month old baby).

No Income splitting means I will lose out on a $2000 break at tax time.

Personally I consider myself and my income middle class, so one would think I should benefit from the Liberals comment of a 'Middle Class tax break', however looking at the Liberal website:

"Canadians with taxable annual income between $44,700 and $89,401 will see their income tax rate fall."

So I am a little SOL voting Liberal, even though I don't necessarily want Harper to win again.