2011 Canadian Election Thread

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by bc-chris

i just want to preface my post with a 'i haven't being following this thread' disclaimer so please forgive me if this has already been talked about....

last night at 7pm the polling stations had just closed here in bc - which of course means that not a single vote had yet to be counted in this province. the living room tv was on and our election coverage began.... i had to chuckle when the 'breaking news' headline on the screen was already declaring a conservative majority... i'm glad my vote meant something! ha! ha!

Huh?

The CPC would not have gotten a majority if not for their wins in BC.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by peter12

Craig Chandler is a total wacko. Entirely on the outside.

Pretty much. He couldn't even drill his message into the WRA. He has no hope in hell of turning the CPC in his preferred direction.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by bc-chris

i just want to preface my post with a 'i haven't being following this thread' disclaimer so please forgive me if this has already been talked about....

last night at 7pm the polling stations had just closed here in bc - which of course means that not a single vote had yet to be counted in this province. the living room tv was on and our election coverage began.... i had to chuckle when the 'breaking news' headline on the screen was already declaring a conservative majority... i'm glad my vote meant something! ha! ha!

As Tranny notes, in this case, BC did determine the final outcome. Harper was still short after the Prairies, but they were able to declare the majority because they knew the Conservatives would pick up more than enough seats in BC.

[LChoy]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Huh?

The CPC would not have gotten a majority if not for their wins in BC.

A big 21 of 36 seats went to the Conservatives in BC so I think your vote did make a difference Chris

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Ignatieff said he found it difficult to recover from the "unscrupulous attacks" from the negative ads rolled out by the Conservatives prior to the election campaign.



I guess Ignatieff wasn't in Canada when the Liberals were bombarding Canada with ads about how the CA had a "hidden agenda" or that the CPC wanted to militarize our cities. With guns. In our cities.

What a flake. Don't let the door hit you on your way out, Michael.

What a weenie....I mean really?

I guess it had nothing to do with leading his party to its single biggest crushing defeat in party history and not even being able to retain his seat in a riding that almost always goes Liberal.....wow.

[GirlySports]

at 7pm PT they declared a Conservative government only.
It took forever for CBC to declare a majority.

[old-fart]

The Conservatives have an excellent opportunity here to really crush a lot of perceptions about them, and I don't think Harper is so dumb that he doesn't realize it.

Ignatieff is likely on his way back to Harvard - Conservatives can say "see, we told you - he was just visiting and we were right all along".

No abortion or same-sex marriage changes - Conservatives will say "they lie with their scary 'hidden agenda' talk - we are the party of all Canadians, of a strong economy, stability, etc.".

And of course, Jackoff and his wacky parachute candidates will be exposed as being unprepared. Jack has a ton of work to do over the next 4 years to ensure he isn't a one hit wonder.

Lastly, good bye vote subsidy. That will be a huge blow to the Bloc, the Greens and yes the Libs (less so the NDP and not at all for the Conservatives). If these parties want funding, they'll need to appeal to their supporters to get it. No one can tell me they can't afford $2 per year to donate to their favorite party. If you don't want to donate, fine... but don't claim you can't afford it.

One final comment on crazy shrill Liz. Congrats on winning your riding and getting that seat at the table you so longed for. Unfortunately, you did so by spending the majority of your election budget on one riding (yours). Additionally, you're going to be sitting in the backrow somewhere similar to an independent MP, probably near the 3 (or maybe 4?) BQ folks. You'll get a question in question period once a month maybe? Aside from environmental issues, you won't be sought out for opinion. And no vote subsidy means you'll actually have to raise money from your supporters - something you haven't been able to do at all so far. Good luck crazy cat lady, you'll need it.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by kn

Is privatization of the CBC a pipe dream?

No, just a bad one.

[Resolute 14]

Losing the vote subsidy will crush the Bloc, but so too will losing official party status. They are about to lose a ton of funding for research, staff, etc.

[flambers]

Originally Posted by transplant99

What a weenie....I mean really?

I guess it had nothing to do with leading his party to its single biggest crushing defeat in party history and not even being able to retain his seat in a riding that almost always goes Liberal.....wow.

Yup, he basically knew his party would force him out as the Leader......

My bet, next Liberal Leader is Justin Trudeau.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Losing the vote subsidy will crush the Bloc, but so too will losing official party status. They are about to lose a ton of funding for research, staff, etc.

Harper might as well just buy those 4 Bloc MPs off and kill the Bloc Quebecois for good, one guy is old and used to be in Mulrouney's cabinet!

[Tron_fdc]

I really can't see Harper pushing any "right wing" reform agendas now that he has a majority. I voted Conservative because I truly believe he has no hidden agenda. If he pulls one out in the next 4 years I'll switch my vote to Liberal, because although I may not like their platform, at least they're not lying to me. Harper's honesty and consistency should be very important to his supporters.

I'm all for scrapping the gun registry, and reducing the GST (although I can live with the GST if it's properly managed). Gun registry should be one the first things to get turfed......it annoys me that we spent that much on some POS program.

I'm pretty liberal when it comes to abortion and gay marriage. As in I'm pro choice, and do not have a problem with gay marriage, so don't try to change the law on it. Equal rights, man (as I huff a joint, flash my peace sign, and get arrested on his new crime bill)

I'm ecstatic the Bloc is dead. Separatist parties have no business in Federal politics. I have no problem with the NDP making gains here, as I would rather have a left of center party lobbying for subsidies than a left of center, separatist party wanting the same thing, and their own country to boot. I have no problem sending even more cash to Quebec right now, because at this point their elected representation doesn't want to break up my country.

That said, Jack Layton still annoys me for some reason. But not as much as Duceppe.

[yads]

I was under the impression that the vote subsidy only went to parties that had official party status.

[Kybosh]

When I woke up this morning, I thought I saw a Conservative deathsquad on the road. Turns out it was a street sweeper and that there probably won't be any deadsquads.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by bc-chris

i just want to preface my post with a 'i haven't being following this thread' disclaimer so please forgive me if this has already been talked about....

last night at 7pm the polling stations had just closed here in bc - which of course means that not a single vote had yet to be counted in this province. the living room tv was on and our election coverage began.... i had to chuckle when the 'breaking news' headline on the screen was already declaring a conservative majority... i'm glad my vote meant something! ha! ha!

This is really silly.
As many people have noted, Conservative wins in BC were a huge part of the Conservative majority.

Do you honestly think you're vote didn't matter because polls closed a few hours earlier in the most heavily popoulated portions of the country?

Would you actuall be saying "Hey my vote was really important" if it had taken a few more hours for resluts to come in?

[Gundo]

I want to see stephen harpers birth certificate!!!!

[Calgaryborn]

It will be interesting to see how much of a pass the NDP's rookie MPs get from the left leaning press. I highly doubt if every gaff they make will be protrayed as the parties secret agenda. On the other hand if the CBC and others want to see the Liberals rise again they will have to be more critical of the NDP.

I also think the rise of the Sun network will eventually have a positive effect on the political landscape. Their existance will force the left leaning press to cover stories they might tend to gloss over right now.

As for what the base will demand from Harper I think just getting rid of the long gun registry will be enough. If he does that and keeps the economy chugging along he'll get a pass. It amazes me how many people I've run into where that was the main determining factor in how they voted. The Liberals don't realize how deeply they offended rural Canada with that stupid registry.

[mykalberta]

More of a gear grinding but in case anyone wonders about Conservative polling numbers. NEVER TRUST EKOS

Because they made the decision to close the other thread I cannot quote it, but here is the "final" Ekos polling numbers before the Election

To put it in perspective, the head of Ekos is a former Liberal pollster. There has been alot of discourse in this election about the independence of these pollsters. FYI, Ekos is CBC primary polling company.

Wow... one final EKOS poll:

CPC - 33.9%
NDP - 31.2%
LIB - 21.0%
BLQ - 6.4%
GRN - 6.0%

Sample size is 3144, MOE 1.8%

EKOS election prediction:

CPC - 130 to 146 seats
NDP - 103 to 123 seats
LIB - 36 to 46 seats
BLQ - 10 to 20 seats
GRN - 1 seat

To put in perspective CPAC (likely the most unbiased channel we have) uses Nanos Research. Here are its finally polling numbers.



Here are what the final numbers (day after) election were - I guess Ekos margin of error was 6%

[Resolute 14]

Really interesting story on what the hell happened to the Liberals, written by a Liberal:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...2008011/page1/

[tripin_billie]

So, with the Conservatives gaining a lot of seats in southern Ontario and especially the Toronto area, how long until they are branded at the "party of Toronto" by Albertans? I give the over-under at about 6 months. I for one welcome whatever the next version of the Alliance or Reform party that comes next to split the conservative vote. Wildrose a Federal party?

Oh Alberta, so silly. I love the Flames, but damn, what a strange province.