Canada may have a federal election

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What the hell??! !! The other province they govern is MANITOBA!! !

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Democr ... f_Manitoba

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coCPVYxb2ww[/youtube]

Sorry , I live on the Atlantic and our media seldom pays much attention to the Prairies (beside all of our young workers moving off to Alberta). Honestly, I don't have a clue who is in power in most of the provinces other than my own (which shall not be named here because of personal paranoia).

I agree with you. Bush and Palin were not popular people, and most people that I know were excited at the thought of Obama getting in. When people like Inuyasha rail against socialism! pertaining to Democrat policies, they are usually talking about things that most CanCons see as just, practical, proper and decent social progress. The democrats are not pseudo-commies. Even if they were, they are not evil secularists!



Sure, but it balances in the end I think.

Harper is going to pay a price for his involvement in digital copyright laws, getting into the Libya squabble, The sun tv "news" debacle and other things. I expect he will get another minority, but its going to be even more slim.

At the same time, the other parties got the election they wanted, but its going to fall short of a Liberal majority government. The new status quo is minority governments.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_Less_ ... h_Columbia I like the cut of this parties jib.


The primary aim of this party is to move to a 32-hour work week. The party slogan is "Work Less, Consume Less, Live More." The slogan describes the party's aim to encourage people to reduce their consumption, to be more environmentally and socially conscious, and to focus on real values. Instead of consuming, people are encouraged to spend time on family, friends, community engagement, art and creative endeavours, spiritual exploration, and athletic activities.

Heh heh, turns out Harper is on the Dark Side:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbZjGGWk528[/youtube]

That is absolutely right about Canadian Conservative ideology. In fact, in most provincial governments, and until fairly recently in the federal government, our "right-wing" party was called the Progressive Conservatives (an oxymoron if I've ever heard one), so they have typically been right near the center of the political spectrum. Although I think it is worth noting that Stephan Harper would probably like to be a lot more like the Republicans. It's just that he knows he'd be lucky to get a single seat if he did that. Hence our Conservatives are only somewhat undesirable, rather than hateful like the Republicans.

I hope that the Conservatives will only get a smaller majority (I don't bring myself to hope someone else will end up in power) but I'm not sure. Harper is not well liked, but I read in the paper today that he is way ahead in the polls of Ignatieff. In fact, Jack Layton is ahead of Ignatieff. So I almost wonder if what we'll see is a Conservative majority with the NDP as the official opposition. Or maybe the Block will make up the opposition (which would be badfor anyone not living in Quebec).

The Bloc gets barely any votes outside of Quebecers - and at that I think its existence as a party is totally a slap in the face of the rest of Canada. I mean, where is the Bloc PEI?
If the Bloc were the official opposition, it would be bad for a lot of us Quebecers too... Especially the Anglos (what is left of us...)

It would certainly be strange if it were to happen. I can almost see the Governor General not allowing them to form the official opposition, where they only do represent one province. But at present they do have more seats than the NDP... And I do not have high hopes for the liberals this time around.

Incidentally, does anyone know where Elizabeth May will be running this year? Hopefully she won't be up against Frank McKenna again. Funny memory that... when I was watching the results come in last time the first polling station in that riding put her in the lead and I was actually kind of hoping she might get a seat. Then of course the rest of the votes came in and she plummeted out of existence.

The BQ was official opposition between October 1993 and May 1997. In fact, there were competing speeches between the PM and Opposition leader for the referendum in 1995.

True, but that was to the chagrin of the rest of the country. The party is self-serving in nature. They attempted to dominate the discourse with their views on Canadian unity from a purely Quebec standpoint. I find this to be contemptuous of our system and the rest of Canada, but that's democracy for you, the BQ has a right to exist, even if a BQ PM (unlikely to ever happen) could tear our country apart..

the BQ is the federal Parti Quebecois. That's perfectly legitimate. Moreover, in the '40s there a Quebec-only federal party called the Bloc Populaire.

The BQ is mostly self-serving because politicians like Mr. Harper seem to make political capital on ignoring us. Which would make us an effective invisible minority on a continent that claims to follow democracy. <.< So its existence is pretty much so that Quebec people (especially those that don't espouse considerations (such as environnement) that the rest of Canada might) can have a voice and not be silenced by the federal government. =/ So it's mostly a survival stance. ^^;

Harper has been pretty good at ignoring everybody. I understand the reasoning behind the BQ, but I still think it is contemptuous of the federal system. One province should not be interfering in such a manner. The PQ & BQ talk about separatism but like the Republican Party talking about (anti) gay rights or abortion, they will never do anything about it because they have such a profitable position right now. They are corrupt profiteers who contemptuously hold our parliament hostage with their provincially self-serving small mindedness. Harper might not have been elected PM if the millions of votes that are wasted on the BQ would have gone to other parties that actually represent the country as a whole and not a bunch of xenophobic separatists working very hard to pull the wool over the eyes of French Quebecers

That seems to be correct. The conservatives benefit immensely from the existence of the BQ. Because those Quebec votes are essentially static, it pulls Canadian politics to the right. The BQ perpetuates its Quebec's problems by its very existence. Things certainly haven't gotten better in all its years of existence, have they?

This election I am going to be voting for any independents running in my area. As someone said in the Edmonton sun today, that is exactly what none of the Party leaders want. It seems a lot better than spoiling my ballot of just not voting at all. My little vote will serve to narrow the gap between the cons and liberals, which is about where I sit politically.

But the important thing is the movement from one choice to the other. By voting how I always have, things remain static. Which brings us back to the analogy with the BQ. By having a certain portion of static votes, party officials can plan their strategy as if those voters did not exist. I'll show you.

Opposites cancel out. Let C = conservative, and L equal Liberal.

1L = 1C now since we know a conservative vote equals a liberal vote, the terms cancel out

1(1) = 1(1) = 0

It is only the disparity that counts.

2L = 3C = conservative minority.

NDP voters could potentially vote L or vice versa, but B -the bloc- cannot be moved at all, since this isnt really math.

So the best - but flawed - solution is to ignore the term, ignore the party. Which is what you were complaining about. The BQ is like someone so stubborn and argumentative that everyone starts shunning them. It is reasonable to expect that you will return a favor when someone does one for you. Otherwise, the BQ looks like this:

BQ: "I want that toy. Give me money. And do my homework."
ROC: "Sure BQ, can I trade for one of your..."
BQ: "No. f**k you. Give me your cupcakes. And your juice. and..."
ROC:"No." <ends friendship>

Kids like that are not very popular, as I am sure you know. They are spoiled brats or bullies.

Distinct societies shouldnt be like that. We should be mutually enriched by each other. But I have to admit I at a bit of a loss phil. What does BQ do for the rest of Canada?

Including most members of the Conservative Party.

Correct.