BBC: Canada primed for snap election (Your voting too eh?)

[Netto Azure]

Ok I was looking through the BBC world news service and this attracted my attention...(Us here in the USA are voting for our Congresspersons and President you know this November along with "Initiatives"...and now you guys too for your Parliament and Prime Minister) What a coincidence eh?...so what is this I keep hearing about Political deadlock, can you guys in Canada elaborate? So now you can vote for the issues you approve of and tip the balance from Conservative to Liberal or stay Conservative. The thing was I lived in Winnipeg for 7 months in '02 and visited at '04 (Still remembers Paul Martin's Liberal campaign and Stephen Harper's...for Conservatives...)

So what do you think...????

 

[Alakazam17]

From what I heard, the current Canadian government(which is Conservative) wants to hold an election before the Americans because they believe that the imminent Obama win will subconsciously make Canadians vote Liberal. So they want to hold the Canadian election before the Americans go to the polls, making an election date of October 14th.

So it is in no way a coincidence....it was planned. XD

 

[Netto Azure]

Wow...

From what I heard, the current Canadian government(which is Conservative) wants to hold an election before the Americans because they believe that the imminent Obama win will subconsciously make Canadians vote Liberal. So they want to hold the Canadian election before the Americans go to the polls, making an election date of October 14th.

So it is in no way a coincidence....it was planned. XD

It's all a frekin Conspiracy by our Worlds Governments!!! To make the UN OUR Government!!! *shot* Sorry I just couldn't help it and yeah your opinion does somewhat make sense...

 

[Alakazam17]

Ooh, new poll....I took the 3rd choice, because I'll always vote NDP in elections. Of all the candidates, I seriously believe that Jack Layton would make the best prime minister. And seeing as Dione got the head Liberal spot by a fluke, and the fact that the Conservatives have bashed him quite easily, Layton might just get the record number of NDP seats this fall. It may be just wishful thinking on my part, but you never know these days.

 

[Keitaro]

I'm not sure who I'm going to vote for yet. I know it won't be Harper trying to turn my country into America Jr. that's for sure. I'll vote for a canadate who is against the NAU or at least against the Carbon Tax if there is one.

 

[Cherrim]

It's hard to explain if you've never heard of it before, but with our system, we have something called "majority government" and "minority government". Basically, if a party gets over a certain percentage of votes, they become a majority government. They'd hold the majority vote in issues and they're completely safe. However, if it's a close election and one party pulls ahead to win, they end up with a minority government. This means that, in some issue, if the other parties "pool" their votes (it's far more complicated than this but bare with me <_<) to outnumber the elected party's votes, then an election is called. Something like that. :| I'm an awful person for not remembering the perfect details, and there's more to it than this, but that's enough to understand the jist of it, I suppose.

Anyway, Harper, the prime minister, wants to call an election because he thinks that if we went into a vote right now, the Conservative party would get a majority vote. With that, they wouldn't have to worry about a suprise election due to a tipping of the balance of votes. It may have something to do with the American election too but... I dunno. Our Liberals are in pretty poor shape right now, iirc, and they haven't impressed me in the last few years or so and I don't think they're ready to lead the country just yet. :/ I'll definitely be voting but I'm not quite sure what for yet. :P

 

[Netto Azure]

It's hard to explain if you've never heard of it before, but with our system, we have something called "majority government" and "minority government". Basically, if a party gets over a certain percentage of votes, they become a majority government. They'd hold the majority vote in issues and they're completely safe. However, if it's a close election and one party pulls ahead to win, they end up with a minority government. This means that, in some issue, if the other parties "pool" their votes (it's far more complicated than this but bare with me <_<) to outnumber the elected party's votes, then an election is called. Something like that. :| I'm an awful person for not remembering the perfect details, and there's more to it than this, but that's enough to understand the jist of it, I suppose.

Anyway, Harper, the prime minister, wants to call an election because he thinks that if we went into a vote right now, the Conservative party would get a majority vote. With that, they wouldn't have to worry about a suprise election due to a tipping of the balance of votes. It may have something to do with the American election too but... I dunno. Our Liberals are in pretty poor shape right now, iirc, and they haven't impressed me in the last few years or so and I don't think they're ready to lead the country just yet. :/ I'll definitely be voting but I'm not quite sure what for yet. :P

I had a rudimentary understanding of this before your post...now I relatively understand Parliamentary Politics (Thank You) I've read that the Conservatives only have a 44% Majority (BBC) and that is why their calling for a snap election. Too much political deadlock between the parties.

 

[TRIFORCE89]

Anyway, Harper, the prime minister, wants to call an election because he thinks that if we went into a vote right now, the Conservative party would get a majority vote. With that, they wouldn't have to worry about a suprise election due to a tipping of the balance of votes. It may have something to do with the American election too but... I dunno. Our Liberals are in pretty poor shape right now, iirc, and they haven't impressed me in the last few years or so and I don't think they're ready to lead the country just yet. :/ I'll definitely be voting but I'm not quite sure what for yet. :P

I don't think Harper will win a majority, and I don't think that's what he's aiming for. At the moment he's said he's going for another minority.

I think he's calling an election early because, like you said, the Liberals aren't doing so well right now. They've done a great job at stalling stuff the Conservatives have tried to pass, but they haven't forced an election despite having many great opportunities. They're low on funds right now and they just aren't ready for the election trail.

I think Harper's calling the election because he thinks he can get another minority and at the same time it would drain out the Liberals financially for a bit.

 

[Abrogate Nadir]

I'm not old enough to vote, but if I could, I would vote for the Conservatives. I would like it if Harper could pull off a majority since then there wouldn't be the danger of having another election in like a year. As well, I know some have argued that a minority government is better because there is more accountability, but it also makes it a lot harder to get anything done.

I don't care for Dion at all. As for Jack Layton, to be honest, I do like him, but I don't generally like the NDP party.

I'm not going to say Harper is perfect, mind you. I disagree with a lot of his views. I suppose I just see him as the least objectionable option. But I wouldn't blame anyone for disagreeing, because even as I say that, I don't hold that belief with very strong conviction.

 

[TRIFORCE89]

I'll be voting Conservative for you then. XD I like Harper. I don't agree with him 100% though. He's the former leader of the Canadian Alliance and between the two parties that make up the current Conservative party, I very much align myself with the Progressive Conservatives. A centre-right stance on economic issues and a centrist stance on social issues - that's exactly where I lean. I would very much prefer a PCer be the leader of the current party instead of a reformer like Harper, but oh well. The world doesn't revolve around hugs and kisses. The world revolves around money and I just don't agree with Liberal economic policies at all.

A big difference between the Democrats/Republicans and the Liberals/Conservatives is that...in the States the parties disagree on whether or not something should exist (let's say...a publicly funding child care system for example). But over here both parties pretty much agree except for a small handful of things - it's how they want to go about getting to that the end result and how they want it to function that differs. Left, centre, or right - Canada is a social country.

I don't agree with Layton on anything at all, but I think he would make a better leader than Dion. I can't believe this is who the Liberals chose to represent their party. Maybe they were hoping the court to voters in Quebec? But was there no one better? They had a bunch of big and popular guys running for the job, and they chose him. He also just seems...weak. He's very whiny and as opposition leader he should be more intimidating. He talks the talk, but he doesn't walk the walk. He hasn't been threatening Harper with an election - the media has. Even if you don't have the funds you should at least threaten. And I don't trust Dion at all on the environment. Not that it's at the top of my list of concerns or anything - but he was the Environment Minister for the Liberals. It was the Liberals who agreed to the Kyoto Protocol and vowed to get our carbon levels 6% below our 1990 levels - and it was under the Liberals and under Dion as Environment Minister that our levels actually went up 27% - the States only went up 16%! Kyoto is now unobtainable by the end of the commitment period because of the Liberals and they have no business criticizing Harper's Clean Air Act. I have no idea why the Liberals and NDP insist that Harper destroyed our commitment to Kyoto. It was the Liberals plain and simple. The truth is in the statistics. I don't trust a party who can't take responsibility for their own mistakes. Let's go for another sponsorship scandal, shall we? @_@

At the moment, Layton is ignoring Dion on the pre-campaign trail. He just doesn't see Dion as a threat. He's going straight for Harper, which is really a first for the party.

In the last election I was very disappointed with an ad the Liberals ran. There's always going to be nasty campaigns from all parties, but last time Paul Martin did something rather dastardly. Basically, Harper was quoted as saying he would have no objection in bringing in the armed forces during a Katrina-like situation. The Liberals took that quote, added some war drums for music, and tried to spin it that Harper was a dictator and that we would have soldiers in our streets and live in a totalitarian state. I know Martin is no longer the leader, but I just have no respect for the party if you're that desperate to win.

 

[Netto Azure]

Sorry...

For not being able to reply to this thread...I only have small amounts of free time...

I'll be voting Conservative for you then. XD I like Harper. I don't agree with him 100% though. He's the former leader of the Canadian Alliance and between the two parties that make up the current Conservative party, I very much align myself with the Progressive Conservatives. A centre-right stance on economic issues and a centrist stance on social issues - that's exactly where I lean. I would very much prefer a PCer be the leader of the current party instead of a reformer like Harper, but oh well. The world doesn't revolve around hugs and kisses. The world revolves around money and I just don't agree with Liberal economic policies at all.

A big difference between the Democrats/Republicans and the Liberals/Conservatives is that...in the States the parties disagree on whether or not something should exist (let's say...a publicly funding child care system for example). But over here both parties pretty much agree except for a small handful of things - it's how they want to go about getting to that the end result and how they want it to function that differs. Left, centre, or right - Canada is a social country.

That is so true...I really wish American politicians can agree better on things...and to be frank I think Canada is a very mature country to be able to agree on important issues and just debate on how to get to their goals...And yeah Canada is quite the Social country like the Western European Countries...

I don't agree with Layton on anything at all, but I think he would make a better leader than Dion. I can't believe this is who the Liberals chose to represent their party. Maybe they were hoping the court to voters in Quebec? But was there no one better? They had a bunch of big and popular guys running for the job, and they chose him. He also just seems...weak. He's very whiny and as opposition leader he should be more intimidating. He talks the talk, but he doesn't walk the walk. He hasn't been threatening Harper with an election - the media has. Even if you don't have the funds you should at least threaten. And I don't trust Dion at all on the environment. Not that it's at the top of my list of concerns or anything - but he was the Environment Minister for the Liberals. It was the Liberals who agreed to the Kyoto Protocol and vowed to get our carbon levels 6% below our 1990 levels - and it was under the Liberals and under Dion as Environment Minister that our levels actually went up 27% - the States only went up 16%! Kyoto is now unobtainable by the end of the commitment period because of the Liberals and they have no business criticizing Harper's Clean Air Act. I have no idea why the Liberals and NDP insist that Harper destroyed our commitment to Kyoto. It was the Liberals plain and simple. The truth is in the statistics. I don't trust a party who can't take responsibility for their own mistakes. Let's go for another sponsorship scandal, shall we? @_@

At the moment, Layton is ignoring Dion on the pre-campaign trail. He just doesn't see Dion as a threat. He's going straight for Harper, which is really a first for the party.

In the last election I was very disappointed with an ad the Liberals ran. There's always going to be nasty campaigns from all parties, but last time Paul Martin did something rather dastardly. Basically, Harper was quoted as saying he would have no objection in bringing in the armed forces during a Katrina-like situation. The Liberals took that quote, added some war drums for music, and tried to spin it that Harper was a dictator and that we would have soldiers in our streets and live in a totalitarian state. I know Martin is no longer the leader, but I just have no respect for the party if you're that desperate to win.

I don't live in Canada so I just relatively understand what you are discussing...But I can see mud-slinging when it is described. Also that ad you described might be even more common here in the US if both candidates didn't try to run a "Change" campaign...

I'll read this a little deeper later since I have to wash dishes...XP

 

[Stalin Malone]

There is no party in Canada which promotes the traditional values which I favor so...

 

[TRIFORCE89]

I don't live in Canada so I just relatively understand what you are discussing...

I can clear stuff up if you want.

We get all the American media here, so it's easy for us to follow your politics. But, the reverse isn't true.

I'm not sure who I'm going to vote for yet. I know it won't be Harper trying to turn my country into America Jr. that's for sure. I'll vote for a canadate who is against the NAU or at least against the Carbon Tax if there is one.

I couldn't find anything on Layton or Dion, but Harper is against a North American Union. Both Layton and Harper oppose Dion's Carbon Tax.

You don't want Harper because he's turning our country into America Jr...somehow. O_o And you won't want Dion because of the Carbon Tax. So, looks like you're voting Layton.

 

[Netto Azure]

Oh really???

As you might have known last week here in the US the Presidential campaign has gone negative...The ads have started to "stretch the truth" for political advantage...

But is it true that there in Canada it's much "uglier"? In NPR's "Wait...Wait don't tell me" a Humourous news quiz which pokes fun at the weeks news. They pointed out that there was a Conservative party ad in their website showing the PM Liberal Party candidate being "pooped on" by a puffin while siting under a tree?...The unusual thing is that when people complained there the Conservative Party ACTUALLY PULLED IT OUT AND APOLOGIZED!!! LOL XP...But to be frank that is really mature...Sometimes that maturity is hard to find in this US Elections as seen last week...I mean if that was done here the ad would actually be "improved on" by probably adding stuff as "What will you do if Putin poops on you?" Joke XD But the "improvement" would be along that line...

Anyways here was that program: https://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=35

Oh well at least it isn't the Philippines where during the elections the 3 G's rule (Guns, Goon, & Gold) I know I'm being pessimistic but hey after seeing this happen even after all of the student activists hard work...you can't help but be pessimistic.

 

[TRIFORCE89]

It was an featured on the party's website. The ad remains without the puffin. Official response is that it was due to an overeager web developer.

That was small ad that ran for only a short while on their website. Not nearly as widespread as the ads coming out of the US. I wouldn't say our TV are worse than your's. You guys seem to stretch the truth on both parties. But, over here the ads aren't really mean this year...just creative. There's a Conservative ad airing currently where there's a slot machine and every losing option that pops up is a picture of the Liberal leader.

 

[Netto Azure]

Hmm...

It was an featured on the party's website. The ad remains without the puffin. Official response is that it was due to an overeager web developer.

That was small ad that ran for only a short while on their website. Not nearly as widespread as the ads coming out of the US. I wouldn't say our TV are worse than your's. You guys seem to stretch the truth on both parties. But, over here the ads aren't really mean this year...just creative. There's a Conservative ad airing currently where there's a slot machine and every losing option that pops up is a picture of the Liberal leader.

Such creativity is rarely seen in this US election...Usually it's just straight out bashing of the other candidates...I wish people here can be a little bit more creative so we'll acually pay attention to their ads...But eh usually the media just re-airs any "unusual" ad and gives the candidates serious free air time by giving hours of "comments" on the ad in question...makes one wonder how much he candidates pay for their ads...

Is it true that Stephen Harper (Conservative) is proposing to pull out troops from Afghanistan around 2010? Really trying to pull away from the US eh?

Also NPR "WWDTM" was right now that the Hadron-collider has been activated well be sucked into another Black-hole..... with no Exit Strategy...=P Joke...

 

[TRIFORCE89]

The original plan was to be out of the country by February 2009. But, both Harper and Dion agree that Canada should stay just in the Kandahar Provence a little while longer. Like I said earlier, over here both parties tend to agree. The difference is how they get there.

Liberal leader Dion wanted to leave Kandahar in June of 2011 (and then bumped it a month to July). Conservative leader Harper thought it should be December of 2011. I'm not sure why this is in the news now. He announced this back in February. He only said it again the other day on the campaign trail.

I'm also pretty sure all the parties already passed this motion back when it was first announced.

 

[Grovyle42(Griff8416)]

Personally, I'm pretty torn upon who to vote for. I'm liberal (at least by American terms, I'm not sure how I stand on my own country's political spectrum) but I don't want to vote for either the liberals, or NDP. Hm, political spectrum tests say I'm centralist. I just want to vote for the most just, least corrupt, least egotistical party.

Oh yeah, the attack ads on the Liberals are pretty funny. xD

 

[Netto Azure]

Eh...

How is your guy's campaigns going...14 more days....Which party is more likely to win now? Are you guys consensual on most issues now?

Wow..I could keep up with Canadian news...But I don't have the time to be up at 10 PM PST to listen to CBC on NPR 'cuz my parents will get angry for "wasting" time...D=

 

[TRIFORCE89]

Last night was a debate of five parties. A separatist party, two parties on the left, one centre-left, and one centre-right. Safe to say there isn't much consensus. XD