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Post by tolpuddlemartyr on May 2, 2011 23:54:20 GMT -5
Having survived over a decade of conservative mismanagement here in Australia, my sympathies Canada!
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Post by Shano on May 3, 2011 0:43:01 GMT -5
Majority voting systems are the suck.
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Post by MaybeNever on May 3, 2011 2:56:02 GMT -5
Haven't the conservatives had the government in their hands for a number of years in Canada already? Harper became PM in, what, 2006?
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Post by anti-nonsense on May 3, 2011 3:17:12 GMT -5
yes, but they didn't have a majority, so they had to compromise with other parties.
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Post by Mlle Antéchrist on May 3, 2011 12:53:20 GMT -5
To elaborate on that, the Conservatives had 143 seats after the 2008 election, with the other parties (who are primarily centrist and left-wing) holding 165 between them. Now, the Conservatives have 167 seats, while the rest collectively hold 141. Needless to say, this is a major shift in power. 2008 results: www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/map/2008/2011 results: www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/The frustrating part is that the Conservatives gained less than 3% of the overall vote (giving them just under 40% of the popular vote), but still managed to pile on 24 seats and get their majority. The fracturing in the left, polarization, and Liberal party voters jumping ship are all major factors in this. If nothing else, it demonstrates one of the biggest flaws in First Past the Post elections. Mind you, I don't mean to sound like Chicken Little, running around and proclaiming that the sky is falling. This is hardly the end of the world. I'm just rather disappointed with results. Recap of the election, since it's been incredibly eventful: - Tories get their majority. Oddly enough, this comes after they were the first party to be found in contempt of Parliament, ever. - Liberals suffer a major loss in seats. Ignatieff says he'll stay on board unless his party asks him to step down. - The NDP jumps to over 102 seats (up from the 37 seats they had previously) and becomes the official opposition. - BQ is utterly devastated, losing all but 4 of its seats. Duceppe steps down, another major blow for the party. - Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party, is elected to the House of Commons -- a huge victory for them. It's too early to make any concrete predictions, but this could definitely lead to some major changes in the political landscape. It'll be interesting to see where things go in the next election. |
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Post by caseagainstfaith on May 3, 2011 13:06:59 GMT -5
Is a conservative majority really so bad for Canada? I know I'm not super versed in Canadian politics I just always heard that your Conservatives would cause collective heart failures to all the US's conservatives. So if that's true you can at least feel good knowing your still ahead of the US even with a conservative majority.
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Post by Mlle Antéchrist on May 3, 2011 13:32:02 GMT -5
They're significantly less right-wing than the Republicans, particularly on social issues. My concerns are primarily about the lack of transparency, corporate tax cuts (mostly that this will turn into another trickle-down economics fiasco, albeit less severe than Reagan's reign of terror) as well as other financial issues, and what I perceive as an overall disconnect from mainstream Canadian ideals. Like I said, it's not the end of the world -- I'm just not all that fond of their politics and approach to democracy.
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Post by anti-nonsense on May 3, 2011 13:50:30 GMT -5
Ignatieff has now stepped down, surprise surprise.
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Post by mnstrm on May 3, 2011 20:20:56 GMT -5
Who is the happiest man in Canada today? Why Jack Layton, of course. He knew the NDP would do well, but I don't think he ever imagined 100+ seats and official opposition status. I'm feeling a little stunned myself.
It's true that our brand of conservative isn't as right wing as a conservative in the US, but they're becoming more right wing over time. Until a few years ago, the 2 main parties were the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives. Some time a few years back, the PC party merged with the Reform party (which was a much more right wing group) and became simply the Conservative party. Though it retains elements of its previous, more centralized ideology, IMO these elements are slowly disappearing. Harper, our prime minister, has his political roots in the Reform party and I believe that informs his decision making.
Having said that, I don't worry that our society is going to make a major swing to the right. I think Harper's majority is just going to have to be something we "get through". Four years...
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Post by goonerboy on May 4, 2011 13:11:26 GMT -5
Is the Government elected by FPTP?
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Post by Mlle Antéchrist on May 4, 2011 14:58:20 GMT -5
Is the Government elected by FPTP? Yep. Our government system is mostly modeled upon what you guys have in the UK (being a commonwealth realm and all), though there are some differences. |
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Post by Rime on May 5, 2011 7:45:05 GMT -5
Elizabeth May got a seat in BC. Kinda glad about that -- I like her. I'm not exactly in favor of having the Greens as a majority, but some fresh voices in Parliament is something we desperately need, and I find they have some ideas worth hearing. |
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Post by Mlle Antéchrist on May 5, 2011 18:57:24 GMT -5
Agreed. I wouldn't want a Green government either, minority or majority, but we could use a few Green Party MPs in Parliament. The thing I like about Elizabeth May is that she seems a lot more genuine than many of the other party leaders, and she's incredibly personable, even if she might not be Prime Minister material.
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Post by katz on May 7, 2011 22:07:39 GMT -5
For the record, the Canadian (Progressive) Conservative Party is, to loosely quote Colbert, equal to the Gay Communist Puppy-Hugging Hippies for Nader Party. Abortion and gay marriage are dead issues at this point. The next big social issue will either be euthanasia or legal pot (which almost all leaders spoke out against).
The only issue I'm worried about based on the PC track record is the environment. Honestly, our economy's pretty okay all things considered. We just need some realistic policies. I would like to see Harper make good on his promise of Senate reform.
Really, if the NDP was the OO and it was a minority... It probably wouldn't be pretty. The NDP right now do not have their shit together to hold any real power. Next time around maybe they'll step up, or the the Libs will regroup and it'll just be a fluke. Honestly, a lot of their votes boiled down to a step above ballot spoiling.
As for Elizabeth May, I lived in her original riding and she's pretty grating. She'd launch personal attacks on her opponents (once insulted his mother during a debate) and is personally pro-life, so... At least she's harmless.
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Post by Mlle Antéchrist on May 9, 2011 0:28:24 GMT -5
For the record, the Canadian (Progressive) Conservative Party is, to loosely quote Colbert, equal to the Gay Communist Puppy-Hugging Hippies for Nader Party. Abortion and gay marriage are dead issues at this point. The next big social issue will either be euthanasia or legal pot (which almost all leaders spoke out against). I'm not overly worried about social issues. As you said, gay marriage and abortion are more or less settled (though one needs to be on the lookout when it comes to funding for Planned Parenthood, which has become a mini-scandal as of late). Personally, I find that a lot of Canadians are going too far with the anti-Harper spiel. I'm not a fan of the guy, but the comparisons to Republicans and the religious right in the States are extreme. I can't help but roll my eyes when people insist that this majority means we'll be transforming into Texas within the next four years. Still, I remain unhappy with the results, albeit for less dramatic reasons. I'd add the lack of transparency to that list. Hell, I'd like to see more transparency in all of the parties, but it's been particularly bad with the Tories. I'm also rather skeptical of the corporate tax cuts. Harper has been appointing Conservatives to the Senate like it's going out of style, despite his various campaign promises. One can hope for change, but I wouldn't hold your breath. It'll be a nice surprise if it does happen, though. Indeed. Truth be told, none of the left-wing parties are capable of handling a majority government right now. In terms of strong leadership and organization, the Conservatives come out ahead. Based solely on those factors, I probably would have voted Conservative. I could live with a small NDP minority, with plenty of Liberal and Conservative MPs around to keep them in check, and with someone other than Layton at the helm. My opinion of him actually improved a little bit during the election, but I still don't see him as PM material. Ignatieff wouldn't be my first pick for the job either, in all honesty, although I'd rather him than Layton. As for the ballots, I suspect there was a lot of "ABC" (Anything But Conservative) tactical voting going on, coupled with people still being sick of the Liberals, and "Orange Wave" band-wagoners. There you go, spoiling my view of a candidate I actually liked.  Seriously, though, bringing someone's mother into a debate is hopelessly childish. Do you recall her exact remarks? |
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