Decision 2008- Canada

Originally posted by RealMckoy
reply to post by Cynic

 

That doesn't mean I can't respect the opinion of others who didn't like him though.

Loathe would be more appropriate, but I get your point. Touche!

Originally posted by Malynn
reply to post by PopeyeFAFL

 

What I Don't Like

The fact that Canadians don't vote for their Prime Minister. They vote for their Member of Parliament. For any Americans reading this thread who don't know what I'm talking about (and please Canadians...correct me if I'm wrong on how I describe this):

When Canadians have federal elections all the MPs come up for election at once. There will be a Conservative, Liberal, and NDP candidate for each riding (ridings are kind of like Congressional Districts), and Bloc if the riding is in Quebec. Canadians vote for which party they want to represent their riding. At the end of the election whichever party has the most MPs elected gets to form the government, and supply the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is selected by the party members ahead of time. I'm not a big fan of this. I don't have any suggestions on how else you could do it, I just know that I'm not crazy about Members of Parliament getting to decide who will be your Prime Minister. Canadians only get to cast votes for which party they want.

I understands what you say here.

I just which to add this for someone not knowing how Canadian politics works.

Unless you have pay a small fee to have a member card of a given party and attend the convention of that party, you don't have a say in which one is choosen to represent that party.

Again convention are not mandatory (depends of the party, some party will not held a convention if that party is in power, they will most likely held one for a defeated party or if the party did badly) and in fact unless you are delegate for your riding to go to that convention, you don't vote for your party leader directly.

At the election, unless the chief of a given party is also in your riding, you don't vote for them directly (as you pointed out), you vote for your local candidate, which may or may not be in the winning party (winning party is off course the one having elected to most number of candidates/deputes).

So we don't vote for the Prime Minister directly, but in most cases, that how it is perceived, since lots of people will not really study in big depth, who is in their riding, therefore they end up casting their vote for the leader.

right you are Popeye, and that is why there are many who want Electoral Reform in Canada. Some people want to see changes in how our elections take place.

I do have a question though. Do not the party members elect the leaders of their Party in the United States also ? Or, are they specifically voting for Presidential Candidates and are these votes done by the public ?

I wonder how the Party leaders in Canada would fare if the general public got to vote for them and not just the registered members of the actual party.

www.election2008.ca

Illuminati have already picked the leader apparently!

It will be... some conservative christian who doesn't represent Canada in the least but is loyal to the Queen, Jesuits, Vatican, Illuminati, and the PTB.

Originally posted by RealMckoy
I wanted to see my fellow Canadians' take on our own upcoming election

thanks "Steve" I really didn't want to vote again anytime soon, but...

I am not a card carrying member of any of the political parties. Used to vote Liberal, won't ever vote Conservative, last election voted NDP, and this time I honestly have no clue.

Won't vote liberal again until they get a leader who has more "oomph". Stephan Dion just comes across as someone who is one dimensional. Now, I am not saying that this is the case, I am saying that is how he comes across to me. I admit I don't know a lot about the whole Carbon Tax stuff and I should investigte, I want to know more about it than the Conservative scare tactics ads would have me believe. Oh yeah another older issue, HRDC Jane Stewart, need I say more ?

Won't vote conservative. Stephen Harper scares the crap out of me. He has broken his own election rule. During the last election he ran on the premise of "cleaning up government". Doesn't seem to me he has done that. Does anyone remember him saying he didn't need to co operate with the Ethics Commissioner and that he didn't "have to" ? In my own opinion of course, I feel that Harper wishes to be too much like George W Bush for my liking. One thing I have to say in his favour though, he is one of the first Prime Ministers willing to spend any decent money on our Military and they so desperately need it. More recently the issue of the allegedly "suspicious" grant by MP Mackay to a women's advocacy group, when they had targeted thos same groups for major cuts.

NDP ? Not sure about this one. Am looking into their platform in more details.


I am tired of voting for the "lesser of the evils".

who are you going to vote for Canada, and why ? Would like to hear/read your opinions, and Please let's keep it civil please whether we agree or disagree with eachothers' points of view.

RealMcCoy, I'm with you on this one! Personally, I think Harper is a robot. Just watch the man when he blinks, I swear you can hear clicking! Yup, if I were back in the land of the Canucks (but I'm your friend in a land far, far away McCoy...guess who!) I too would be voting NDP, as I did last time!

Winks to ya...your BlueJay friend!

reply to post by RealMckoy

I do have a question though. Do not the party members elect the leaders of their Party in the United States also ? Or, are they specifically voting for Presidential Candidates and are these votes done by the public ?

Ok, I think this is how this works in the U.S. The Presidential Candidates are selected during the primaries. The general populace gets to vote in the primaries. Whichever candidate wins the state the primary is held in is supposed to get the votes of the delegates from that state at the National Convention. It's a bit more complicated than that with the Democrats, but the Republicans are fairly straight-forward.

Edited: For terrible grammar and forgotten words.


[edit on 9/28/08 by Malynn]

Thanks for that clarification, I really wasn't too sure about what happened.

Also, this is really unpopular amongst the Canadians I know (they look at me as if I have two heads when I say it) but after studying up on him a bit I think Chretien was amazing. I was watching some old footage of him on YouTube the other day (some of it from parliament and others from different speeches he's given) and I looked at my husband after one of them and said, "Now doesn't he make Dion look like an ignorant pansy?" He had to concede the point.

reply to post by Malynn



I agree. Chretien had fire in his belly.

I watched and recorded the CBC interview with Chretian in view of some of the sense to which is wisdom apllies to current situations in Quebec.

Much respect toward Chretian.

Originally posted by whiteraven
I agree. Chretien had fire in his belly.

He sure did:



Don't get in his face.

And this was before reelection.

reply to post by intrepid




Intrepid ! Yes, Yes I remember that well. the only comment I have to say is that, that person, never should have been able to get that close. The security detail was obviously not on the ball that day.

I'm watching the debate (in French) right now.

The format is different this year, all 5 leaders around a table, no introduction or finish speech, one animator, questions from the public (selected in advance) but they responding to one another directly.

I'm not sure, I prefer this formula, but I don't think such a debate (both US candidates, both US vice-president candidates) could be possible in the USA.

I'm not sure, but I guess the format of this year debate should be the same tomorrow (in English).

I've been following several threads about this election and the feeling I'm getting is that if people voted as they felt, not to vote in/out a party, the NDP would be doing pretty well.

^^^

That's not one line but it is one sentence.

Parental Advisor - It still has a wicked message (even though it's intended for the United States)

The New Democratic Party is who I will be voting for, I've done my share of research and think the way the world is heading that this is the best choice by far to steer us in the right direction and avoid the wrong course of history we would have with Harper.

Vote Jack Layton. NDP

[edit on 10/3/2008 by PuRe EnErGy]

reply to post by PuRe EnErGy


Pretty awesome thanks, it's kind of cool. Won't be too long now. I am loathe to think the Conservatives will get back in.. I sure as hell hope not.

Wait and see now, and hopefully some more people will come on in here and give their opinions... maybe some of the people who watched the debate... Helloooooo ?!

It look like the Conservatives will not have a majority government (good news if it hold).





It take 155 seats to have a majority government.

In 2006, it was:

Conservatives: 124
Liberals: 103
Bloc: 51
NDP: 29
Others: 1
Total: 308

I think there are some changes.

October 03:



October 06:



Source: www.democraticspace.com...

Majority at 155 seats.

Harper will probably win, but minority and will have been served a lesson.

I voted Conservative in the last election, however, I'm not really feeling like Harper has lived up to his promises.

To be honest, I didn't even KNOW about our Federal election until a week ago, when the Register, came to ask if I wanted to register to vote. (I'm registered in my parents town in Alberta, however I attend University in BC). I feel, as though I'm not well informed - by my own voalition of course (I live in Residence, I don't have a TV, ATS is one of the only sites I visit - and we don't have much in terms of Content on Canadian Politics here, etc.).

As someone also mentioned, I agree, it feels as if the United States Election lasts FOREVER, and ours only lasts a few weeks. I enjoy watching the presidential debates of the United States...

NDP has had a station set up on "Student Street" in one of our buildings for a while, and I passed some of them today.

I don't want to NOT vote, because then, I don't have a right to complain if our Country goes to #. And, as I have the right to vote, I believe in exercising that right. So, as it stands I haven't made a clear choice on who I will be voting...

*Off to research the Political Party Platforms*

- Carrot

Originally posted by PopeyeFAFL
Harper will probably win, but minority and will have been served a lesson.

I agree that a minority govt with Harper is what lies in store for us, but I doubt that it will be seen as a lesson. To Harper, this will be validation and he'll call it a 'strong mandate from the people'.

I will probably vote Conservative because Stephen Harper is the one candidate out of all who are running that I feel IMO has the most realistic outlook on Canada as a whole. It's not much, but it beats everyone else. I know the conservatives introduced GST, but at least he's doing his best to help relieve some of it. I like that he followed through with the idea. Maybe it was the party's master plan for years to secure votes. I don't know... but I feel like he's trying.

I think Jack Layton has a good heart, but his party's track record gives me a sick feeling in my stomach. Especially after what they did to BC and SASK.

When I look at the Liberal party, I keep asking myself what the hell is going on. It feels like they're all over the place right now. I personally have very liberal views. I'm pro choice, pro gay marriage... but that's not enough for me to vote them back into power.

And LOL @ the Green Party.

But I'm still a little on the fence about everything. I have a week to decide.

All polls indicate that Harper has lost most of the momentum that he had starting off. At the moment, reliable polls have him sitting at around 31% of the vote. Nowhere near enough for a majority.

This meltdown has hurt him. All of our economists have been saying for weeks that this was going to be affecting us but he stayed the course on his line of everything is ok. Just today, Jim Flaherty was on TV talking about it is going to be a rough ride for the next little while for Canadians before he headed off to Washignton for the emergency G7 meeting on the state of the Financial sector around the world.

Harper's comments during his interview with Peter Mansbridge did nothing to help his image also. Saying now is a good time to buy stocks when people are concerned about their life savings dwindling away wasn't exactly the smartest move.

So unless something drastic happens over the next five days, he will end up right back where he started. A minority.