Canadian Election

[mike79]

Anyone decide on who they're going to vote for yet?

I'm having trouble choosing between the NDP and the Liberals. Ideologically I stand more on the NDP side when it comes to social issues, but I'm in Alexa McDonough's riding and I just can't stand her. I lean a little more toward the Liberals when it comes to fiscal matters so it's looking more and more like I'm going to be voting for them even though it won't matter since Alexa will take the riding easily.

I'm just hoping that the Conservatives don't get in. If Peter McKay had won the party's leadership I might have given them a thought, but with Stephen Harper running that party I can't even fathom voting that way.

No matter what happens this election is shaping up to be the most interesting one we've had in years.

 

[Kara Bear]

If Stephen Harper wins, I'm moving to Switzerland.


I am really fed up with both the Tores and Liberals. I don't know who the NDP candidate is is my riding...haven't seen one sign yet. If theres a green party candidate here, even if theres a Marijuana Party candidate here, I will seriously consider voting for them.

Mike, I agree with you about MacKay. I wouldn't have minded his leadership. I have always seen a big difference between Maritime conservatism and the conservatism of the Praries. And frankly Harper's right-winged-ness is scary!

 

[Antilles]

I'm voting Green Party, mostly in protest. Idealogically, I'm more Liberal minded. However, the Liberals have had ten years to run amok, and I just can't stomach them anymore.

I was considering voting Conservative (which I never thought I'd do), but there have been too many scary comments from that camp in the past week. Comparing abortion to what happened to Nicolas Berg is nuts. And sick. It's too bad, because I like Harper as a leader. He is intelligent and well spoken. In the past he hasn't been afraid to speak his mind (although people don't seem to like a person's honesty if it isn't PC). I don't know what I think about MacKay. I'm glad the two parties merged, but that was quite a bold faced lie he told. He said he'd never merge his party, and look what happened. Can you trust him?

I'm afraid of what an NDP government would look like. Tax and spend is not really my kind of thing. However, if I were in the riding of Layton, Chow or Braodbent, I probably would have voted for them.

That leaves me with Green. I like our local candidate. She ran here provincially. She's kind of interesting. She baked cookies for all of the debates.

 

[John King]

I actually ran in the 1988 election under the Libertarian ticket.None of the parties run close to my ideal,so I'm voting Conservative.

 

[RealtorGal]

Canada is having elections?

 

[Lcp88]

Well whoever wins, just remember: at least you don't have Bush!!
Laura

 

[Kara Bear]

Who is Bush?

 

[Lucy25]

Well whoever wins, just remember: at least you don't have Bush!!
Laura

Their loss. He's got my vote.

When are Canadian elections?

 

[Lee]

June 28

 

[Lucy25]

Thanks, Lee. I keep seeing commercials for the election on CBC, but was wondering when the election really was.

 

[astimegoesby]

Well, I probably live in one of the safest Liberal ridings in the country. Our current MP has been in office since 1988, is fairly well-liked and respected, and finally got a cabinet post after Paul Martin took over as PM last December. Our Conservative candidate doesn't seem to be very strong (he wasn't even officially nominated until about a week or so after the election was called, which doesn't seem like a good sign to me) and until the NDP has enough money to give out jobs like the other two main parties, they don't stand a chance of being elected in this province.

I might consider voting NDP if (a) they actually had a strong candidate in my riding and (b) I had a better opinion of their leader. I've tried to like Jack Layton (and do think he makes some good points), but he just comes across as too much of a "used car salesman-type" to me. BTW, I've seen absolutely no NDP signs in my riding (and only a handful of Conservative ones) so far.

Stephen Harper reminds me of a cross between Bush and Brian Mulroney, who happen to be my two most-hated politicians of all time, so that's reason enough for me not to vote for him. He doesn't scare me as much as Stockwell Day back in 2000, but the fact some of the other ex-Alliance members who made those radical comments during the campaign so far will likely get into Cabinet if Harper becomes PM scares me a lot.

Coincidentally, the local Conservative candidate in my riding is also named Harper. I don't know whether he's a distant relative or what, but it's a strange coincidence just the same...

Regardless of whoever wins the election, I'm hoping for a minority goverment. I don't think it's healthy for one party to dominate as much as the Liberals have since 1993 (and the Conservatives under Mulroney before them) and I think a minority government is our best chance for a real shake-up in government (which we desperately need, IMO).

I'm very disappointed with the whole sponsorship scandal, but I still consider Paul Martin the lesser of the evils we've got to choose from (and that is sad!) I still hope the NDP picks up more seats in the rest of Canada (since I know they don't stand a chance here!) just to make things a little more interesting.

Speaking of the NDP, has anyone else seen Ed Broadbent's "rapping" campaign ad:

http://www.edbroadbent.ca/en/eds_back/

Okay, so the guy can't rap, but at least it's a change from all the other negative campaign ads we've seen (from all the parties!)

Here's something else to keep voters amused while waiting for tonight's big debate:

http://www.whackthepm.ca/

You can even enter your postal code so you'll know who to vote for in your riding in order to keep your least-favourite candidate out.

 

[Ladskater]

mike79:

Do you think it will really make any difference who gets in? We will still be taxed to death.

 

[mike79]

I'd rather be taxed and get my free healthcare than have privatization pop up everywhere.

Taxes are a part of life in Canada. Harper doesn't understand that saying you'll cut taxes and actually following through on that is much harder than he realizes. Layton says he'll cut the GST on certain things, but of course under an NDP government we'd be taxed in so many other ways it's not funny, just to support their crazy spending ways.

At this point it seems like voting Liberal is the only viable party. If the old PC party was around they would have been an option, but now their members are all on the fringe of the new disguise for the Reform Party. In my book, Reform=Republican. That is a party I can't support, especially since Harper basically called the Atlantic provinces lazy and a liability. Of course he tries to ignore that while trying to siphon votes now.

 

[Kara Bear]

Mike, ITA with your post!

In my riding, I think I will go the Liberal way... theres a fairly big liberal player. My parents have a problem tho. Their riding has a well known former PC candidate, who actually did not support Harper in the leadership race. Both my parents really like him. But they REALLY dislike Harper. With my mother, it all comes back to the comment Harper made about Nova Scotia. So do they vote for the candidate or the leader. Mom said she would go green if the candidate didnt sound like such a quack! Haha, I don't know what she is going to do.

At this point, Martin is the lesser of many evils. I don't think things in the Maritimes are going to be super great under his leadership. But if it becomes Prime Minister Harper's country, we'll just turn into USA#2

And just while I was typing this a Conservative person called me and asked me to support their candidate...weird! I asked if he had a website where I could learn more about him and she didn't know...hmmmm

Anyways, it should be interesting.

Anyone see the coverof Macleans this week? Its big pic of Harper with the words will he become Prime Minister Harper? Barf!