Latest national poll median date: October 20
Projections reflect recent polling graciously made publicly available by pollsters and media organizations. I am not a pollster, and derive no income from this blog.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

First Polls of 2011

Note to Readers, April 23, 2011: Please go to the front page of the blog for the most recent updates. This post is 3 months old, and there have been 83 posts since!

My life has been quite hectic since the New Year, and it will remain this way for the rest of the month. Nevertheless, I found some time at the airport today to update my projection based on the most recent Angus Reid, EKOS, Harris-Decima and Léger polls.

The new polls' weight in this projection is about 80%, with the remainder coming from December surveys. The Liberals benefit in the seat count because they have reduced their deficit in Ontario and extended their lead in the Atlantic:

CON - 137
LIB - 85
BQ - 52
NDP - 34

However, the national popular vote has been essentially frozen in place: the Tories' weighted average lead is 7.7%.

153 comments:

Anonymous said...

lotta people don't like/trust Harper. Myself, I don't hate the guy, but I don't think he's a very strong leader. that's why I'm not gonna give him a vote. He's simply too weak. Your projection based upon wishful thinking. Harper's not popular enough to pull it off and get a majority.

Election Watcher said...

Trust me, my projection would be very different if it were based on wishful thinking...

Anonymous said...

Anything, anyone, that prevents a coalition and the Bloc in power is how I will vote. Old letters are irrelevant, I would not have voted for anyone signing them either.
This party exists to destroy the country. It is a mystery why they are in parliament, for God's sake keep them from real power.

Anonymous said...

The ndp would bankrupt our country I'd rather vote bloc then ndp. At least I'm sure the bloc knows how to do math.

I would usually vote liberal but I am going conservative as we are in a post recession economy and I don't think ignatif or Layton have any idea what it takes to survive through a recession.

Dave in langley,bc said...

Ok its time Canada to settle this once and for all......we need a Conservative majority.... Do your part and vote.

Anonymous said...

Canada is not Texax. Harper still belives what Reagan said is right. He's following the exact same doctrine that led us to the recession. Do the right thing, and don't for vote for an american style republican. This is Canada.

Anonymous said...

How can people still vote for the Cons...ervative when they have been caught fraudulently cheating the system ...Lying and wasting our money !!! Getting us in the biggest deficit ever ...and to let us know how good they are at creating great deficits...they are promissing us to have an other one !!! Thanks for your generosity and to show me how to manage my own wallet in tough times !!! you Bozzos ! "Our Budget is great...this is why we are only going to have a small deficit of over 30 Billions !!! Wow ! That's a great Plan ! We intend Building plenty of prisons...Buy Fighter jets and lower our super competitive Business Tax rate" so The Corporations can laugh even more at us Great Bullied Canadian that we Are !!! great Plan...While our Healthcare is falling apart and what else...Yes Let's vote for the Cons !!! Once again .... I am Proud to be Kay Nay dee Anne !!! Eh ??? Signed Red Neck !!!

Anonymous said...

The top guy said he doesnt like Harper because he thinks Harper is not a strong leader. Well of course he is not, he has a MINORITY government! You can't be strong in a minority government. Harper is the only competent man, and has done really well with this country through the recession and all.

Anonymous said...

Saying how can people vote for Conservatives because they cheated the system is B.s. Thats like saying how can you vote liberal because of the Sponsorship scandal!

Anonymous said...

Harper takes claim for our strong banks and being untouched by the global melt down… yet our banks are strong because of government intervention in our financial system (Something that is not a Hard Right CONSERVATIVE idealogical stance - they profess less government intervention), HARPER and his cronies have stated in the past that they want to deregulate our banks…

In his first budget as Harper's finance minister, Jim Flaherty invited "newplayers" - that is, U.S financial corporations - into Canada's mortgage insurance market and doubled the amount of government money available to back up private insurers from $100 billion to $200 billion. Flaherty's 2006 budget states that "These changes will result in greater choice and innovation in the market for mortgage insurance, benefiting consumers and promoting home ownership."

Anonymous said...

If you believe the Conservatives caused the recession...wake up, there wasn't a country immune to it. The US caused it, and the government both Conservative and Liberal over the last 3 decades have done a bang up job protecting Canada from American Style greed. Now on to the election, this country won't get out of this until we have a majority government. Harper out of the 4 is the strongest leader both nationally and internationally. He has built up such a solid reputation with other nations, that Canada is a go to country for advice, goods, and tourism. Ignatieff is an American....enough said there. Layton is very ill, and does not have anywhere near enough support for a majority so NDP is a wasted vote. Duceppe is a bloc lead and again no where near enough votes for a majority so just another wasted vote. This country needs a majority government. Give the Conservatives a chance, if they screw it up, we will be back to the polls in 4 years, you can change your vote then. The Conservatives truly have everyone's best interest at heart.

Anonymous said...

Is Ontario ready for Bob Rae as Prime Minister?

Mr. Rae on CBC said that there is nothing wrong with a coalition.

Ignatieff can never form a coalition because the Liberal Party will turf him when he loses the election. He can not speak for the rest of the party. So when Rae is appointed leader of the Liberal Party he will form a coalition if Harper has a minority Government. Are we ready for that??

Anonymous said...

One person said he would vote conservative because he doesn't believe the other party's know how to govern through a post recession economy, well he's wrong! I think the Liberals are the best to do the job since it was them that drastically reduced our debt and built up surpluses over the years they were in power, only to have the conservatives come in and act like they know what they are doing by running us into huge debt spending on things we dont need giving money to their supporting companies and taking credit for our stable economy when it wasactualy the liberals that should get the credit for handing over a government surplus that took them along time to build up. Now even if the liberals won there probably isn't enough money left to support the things Canadians really care about! We need to get the Liberals back in power and save our economy and country from the disastrous dictatorship we will have if the conservatives win a majority, It's interesting how the conservatives keep harping on bad coalitions when they by their true name "The Reform Party" couldn't get a seat in parliament because of their fanatical right wing nutty ideas, so they formed a coalition with the Conservitives and destroyed what the conservative government used to stand for! What needs to happen is the liberals win, and the conservative party take the time to get the fenaticle reformers out of the party and restore the conservative party to what it was before it got hi jacked by those nuts!

Anonymous said...

If you want a coalition with the liberals and the ndp , then get together and form one party like Harper did . About the deficit , if the liberals or ndp where in power it would be a lot higher than it is now . And we don`t need those left wing bleeding heart liberals in power, I want Canada to keep our Canadian values for Canadians . If you come here from another country you should live our way not the other way around . The liberals and ndp have ruined this country over the years

Anonymous said...

The Conservatives have everyone's best interest at heart? Only If you have money and are of the magic 62%.Ask your Conservative candidate a direct question, and listen to the reply. You will get a non-committal party line stating nothing. I have gone through it in my riding since they formed what they call a government for the people. Vote ABC [anybody but Conservative].

Anonymous said...

I know the party is called The Conservatives but it's not a Torie party it's a coalition lead by the Reform/Alliance. The great Progressive Conservatives of the past must feel sick when they see what has happened to their party. I feel I can not trust Harper and I will vote Liberal.

Anonymous said...

I laugh at all conservative who talk of coalitions, this is the only way Harper was able to stay in power is to make deals the last 5 years, this is how our system works. Party's aside, each riding has representative and once you get 51% of them to support you this is your government. If people are scared of the Bloc then get someone in your party that can compele the people of Quebec to vote for them. Harper is to polarizing and this is why you won't get a majority. This is the only reason I'm not voting conservative. Get someone like Danny Williams and you would get more people on board until then enjoy your minority. This should be Harper's last dance if he still can't get majority it's time for conservatives to boot him out. Conservatives seem to forget that you are only getting 40% of the vote that means 60% of us disagree with you but you want to govern as though the majority of us want a right wing government. This arragance and stance is making it impossible for you to get a majority.

Anonymous said...

never a Prime Minister has done so little for so long as Mr Harper.
Mr. Harper's Canada will be known as Nada.ca after the deterioration of Canadian Values.

Anonymous said...

A Guy a few lines above mine says "I want Canada to keep our Canadian values for Canadians . If you come here from another country you should live our way not the other way around. The liberals and ndp have ruined this country over the years" I want to say you make yourself sound like your racist, bigoted or prejudice. Canada is a great country built on the backs of Immigrants from all around the world. unless you're a native Indian you came here from another country, so when you say "If you come from another country you should live our way" do you mean the Native Indians way? lol it sounds like you are a bitter racist, bigoted or prejudice Caucasian who has been taught by his parents and relatives to be prejudice against people of other color, and that is not a Canadian value, that's just sad. If I'm wrong, forgive me, my mistake, but I am speaking from my point of view and my own experiences with growing up with these issues. I originally came from the prairies of Alberta, I grew up listening to my parents, aunts and uncles talk about politics. they would talk about things like how bad the NDP would put us into debt if they ever to get in power because of something they did long ago, or how Immigrants should live our way not the way they do in their countries and they should go back to their countries of origin, which was funny because they (my parents and relatives) were themselves immigrants from Europe. My Grandfather had fought in WW2 for our freedoms to live in Canada and I should be proud of that they would teach me. I never understood why they thought the NDP would be so bad if they got in power because they have NEVER been in power so how could they say what would happen if we've never given them the chance to try. My family moved to British Columbia when I was 4-5 Yrs old so luckily i didn't grow up around this way of thinking for too long, but I was always exposed to it on holidays, family visits and of course in daily life as a Canadian we meet people with this mindset too often! Back to your quote I would like to inform you this countries only chance of surviving into the future is to import more immigrants we have to in order to sustain growth so you better get used to it. And for the last part of my quote where you say "the liberals and ndp have ruined this country over the years". you couldn't be more wrong, the NDP have never been in power ever! so you can hardly blame them, and the Liberals are the ones that have grown our country over the years by lowering our deficit and filling our coffers with surpluses at the end of several years in power. then the Conservatives get in and pee all our money away on things the majority of Canadians don't believe in or want and buy votes everywhere they can, with our money its crazy! People keep saying how good they have done, oh really? we used to be a respected country, respected for our peace making abilities and our respect for other cultures and peoples, we used to have a lot of money in our coffers waiting to be spent on things Canadians need like healthcare and education or saving our economy from disaster through a difficult recession, but since the Harper circus came to town that clown has pee'd it all away trying to buy his way to a majority rule so that he and his cronies can push their right wing religious fanatical agenda down our throats, in just over 4 years in power they have done nothing good that I can see, they've put us more into debt than anyone before, they have ruined our worldwide reputation to where we are seen as being in on the warmongering ways of other countries like the USA, he's arrogant and belligerent to his own country, he has to go. He needs to find a cult to run, because from the way he has conducted himself since being elected is like a dictating cult leader! I am so afraid for our country right now, I can't even sleep, you wonder why I'm here is because I need to see the seats counter tell me the Conservatives have fewer seats so i can sleep.prt 2 next

Anonymous said...

Part 2 continued from above:
Imo this election is the most important election in our history,
Canada is at the brink of being destroyed as we know it. If Harper gets a majority he will have full rein to push his entire full agenda through until Canada is unrecognizable, infect we would likely become a state of the USA, Harper's favorite country before his own! it's funny well sad actually how he attacks Ignatieff for leaving Canada and living abroad for some years as a journalist, he tries to make him sound like he's anti Canadian and an American, when it's Harper that loves America, Harper has his nose so far up their but it isn't funny, He loved George Bush, that aught to tell you something. And he has big plans for us to become more like America day by day, or if he gets a Majority, over night!!! I personally like Ignatieff he's not the most handsome looking fellow but he's Kind and Considerate of his fellow Canadians i think it's a great strength that he lived abroad for some years, doing good things like responsible journalism, something that Canadians can be proud of, I think he has a way better understanding of our Country from his time abroad he will have learned what more than a million other Canadians living abroad go through so he has a more well rounded experience than Harper. The Conservatives under Harper plan to build our military up way beyond what we need or can afford, build a crazy amount of new prisons to house all the Marijuana smokers and anyone else that doesn't agree with his regime which we can't afford or sustain over time, not to mention that every science based factual research says the war on drugs doesn't work, isn't working and never will work. They also say making strict war on drugs type laws in Canada will only raise crime to the levels of what we seen happen in America starting in the 80's with miami vice like violence and shoot outs in the streets like in America. getting tough on crime the way they want to will only raise crime and make our streets a battle zone where the war on drugs is always fought! Getting smart on Crime is what we need, Canada can't afford to house non violent people who have really done nothing but stand up to an unjust law, a very Canadian thing to do. The Conservatives know they can't support housing these people and they plan to, once they have a majority, privatize our prison system and let private companies own and run prisons like they have in America, can we let that happen here in peaceful Canada? Have prisons run by private companies that will be traded on the stock market so you can buy stock in these companies which the conservatives can't wait to do make money off of ruining non violent peoplea lives, it's insane, and it's on the brink of happening right here in what I feel is the best country in the WORLD! … Canada! Please people wake up and realize we have a sociopathic cult leader as our leader, he needs to be defeated immediately before he robs us blind! What sane person talks about how hey hates drugs and then sings songs that were written about drugs or influenced from drugs. says he loves John Lennon and the Beatles and their music and then says he wants to war against that culture, i mean is he bi-polar or what? I'll tell you one thing he and his Reformer cronies are the biggest Hypocrites in politics! do we want someone with mental problems running our country?
Prt 3 next

Anonymous said...

Part 3 continued from above:
So he wants us to believe that he is a good Christian and deserves the Christian vote because he is going to get tough on crime and lock everyone up for using a benign drug or more accurately, medicine, put all those rock listening drug cultured hippies in jail where they belong, but at the same time he is going to keep his Beatles records even though the Christians said burn them when Lennon said the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, and every chance he gets to sing in public he will belt out some more of his favorite Beatles tunes which are mostly about drugs like "getting high with a little help from my friends". This is ok with the Christians in Canada? have you all sold out? and I got news for Christian voters, one of the most prominent Christian Leaders and scholar of the Bible Has come out in favor of medical Marijuana and against the war on drugs, now its time for the rest of you to wake-up! He is not a good leader he is rude to the Canadian public and the media, he only talks to us when he wants to on his terms, he's a total DICK-TATOR and we should deep fry him and send him to hell in my opinion. So please vote for the liberals they have the most chance of winning, or watch the election in your riding find out which party in your riding has the best chance to beat the conservatives and vote for them, this is no time to vote on election promises we need to vote our ABC's anything but Conservative Reform! The best thing that could happen is for the Liberals to win with a minority and for the NDP to get the next largest number of seats so the Liberals can get smart on crime not tyrannical, reduce our debt and start brining in surpluses again once its safe to, and for the NDP to get us on the right track with healthcare. In my opinion that is :-) sorry for the long speech, I have a lot on my mind, and need sleep, goodnight Canada!

Print this poster link out and post it everywhere! http://whyprohibition.ca/sites/default/files/Conservatives%20Corruption%20Contempt%20Hypocrisy_0.pdf

Corruption, Contempt, Hypocrisy - that’s what the Conservative Government really stands for!

Anonymous said...

Dictator hehe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD3xfT0c99g

Anonymous said...

To start, I'm not going to say that I'm knowledgeable of Canadian politics. But after reading these for a school project, I have to say that all these post are just people supporting parties they are already biased towards and insulting parties that they are biased against. There has not been a single shred of evidence supporting anyone's post. The only thing I can say about politics is that I have never once heard of a politician being talked about in a positive way. People just vote for the parties who havn't screwed them over yet, which is pointless because they all inevitably will. In my opinio what we need during this time is a stable government that will pay off our debts and stabilize Canada. I think this should be the Conservatives, but I know that they piss away money just like any other party.
Oh, and about the guy who said that immigrants need to adobt our values, not the other way around, his views aren't wrong. He says it in a bad way, but through the last few decades, all people have gained rights and became equal(mostly), which is good. What isn't good is that the balance has not shifted so that Caucasians(mostly North Americans), have now become the pushovers of all the races. We now get guilted and manipulated by every minority in Canada. Is it so much to ask that when someone comes to Canada for an oppurtunity, they learn to speak English( or French). What white people have done in the past was horrible, but that doesn't mean that should held over present peoples heads.

Anonymous said...

The only way to form a coalition and have a majority is to include the bloc now that would be great for the contry.

Anonymous said...

I am a born and raised Albertan and a visible Minority. When I consider the state of affairs in Alberta with that of the Minority Leader of the Conservatives, I'm really not impressed with the lack of emphasis placed on the alignment of my fellow Albertans. Visible Minorities issues in Alberta are seriously not represented at all in our province, nor for that matter on the Federal front with Conservatives running this Country. While growing up in this country, internationally we were viewed as peace keepers no matter where we went, Since the Conservatives have been a Minority party representing our Country we no longer are viewed as peace keepers and have lost a seat at the table of the Security Council of the UN. The Conservatives do not represent my values provincially or federally. I'm hoping that the Majority of Albertans will consider an alternative to the "Contempt" we have been shown since being represented by a Minority and institute real change. We were all part of History when President Obama took over the worst administration and economic collapse the world had ever seen, He didn't create it, but was expected to create a miracle. The Conservatives have had their chance in Canada as a Minority government, It's time for a change, real change in my Canada.

Anonymous said...

I'm a geezer... I've seen more elections I'll bet than any of you, and I can tell you it doesn't matter a damn who gets in NOTHING CHANGES. The only reason people get into politics is to line their own pockets at the tax payers expense. The politicians always tell the voters what they want to hear and the sheep continue to vote for the same bunch they always have. Then after the election the politicians break their promises and do what they want. Government by the people for the people no longer exists in Canada. It's Government for big business by big business. Go ahead and think you're changing the future and doing the right thing by voting. Go ahead and get all wound up supporting your favourite party. You're only wasting your time. NOTHING CHANGES. I no longer vote and frankly I have no idea why anyone else does.

CalgaryRob said...

Lol to above.
One day there was no universal healthcare. People voted on an idea. The next day there was.
The example is not meant to be indicative of support for NDP in any way. Just an example contrary to a poor attitude. In the words of a friend of mine, "I'd rather have to vote once a week, then never have the option."
Dont take what you have for granted.

Anonymous said...

Get rid of this us style government they are ruining canada!

Mayotruck said...

Just A quote stated from above:
First this kid says:
I don't really know anything about politics.... then he says:

In my opinio what we need during this time is a stable government that will pay off our debts and stabilize Canada. I think this should be the Conservatives, but I know that they piss away money just like any other party.

Its people like you that have no idea whats going on and just votes for whomever has the prettiest colors... is the reason this country is in trouble.

Did you know PC conservatives have spent more money in 1 year than any other Canadian government in history?

Did you know they spent an extra 10 billion on Fighter jets...that's above what they estimated?

Did you know Conservatives are the reason you could get fined 20,000$ for downloading 1 song off the internet?

Did you know the conservatives are the first Government has fallen on Contempt of Parliament, and marks a first for a national government anywhere in the commonwealth of the 54 states?

....so you vote conservative its unreal.. EDUCATE yourself then vote don't act like a sheep.

CalgaryRob said...

I agree with mayotruck about being educated before voting. I disagree with his one sided use of propoganda. All the parties use it, including whichever one you'll support. The sad part is, it works.
I'm curious if he'd preferred Harper never made a deficit throughout the recession? Because if that's the case, or even if it's more restrained spending that's he feels would have been a better option, he probably should have voted conservative in '08. Since it was a coalition agreement that prompted either spend tens of billions of dollars into deficit, or be removed. From the sounds of things I'm guessing he voted liberal then and forever before.
Does anyone else think that being open minded is equal in importance to being educated?
I find myself increasingly frusterated as a voter by having the ads played be either about how Iggy "hates Canada" or "Harper was found in contempt". Seeing as how if Iggy hated Canada he probably would have a far better job in the states, and harper was found to be in contempt by a panel of liberals, bloc, and ndp, I'd say they can both be argued as BS.
What's ironic in my opinion, is that if you try and break it down to policy and plans for the country, the parties have far more in common than apart. The red book reads remarkably alot like the 2011 budget, with more corporate tax and a little more spending. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there are alot of "0's" in their red book because "that item was already accounted by the budget". Oh, and the liberals and ndp seem considerably more likely to have the oilsands slow down. That affects me directly, so they likely won't get my vote.
Now I'm just rambling as things come to me, but does the rest of the country really not realize, for all it's faults, just how much money the oil sands provide us federally across the board? People seem a little anxious to shut them down.
Anyways I think the point I was trying to make is that I love debate. Intelligent discussion of opposing views can be both an entertaining and learning experience. I guess i just feel like people need to calm down and consider that there are two sides to each and every story.

Mayotruck said...

"I'm guessing he voted liberal then and forever before."

Incorrect. I actually voted Conservative but, after the bills passed and the freedoms that have been taken away I can not even fathom voting them back in.

Look into bill c-36 and bill c-61, and bill-c32 formally bill c-60. To name a few. These were brought on by PC's. Many people don't even realize the freedoms this government has taken away from us, right under our noses.

Example Bill 36:
"Health Canada inspectors and police no longer require a warrant to enter private property in Canada. Under this new law, police and Health Canada inspectors can remove anything from a home, and not have to report what was taken to the local court. "

wow.... unreal.

I understand you believe Liberals and NDP will somehow destroy your precious oil patch but , There is no way there will be a shortage of oil jobs in Alberta any time soon no matter what party come into play or no matter which environmental laws are passed. The oil industry in Alberta is still making more money than ever and will be keeping it.

Vote how you like but if you want conservatives, we might as well be a state of the US because that is where we are heading...

Anonymous said...

You talk about the Conservatives taking peoples rights away, look at Liberal gun control that made criminals out millions of law abiding Canadians not to mention the cost of the whole debacle! Liberals are do good tree huggers until they get caught...

Anonymous said...

Rob Ford should be running instead of these corruptive individuals!!

Anonymous said...

As I see we Canadians have only 1 choice, either we vote for a Majority Conservative/Reform Dictatorship which will mean:

More Hypocrisy,
More Contempt,
More Debt!

The Conservatives will put this country on it's head over night! already they have committed to pushing a draconian crime mega bill through within 100 days of their majority dictatorship. They have the senate, and the supreme court stacked in their favor with their most rightwing members, there is absolutely nothing stopping them from doing anything they want! They can not win a Majority! wake up Canada, their Agenda has nothing to do with what the majority of canadians think it does or want it to! Canadians care about healthcare and how much money stays in their pockets, they do not care so much about starting a war on drugs, building a lot of new prisons we don't need and can't afford. If the Liberals had stayed in power and we never had the conservatives in government, then we would have had a way better outcome to this global recession, if the Liberals had been in power they could have spent all this money they had saved up while they were in power on the things that matter, like healthcare, build new hospitals instead of closing hospitals to build prisons, they could have improved our infrastructure expanding mass transit, building new roads, restoring the roads we have now so that at the end of this recession we end up having made Canada stronger and healthier and better equipped to handle the future than what we are getting with the conservatives, prisons we don't need, mandatory sentences on crimes that shouldn't require imprisonment, we can't afford to house non violent criminals on a revolving prison system! With the conservatives we will end up so broke this country will have no hope to survive but to join the USA and become a state in America, which is actually what I believe he wants to have happen, Wake up and vote them out before we are past the point of no return!

Anonymous said...

yeah they will have the power to change anything, like the constitution, the flag, the national anthem, whatever they like, they've already expressed desires to change how our government works, they want to take away government funding for all parties because they know they are the only party that has allot of money to win elections with buying expensive adds to fool Canadians into thinking they have their interests in mind, Harper has publicly said Israel is more important to him than Canada, I wouldn't be surprised if thats the source of all their funding, Israel and Israeli aligned supporters. They've shown they don't care if Quebec separates, in fact they think its a great idea, they have even considered having Alberta separate! If they get in they can change this country so much it will destroy us, how do you think we will look to the international community when we have a government going through our system changing everything from our constitution to our anthem, to the way our government actually works, I doubt they would view us as a stable country, right now I'm sure they are concerned, but an election of this kind is hardly anything new in Canada, so they have nothing really to worry about, but if the conservatives get a majority I think the world will have a lot to worry about as far as Canada goes on the world stage we will be viewed as a very unstable country going through very rapid radical change, our dollar will plummet, our reputation will plummet, everything that is Canadian will be at risk, it will be Harpers new Canada, not the Canada our soldiers fought for to be a free country, a peace making and keeping country! SAVE CANADA - vote out the conservatives, we need a Liberal majority, not a Conservative majority!

Anonymous said...

I don't hate any of the parties in Canada, I'm one of the few people that seem to realize that no position is right 100% of the time. I mean taxes can be too low just as easily as they can be too high, all things in moderation.

With this in mind I really don't like the conservatives idea of trying to cut government funding for political parties. Publicly funded elections level the playing field and allows all political factions to have there voices heard. Otherwise the more Pro-business parties have a distinct advantage over the Pro-government parties due to better access to financial backing.

Look at the US where many politicians can be bought for the price of a political ad.

Publicly funded elections have become a vital electoral principal in the modern world.

Anonymous said...

Well said! I agree, the only reason they want to cut off the other parties is so they can take total control over us and maintain it, the guy is insane, he's trying to become our supreme dictator and he's Psychotic, I mean he listens to the Beatles and sings their songs that are about things he is totally against, the only other leader as nutty as him is the leader of north Korea who hates the west but loves Elvis, what ever mental illness he suffers from, Harper suffers it to, so let's vote him out so he can go get help in an insane asylum where he belongs!

Anonymous said...

When a young women and her friend are not just asked to leave, but humiliated in the process, for trying to educate themselves....well that is a terrible abuse of the spirit of the election process in Canada. Although many people may consider it a minor injustice, it represents the "tip of the iceburg" of a mindset I do not want to represent Canda anymore. For Prime Minster Harper to take 3 days to appologize, only adds to my discomfort. Ther are many other transgressions that the PC's have made, but in my mind this one was, and still is, the most telling. For it points to a Party idiology that is secrative, controling, and exclusionary. This is not my idea of a ruling Party in Canada. If you wish to understand my idea of what Canada is......listen to the slam poet from the opening ceremony of the Olmypic Games in Vancouver. Then compare it to the pater from the PC's

Anonymous said...

insane? harper is far from it in my opinion. sure, he sure as hell cannot sing, but at least he's having some fun.

i think the tories handled the recession well, much better than the liberals would have. i typically support left wing politics (mainly the human rights/environment stuff) but iggy will run this country into the ground. already with what he has said the amount of money that would be poured out of government coffers would be astronomical, not to mention the amount for this election he triggered.

im hoping for a conservative majority here, so they can do the senate reform, strengthen the criminal code and then get out of the way for a good liberal leader to move this country back to the left where it belongs.

Anonymous said...

Look into bill c-36 and bill c-61, and bill-c32 formally bill c-60. To name a few. These were brought on by PC's. Many people don't even realize the freedoms this government has taken away from us, right under our noses.

Example Bill 36:
"Health Canada inspectors and police no longer require a warrant to enter private property in Canada. Under this new law, police and Health Canada inspectors can remove anything from a home, and not have to report what was taken to the local court. "

wow.... unreal.


Vote how you like but if you want conservatives, we might as well be a state of the US because that is where we are heading...

Anonymous said...

Interesting Article here:

[URL="http://dont-vote-pc-canada.blogspot.com/"]
Election Canada 2011[/URL]

Anonymous said...

I don't understand why no one is remembering the torture we went through under the liberals with the 'Sponsorship Scandal', and all the illegal pay-offs the liberal government made. Every week we seemed to hit another corruption problem when the liberals were in power.

refresh your memory:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sponsorship_scandal

Anonymous said...

someone above accused Mr. Ignattieff of triggering this election. I thought it was Mr. harpers contempt of our parliamentary system that did.Does no one else seem to think this a big issue? It speaks worlds to the ideology and attitude of the current governing party. Give them a majority? god help us

Anonymous said...

Let's be quite clear ladies and gentlemen. Harper was found in contempt because Ignatieff wanted to. Do you even know what how the system works? Because if he has a minority, the opposition can say whatever the heck they want. Parliament is a rare place where you cannot be charged with slander, and Iggy would certainly be charged for it if anywhere else. If you assume tax cuts are ineffective, you do not understand the business cycle. A company with more money can devote more resources to capital. This means more jobs. More jobs, more money, flow of money, more spending, more capital, so on and so forth. This is how our system works. We came out of the recession on top for a reason folks. It wasn't liberal ideology mind you. So, when Count Ignatieff decides raising taxes is good, I can simply not support him. No, that would put the business cycle backwards. Less capital, roll back of employees for increased profit, less jobs, less spending, less capital. This vicious cycle is what Liberal and NDP ideology will get you. Now, as far as the individuals who were not allowed into Conservative meetings, let's look at some facts. First - Harper has no control over that. It is the delegation of security personal. Talk to them about it. When you blame him for with holding documents that are on your desks and public knowledge, don't get your panties in a bunch. Accept facts people. Facts are that this is the longest running minority for a reason. Liberals make up this frivolous demands with no footing, last night's debate is proof. We came out on top after the recession. Harper led us through sickness and health as a nation; he has been to Parliament, unlike Iggy (absent 70% of the time our Russian Comrade is) who's high and mighty career is so important. And another thing - I don't know about any of you, but by electing a non-Conservative government I hope you realize you are advocating baby murder (abortion) to irresponsible people. Sure, not every case is as such, but the majority are and it is sick that we live in such a deteriorated society that a woman would want to murder her unborn child because you she didn't want the responsibility. But, your prerogative.

Anonymous said...

After reading all these comments, I see more people against Conservatives. Other sites like yahoo has harsh comments on Harper and yet Conservative are ahead in polls. How is that possible?

Anonymous said...

Response to above:
Most Conservative supporters don't read polls.
That is because most of them don't care what the rest of the country thinks.
They vote with their wallets. They vote for whomever will put the most in their pockets, regardless of what happens to the rest of the country.

ABTL said...

Wouldn't it be nice if quebec would actually separate, that the maritimes/newfoundland/labrador would get to work, and stop living off the rest of Canada, ontario would acknowledge that Canada is more than just them, and finally, a strong Torie Majority government, to continue to build Canada, after the devastation of previous liberal corruption.

Anonymous said...

What hell are you talking about? " and finally, a strong Torie Majority government, to continue to build Canada, after the devastation of previous liberal corruption." The Liberals haven't devastated the country. When they were in government with back to back majorities they built up our country with paying down our debt and bringing in surpluses year after year making Canada's economy the strongest in the world, it's because of the Liberals that we have gone through this world recession coming out to be called the strongest economy in the world at this time, even though since the conservatives got voted in they have waisted boat loads of money on things canada does not need and could very well ruin our economy in the long run, even so we are still viewed as being the strongest economy in the world. Don't be fooled by people like this that try to get you to believe the Conservatives have brought us through this recession, they have done nothing to build our economy, if it weren't for the liberals filling our coffers with surpluses, the Conservatives would not have had it as easy as they have. Don't forget, the Liberals had several back to back majorities, the Conservatives have tried so hard for so long to get a majority and yet they keep getting minorities, it's because they don't do a good job, because they lie, they hide things from the canadian people, they are terrible leaders! The Liberals won majorities because Canadians were happy with the way they ran the country and the way they paid down our debt and filled our coffers, if they had stayed in, we would be in much better shape than we are now, they would have had a stimulus package that built the country up even stronger buy investing in our future by revamping and improving the medical system, re-open closed hospitals and build new ones instead of prisons we can't afford to run and don't need, they would have built up our failing infrastructure like highways, roads and mass transit, instead of they few things the Conservatives have done in the few places that blindly support them 100% the Only reason the liberals got voted out was because of some bad apples making scandals, now here we are with the Conservative government full of bad apples with so many scandals coming out on a daily basis that I will personally suspect a fraudulent election if they are not voted out!

Robyn - Alberta said...

Liberals are about entitlements and pouring money into Eastern coffers, NDPs just spend, spend and spend on Socialist Programs - I for one want to make my own wealth, not be told what to do by government. Did anyone not notice that only ONE question during the leaders ENGLISH (which should be the only OFFICIAL language - what the hell does official mean, anyway) debate came from the WEST??? We make all the money, shoot it east, then we get NO say. What is wrong with that picture? Deficits take more than a year to create, hence majority Liberal years and I commend Harper for successfully managing and balancing these deficits while continuing to build strength in the country. Harper sees the big picture and is managing what we have now, building on it and reducing debt like any Canadian household should be doing. He is an economist, people. Get your heads out of the sand, stop following Liberal Mainstream Media and do your homework. Go to the CRA website and read the budget. Think longterm. I for one am proud to vote Conservative, especially after the debate, because my leader is eloquent, professional and has the best interest of the country at heart - he is not a mudslinging, spoiled teenager trying to get his way by engaging in immature bickering.

Anonymous said...

Robyn, check the difference between deficit and debt. If you are going to comment, at least know what the terms mean. A deficit is if you are spending more in THAT year than you bring in. A debt is the amount you owe because you have had deficits. Of course, as soon as you have had one deficit, you have a debt. The liberals (who I do not support, btw) did work hard to have large surpluses in the budget year after year - particularly under Paul Martin - to try to pay of the debt that had been accumulating for decades. Conservative federal governments like Brian Mulrooney's added to the DEBT as well (by running deficits - see how easy the difference is to understand). Under the last liberal government, the debt had been steadily decreasing. It was Stevey who started slashing corporate taxes and giving breaks to the wealthy that reduced the SURPLUSES which had been reducing that debt. Now, the debt is increasing, and he does not want to undo the changes he made. Instead, those of us who are middle class and poor will be the ones suffering to reduce this deficit. I would also like to point out that some of the happiest people in the world, with fairly healthy economies no less, live in governments that fund excellent social programs. The USA, with its economy spiralling out of control and its enormous crime rates and childhood poverty, are not an example ANYONE should be following.

Robyn - Alberta said...

Government overspending and growing government debt started after the second world war and subsequent governments have the job of balancing spending with debt reduction. Harper has said that by 2015 he will have the budget balanced so that there will be no deficit at which point Canada can pay down debt and not end up like the US. Check this source: http://www.fin.gc.ca/frt-trf/2010/frt-trf-1001-eng.asp#tbl1%20%20. You may need to do a little research as to who these corporations are that are getting tax cuts - I do bookwork for these corporations and they are middle class people trying to build wealth in a country where that possibility still exists. They are corporations who own the corner store, work in the oil patch, build websites for other corporations or small business, etc. Thankfully, Harper recognizes that this is the backbone of our country and he is trying to make it easier for them. I do not disagree with social programs, but if the money isn't there, how do you fund them? It is a big picture scenario that has to be treated as a big picture - without a balanced budget and a plan in place to reduce debt, there will be no money for social programs. In 1993, our National Debt was manageable, then liberals took power and it ballooned over the next 7 years by about 4 times was it was in 1993. Mulroney ran deficits but they were no where near as large as the deficits run by Chretian and Martin. By the end of 2005, Martin did achieve some smaller deficits and start to pay down debt at which time Harper took over and has continued along the same line. In 2008, Harper responded to the calls from opposition to inject stimulus money (to prevent an unneccessary election) into the economy and hence the deficit surged at that point. I still believe if Harper continues with the plan he has in place, all will not be perfect, but it will be more manageable and we will continue to live in a country that offers more hope than any other country on earth at the moment.

Election Watcher said...

Robyn, you are wrong about the evolution of the federal debt and deficit. It seems that you were so overjoyed by the Conservative takeover in 2006 that you completely forgot what happened in the previous 15 years.

"In 1993, our National Debt was manageable, then liberals took power and it ballooned over the next 7 years by about 4 times was it was in 1993."

It went from 60% of GDP in 93/94 to 55% of GDP 7 years later.

"Mulroney ran deficits but they were no where near as large as the deficits run by Chretian and Martin."

The deficit exceeded 5% of GDP in both 92/93 and 93/94. It was never that high under Chretien and Martin.

"By the end of 2005, Martin did achieve some smaller deficits and start to pay down debt at which time Harper took over and has continued along the same line."

In fact, the Liberals ran surpluses every year starting in 97/98, and left a $13+ billion surplus to the Conservatives. (Where do you think the money for the GST reduction came from?)

As for the debt, it went from 43% to 67% of GDP under Mulroney. Then it went down to 35% of GDP under Chretien and Martin. Harper brought it down to 29% at one point, but it is back up to 34%.

If you don't believe this, see Chart 5.1 from this year's budget. http://www.budget.gc.ca/2011/plan/chap5-eng.html

Anonymous said...

It isn,t rocket science folks Harper Government can,t do much with a minority.The Conservative minority Government took us through the recession shining.Kiss Canada good bye if a Liberal government were ever in with that complete idiot Ignatieff as leader.Any man with at least "a" brain cell would not want to cut off the hand that feeds you, as in Alberta oil.Let us all come to our senses and put a majority Conservative Government in on election day

Anonymous said...

Yeah your right it's not rocket science for people that reduce the complexity of an election down to a vain popularity contest! You don't vote for which leader looks the best to you. Leaders are not what your voting for, your voting for the party! The leader of the party can change any time the party wants to, if the public doesn't warm up to Ignatieff after he wins, the the liberals will chose a new leader. And if you think the conservatives took us through a recession shining as you say, then you obviously haven't read many of the posts here! if it weren't for the liberals leaving them with a huge coffer they took many years to fill, they would have had a very different outcome. And don't forget the recession isn't over! they could still drag us down further to the point of fail! just look at their spending, billions on new prisons for a US style war on drugs they are eager to start, why you ask when canada s crime rate has been on the decline for the past 2 decades! well they probably think theres a lot of money to be made in seizing drug assets, they've already started letting police in canada start doing this USA practice of law that started in the 80's when they started their big war on drugs. Remember what that lead to, shootouts in the streets a la miami vice! Now look at the US their prison system is broke, their law enforcement is broke, in fact their whole country is broke. But after 2 decades of expert report after expert report telling them to stop prohibition, they are finally starting to get the message and are on the brink of ending their war on drugs! While we here in Canada that used to be the leaders of this line of thought have totally changed direction and are going the way of the US. So how long until we are broke and can't support the huge prison system the conservatives build and all the lives ruined from their war, is it worth it? is having a handsome likeable Prime Minister more important than saving the country? is say NO!!

Anonymous said...

Well said. The Conservative idea of privatizing everything takes the responsibility out of their hands. If anything goes wrong, they put up their hands and say it's not our problem now. They are turning Canada into a little U.S. and I find that repulsive. I don't dislike American people, only the way they do things.

Anonymous said...

The NDP would drive the economy into the toilet. Ignatieff should be off in an ivy league school in the states where he belongs. Harpers not perfect, everybody likes to point out his lack of charisma etc. but at least hes a good economist. With the current fragile economy, Harper is the most qualified to lead us through the recession.

Election Watcher said...

I don't know how good of an economist Harper is, but his government's record suggests that even if he is a good one, he puts politics above economics when making policy. On some things, he's done well: TFSAs, free trade, low corporate taxes. But other decisions make economists wince: cutting the GST instead of income taxes, populist campaigning against a carbon tax, and income-splitting, a highly inefficient and regressive form of tax cut.

Paul Martin did quite well managing the economy without an Economics degree. And if you're hung up on pedigree, an M.A. from the U of C isn't that prestigious. As far as I know, the MP with the most prestigious degree in Economics is John McCallum.

So you think Canadians getting an education and/or working abroad shouldn't come back? A "good economist" would tell you that these are disproportionately the skilled workers countries are competing for in today's global economy. Whether Ignatieff belongs in the PMO is one thing, but it'd be better for the country if he were at the U of T instead of Harvard.

Robyn - Alberta said...

Where is the acknowledgment that the political fight right now and always has been the East against the West? Quebec wants to be separate but still be allowed to suck money out of Canada; the East wants to have all the say but still be allowed to suck money out of the West; they want to shut down the oil sands, where, fortunately for Canada east of Saskatchewan, all that money comes from - all these issues seem to be ignored. Harper is trying to treat this country as a whole and do what is best for the whole country, not just the East. My vote is for Harper and Conservatives and I hope he gets a majority so that he can prove once and for all that he can get the job done.

Anonymous said...

First of all Ignatieff is an American. Why would you want an American running Canada? All he wants to do is to make Canadians work harder to make less money. We need to give harper the power. After all her did get us throuhg the recession with almost ease it seemed like compared to any other country. We need someone like Harper that is for the citizens of canada and wants to protect the citizens thart live in this country. We will always have healthcare. Do you honestly think Haper would get rid of it. I dont think so. Everyone needs to grab a brain and relize the Bolc is obviously only for Quebec. NDP?? I dont even know whats goin on with them. Liberals have an American leader taht wants Canadians to pay more oney to the governemnt. And the Conservatice party is really the only party who has remained consistent with thier debates. VOTE CONSERVATIVE. WE NEED A MAJORITY SO SOMEONE CAN ACTUALLY START DOING SOMETHING FOR CANADA.

Anonymous said...

I am not saying Harper is perfect.

However, he is way lesser of all the evils. I pay more than enough taxes already and I am not willing to give all of my salary away to taxes so that socialists like Liberals and NDP could fund their corrupt and inefficient wasteful programs.

Both of them have said they would raise GST and raise taxes on the people who make a living with their blood, sweat and tears.

Ofcourse, I would never vote for "America who is visiting" Ignatieff or the "pinko socialist" Layton.

That is the truth and I want

Anonymous said...

Ignatieff clearly said if he did not become the prime minister, he will move back to Boston USA.

The guy is a lunatic opportunist and a socialist who wants to take the shirt off the back of the hardworking Canadians through taxing them to death.

Robyn - Alberta said...

I agree with the comments about Ignatieff - the only reason he is in Canada is to run for Prime Minister, not because he likes living in Canada. We need a Canadian who lives in Canada to be our leader - Ignatieff is only out for the glory. I also agree with the comment about Liberals and NDP being socialists who will waste our tax money. We are one of the few countries left that have any freedom and wealth opportunity - we need to preserve this country - look at the US, they have become a socialist state that is losing it place as a world power. Canada and the US were both founded on the principles of God and morality and the liberals and socialists are slowly try to tear that foundation away. We need a Conservative majority to preserve our constitution.

Anonymous said...

Robyn, Your an idiot. That's why this country will end up in the dumps. People like you who have no idea just vote because your clueless.

Have you even read bill c-32 ... read bill c-60? bill c-61?
No?...thought not.
....
you must love having a government that can legally walk into your home without warrant... steal anything they want and prosecute you without courts or trials?..sounds like a 3rd world government to me.

Oh never mind you never read that.... or any of the terrible freedoms this conservative party has removed from Canadians.(read the bills, for starters)

You state NDP/ Liberals will flush money down the toilet.... Are you serious? Have you been sleeping in a cave for the past 5 years? Have you missed what harper has done with our cash?
What about the 29 billion he blew on fighter jets?? You missed that?

Conservatives have spent the most cash in 1 year, compared to any government in canada...
Where were you ...??

Conservatives put us into more DEBT...

yah you must have missed all that while your running around saying liberals spend money and NDP will spend to much money...

Its funny you claim NDP will just blow cash yet NDP has not been in control so how can you actually prove this... oh right you can't, you can only speculate.

IGNORANCE is bliss I guess for someone simple such as yourself.

Learn about your parties before you back them don't just vote what your parents or friends do...

At least try to... so frustrating seeing so many clueless voting Canadians these days....unreal.

Anonymous said...

Part2:
The Conservatives credit Harper for our stable economy because Harper is an economist, yet the true reason our economy has survived the recession is due to the liberals years in power putting in smart bank regulation and paying down or debt as well as filling our coffers with surpluses year after year, It's because of the Liberals that he appears to be doing well, but don't be fooled! Most people will agree Economists are not always right, and looking at what he's done so far in office shows very well that he is a crackpot economist, he's useless! he's done nothing good for the country, and if he gets a Majority he will destroy us, one guy above talks about how "harper is for the citizens of canada and wants to protect the citizens that live in this country", your statement is so wrong, Harper only cares about the people that vote for him, well acutely he doesn't really care about many of them either, he certainly doesn't care for any Canadian living outside of Canada or even traveling outside of Canada, shown by his disgust for Canadians that don't live in Canada, yet its required for thousands of Canadian workers to live abroad, and the fact of how he does nothing to help any Canadians arrested abroad really shows you he doesn't care! We used to be able to feel proud that we could travel abroad and people loved us because we were so well known as peace keepers, and you used to feel safe traveling in other countries because we knew Canada had our back just like America leaves no one behind and fights for its citizens rights even when they have problems while traveling abroad, Canada use to do the same but not since Harper took power, even right now there is a Canadian citizen locked up in mexico who clearly is innocent and has a loving family and a lot of Canadian support to bring him back to Canada, yet Harper will do nothing, he can't, if he does, he'll have to answer for why he hasn't helped all the other Canadians abroad in similar situations and theres a lot of them, so he lets this man and his family suffer, because his evil agenda is more important than helping a Canadian! Even though he could probably buy some votes if he acutely helped the guy, he wont because it interferes with the big picture of his agenda too much! And one guy above says he is lesser of the 3 evils, BS! he is evil personified! he is the worst of the worst, you live in a bubble if you believe he is the lesser of the 3 evils! and to the guy that said if Ignatieff didn't win the election he would move back to boston USA, stop lying!! or prove it! and to the guy who said "Harper is the most qualified to lead us through the recession". You are so wrong, as I've shown you here he's the worst person to be running the economy! and besides that, no PM actually runs the economy all by himself, his party and many more qualified advisors are the ones that actually figure out what to do!

Anonymous said...

oops sorry bout that the last 2 posts are in the wrong order, the system screwed up lol, maybe the moderator can fix it?

Anonymous said...

Ok you last 2 anonymous posters are so misinformed it aint funny! First of all before you post, look up the facts of what you are going to say, or don't post!
Facts:
Ignatieff IS NOT an American Citizen, From answers.com:
Question: Is Michael Ignatieff an American Citizen?
Answer: No. Michael Ignatieff never applied for US citizenship. He did live abroad for almost half of his life though (about 30 years). If he had obtained US citizenship, he would have lost it by taking his oath of office.
and if you open your eyes you'll see the reason he never applied for citizenship is because he never wanted to be an american, otherwise he would have applied and became one! and the fact that he lived abroad for 30 years does not mean he is any less of a Canadian than you or say many Canadians that work in government abroad in foreign embassies for similar amounts of time, are these people any less Canadian? of course not! So lets drop this issue that was clearly made up by the Conservatives to confuse the sheep voters out there that don't take the time to look up the facts! We hear the Conservatives and Harper himself constantly pound the message home about Ignatieff being an american which I've shown you he is not at all, so clearly they have been lying, that's propaganda for you. All the Conservatives do in their campaign is spread their propaganda and boldly LIE to their voters and the Canadian people on a daily basis, over and over they pound the message home that Ignatieff is american and he infect is not! How do you conservatives feel now that you can clearly see this is a LIE and yet Harper keeps saying to you daily he's an american, doesn't that piss you off that he feels you are so stoopid you will believe anything he tells you, and he has the balls to ask for a majority? Harper is DANGEROUS! he's already done way too much damage.-Part 2 next

Anonymous said...

Anonymous‬ said...
Robyn, Your an idiot

....I couldn't agree with you more anonymous :-)

Anonymous said...

Facts are....all of them are liars. This election is pointless because it will change nothing while only costing a measly 300 million! I personally hope the conservatives get a majority so we won't have another election in a few months, and why is it that the green party couldn't speak at the debate when her party runs all across Canada but the bloc who represents only Quebec can speak. I find ridiculous. Canada as a whole under the Harper government breezed through the recession and fared much better that other comparable countries. Unemployment is down and jobs are up........IF IT AIN'T BROKE DON'T FIX IT

Anonymous said...

Robyn - Alberta says:
"We need a Conservative majority to preserve our constitution."

are you nuts? don't you know Harper plans to change our constitution to suit his evil agenda! i quote:
"Ultimately, there will have to be constitutional changes," Harper said in an interview with CBC Radio's The House"

Harper is always trying to get the Bloc to start up their separation campaign again, people say he cares about Canada and wants to include everyone, no he doesn't he hates Quebecers and he in fact wants them to separate that's why he keeps trying to get them into a fight about it, he keeps talking about it, as if they are ready to separate right now, and they haven't pushed that issue for a decade, Quebecers are proud to be part of canada now and our governments previous to harper have worked hard to make them feel like they are a part and it's worked they gave up their crusade to separate and have been moving on, but not Harper, he wants them to separate, No if we let this nut near our constitution with a majority he will remove every last few rights we have, VOTE OUT THE CONSERVATIVES before its too late!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said:
"IF IT AIN'T BROKE DON'T FIX IT" OMG another nut posts a comment, you must just skim over these posts not really hearing what they have to say, cause you're totally out of touch with reality you're one of these people that likes to take big complex issues like this vote and boil it down to a tardistic quote to sum it all up, and all you do is show how totally ignorant you are, it's sad our country is full of voters like this. They cant understand the issues so they pick a point and try and come up with a quick 1 liner to sum it all up, or the people that vote becuase their friend or relative said thats who to vote for, you people are all destroying the country! you all deserve to be locked up in a communist jail striped of your rights, because you clearly aren't prepared to fight for them, therefore you do not deserve them!

and yeah i made up the word tardistic, it just seemed to fit lol

Anonymous said...

"This election is pointless because it will change nothing while only costing a measly 300 million! I personally hope the conservatives get a majority so we won't have another election in a few months, and why is it that the green party couldn't speak at the debate when her party runs all across Canada but the bloc who represents only Quebec can speak. I find ridiculous. Canada as a whole under the Harper government breezed through the recession and fared much better that other comparable countries. "

This election is everything... if you would actually read the comments and understand what this government has done... A monkey could have brought us through the recession. Natural resources was a huge benefit for canada through the recension. No matter what oil is still required worldwide. So to everyone that says progressive conservatives "saved the day" is silly. We could have had a primate in control during the recession and we still would have came out fine.(which we basically did) As for jobs yeah of course we are doing better. The states are now doing better so that will directly effect us as well. Read some comments, do some research and think before you vote ... wow why are Canadians so stupid?

We vote in a conservative party majority we might as well be a state of the US.

Aequitus said...

This election, humor us with your participation...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy2-v7G06TY

Anonymous said...

I'll vote for anyone who does any of the following..... Standardized English test for all immigrants coming to Canada. I believe if you come to a new country to live you should be able to speak basic English in order to communicate with the rest of society, if you don't you end up with a city within the gta nicknamed browntown or bramledesh( Brampton) in which they bunch together in culture groupings across the city so that they don't need to go outside of their area because majority is the same culture. There is also no pride, heavily populated new Canadian areas in the city are garbage dumps every deep end court, sidestreet, country roads all dumped garbage. And I realize it's unfair to blame the new canadians but if u look at nice areas within the city their predominately "white" areas and I put that in quotations "white" meaning basically anyone not from the middle east. Somehow some way the government has to find a reason from they to take pride in the place you live. Another would be these daggers that the east indians where, I'm fine with you practicing your religion but to everyone else thats a weapon you could be killed by. Another is the full black robes the women wear sorry I can't think of the name right now, cuz when terrorists figure out it's easier to get to the U.S through Canada well that's national security. Call me racist call me what u what these are my views this is how I've seen my city go down the drain.

Anonymous said...

Conservative majority all the way!!

I cannot stand the socialist NDP and opportunist Ignatieff who came to Canada to only become a prime minister and will move back to US soon after his loss.

So yeah, Harper bought the F-35. They are the best fighters being developed and Canada's CF-18 are aging and need to be replaced. Canada's armed forces are already down the toilet for lack of state of the art equipment, there is nothing wrong with Harper buying state of the art fighters to defend Canada.

Yeah, I pay 50% of my earnings in salary after living one of the toughest youth with tons of student loans and I would never let these lunatics tax me more to pay for wasteful social programs for the people who don't want to work hard.

Atleast, Harper lowered the burden of tax for the ordinary people bringing GST down to 5% and created tax free savings account and also increased tax credits for single-income families.

I would NEVER EVER vote for the lunatic opportunist Ignatieff or the socialist pinko Layton.

Anonymous said...

Funny how everyone seems to hate the conservatives here ..........really going to be funny seeing those pissed off people when they win another minority and or majority

Anonymous said...

"Atleast, Harper lowered the burden of tax for the ordinary people bringing GST down to 5% and created tax free savings account and also increased tax credits for single-income families."

Yup tobacco taxes have risen, gas and oil taxes have risen, HST was implemented. Sound like you know what your talking about.


"So yeah, Harper bought the F-35. They are the best fighters being developed and Canada's CF-18 are aging and need to be replaced. Canada's armed forces are already down the toilet for lack of state of the art equipment, there is nothing wrong with Harper buying state of the art fighters to defend Canada."

Yup we are under siege! We need to be able to stop the terrorist attacks in canada that happen so often...hehe. 29B is worth it... we might as well get new tanks and aircraft carriers as well.. Then we can support more of the US wars I assume you want us to partake in?

Anonymous said...

"Funny how everyone seems to hate the conservatives here ..........really going to be funny seeing those pissed off people when they win another minority and or majority "

Its actually funny to see how badly the conservatives will ruin this country, and how the people that are voting conservative will bite their tongue in 5 years.. Its actually more of the sad part really, that they don't even attempt to look into things.

Do i think they will win another minority...probably, but will they win in 5 years not a chance..Its just to bad people are to ignorant to even see the potential downfall of canada before they get in.

Anonymous said...

I am a first time voter & my first comment is aimed at the media can you not find anything good to say about anyone of leaders. Now to the leaders we have 4 major choices here.
Gilles Duceppe- He wants Quebec to seperate from Canada.
Michael Ignatieff- He has seperated himself from Canada for 30yrs. & and can't seem to make it to work 70% of the time. Is he even Canadian?
Jack Layton- Does make it to work but people don't seem rally behind him.
Stephen Harper- Our current Prime Minister. Seems the most focussed of the bunch & yet constantly under attack.
Seems pretty clear who needs to run this country and yet the midia seems to push otherwise.
Two partys with simialar plate forms one leader shows up to work +95 % of the time & gets 17% of the polls the other misses + 65 % and gets 25 % of the polls this is very confussing. I can't believe the party doesn't let him go.

Anonymous said...

I don't think theirs anything funny here it's all sad! its sad to see so many canadians weighing in on important issues only to show their ignorance of the facts, calling names and ending their idiotic posts with stupid one liners! it no wonder Harper plays you fools like a fiddle, its just sad so many of you vote!

do you really want to vote in a conservative majority just so you can laugh at us canadians who care enough about the issues to take time to educate ourselves on the issues, and read and understand other posters concerns, you're willing to throw away the country and your rights so you can take pleasure in watching people suffer, well Harpers a sick twisted person, its no wonder he attracts this sort of voter.

Anonymous said...

Cry it up. Keep goin you might end up with a new major major river then we wouldn't need Quebec. End of the day.. Conservative government

Anonymous said...

First the media seems to be pro conservative I don't know what stations you are watching but the conservatives own/run most of the media in canada and are almost always pro harper. and I think your decision is more like this:
Gilles Duceppe - He wants anything and everything he can get for quebec he isn't pushing separation so its hard to say he wants to, I would suspect he wouldn't want to separate because they in fact get way too much from the government and wouldn't want to give that up, they just use the separation issue to leverage in negotiating more things for quebec, some would say its their blackmail card. At any rate they will never win ever ever because they clearly state they are for quebec and quebec only, so just take them off the list.
Michael Ignatieff- true he lived outside of Canada for 30 years, but he is over 60 years old and he was born in canada and though he and his diplomatic family moved around a lot in his early childhood (probably where he gets his travel bug from) he grew up in Canada from age 11 into his college years where he left canada to expand his education going to university at harvard where in 1976 at the age of 35 he completed his Ph.D in History. then from 1976 to 1978 he was back in canada at the University of British Columbia as a an assistant professor of history. in 1978 he moved to the UK where he held a senior research fellowship at Kin's George University, Cambridge until 1984 when he moved to London where he began a career as a writer and journalist, he went onto to many more honourable things which you can look up. He's been living back in canada since 2005 and quickly returned to politics and ended up winning the liberal leadership vote in 2009, Yes he has been vacant from the house a lot since the last election, but its not because he doesn't care about government, he has a very good reason, he's been traveling around canada meeting canadian voters in their towns and getting to know the issues and allowing the canadian people to get to know him since he is relatively new to politics too many canadians didn't know him and the conservatives have always been running a lie based smear campaign against him telling people he is an american and he is not. though the liberal party could possibly pick a better leader, Ignatieff is well educated, a history professor and very qualified for the job of PMO and the liberals deserve to give him a chance, if he doesn't do well, they will replace him, remember its the party you vote for not the leader! - Part 2 next…

Anonymous said...

Part 2:
Jack Layton: Is a very smart man, he conducts himself like a PM and looks great doing it, I think he would make an excellent PM, but sadly this country has always had a majority of miss-informed voters and the NDP has NEVER been voted into the PMO, so for anyone to say they will do this or that is not fair, because we've never given them the chance to run the country. The NDP brought us national healthcare the one thing we cherish the most and makes us canadian the most, other countries are jealous of our healthcare, or they used to be, it's no wonder it's doing so poorly, the people that created it, which is the NDP and know best how to run it have never been given the chance to run the government, maybe if we let them in, we will finally see how it can actually really work. Layton has very good answers to all the issues, but all people ever do is call them socialists to cause people to fear them, sure their ideas are closer to socialism than what the other parties are but that does not mean they are crazy hard core socialists, the country would do very well to put them in power!
Stephen Harper - Sure he's focused he's been trying to seize total control of the government since before he was even elected, and since he's been elected he's run us into record debt, spending money on things we don't need or want, and really stoopid things like fake lakes etc, and we don't even know how much he has stolen from the Canadian coffers, not only that he's run the most secretive government in history, they are constantly rude to the canadian people rude to the media, they rarely even grant the media any questions and if they do they have to be scripted, so we have a totally un-democratic, dictatorship as our government, that is a scary thought! then consitter they've already passed bills taking away so many of our rights, they also have a huge desire to change the constitution, they already have the supreme court stacked with a majority of conservatives and soon they will have the senate too, they show huge desire to take away all funding to the other parties so that they will be the only party we have to choose, can't you see what they are doing? if they get a majority, within 1 year canada will be unrecognizable, they will fast track every evil plan they have and since they own the supreme court and the senate and if they have a majority, the government too, then we have no hope, this vote is not so much about who's the best to lead the country its about saving the country from a tyrannical dictator that has sadly slipped into the seat of PMO, GOD help us!!!

Anonymous said...

Part 2:
Jack Layton: Is a very smart man, he conducts himself like a PM and looks great doing it, I think he would make an excellent PM, but sadly this country has always had a majority of miss-informed voters and the NDP has NEVER been voted into the PMO, so for anyone to say they will do this or that is not fair, because we've never given them the chance to run the country. The NDP brought us national healthcare the one thing we cherish the most and makes us canadian the most, other countries are jealous of our healthcare, or they used to be, it's no wonder it's doing so poorly, the people that created it, which is the NDP and know best how to run it have never been given the chance to run the government, maybe if we let them in, we will finally see how it can actually really work. Layton has very good answers to all the issues, but all people ever do is call them socialists to cause people to fear them, sure their ideas are closer to socialism than what the other parties are but that does not mean they are crazy hard core socialists, the country would do very well to put them in power!
Stephen Harper - Sure he's focused he's been trying to seize total control of the government since before he was even elected, and since he's been elected he's run us into record debt, spending money on things we don't need or want, and really stoopid things like fake lakes etc, and we don't even know how much he has stolen from the Canadian coffers, not only that he's run the most secretive government in history, they are constantly rude to the canadian people rude to the media, they rarely even grant the media any questions and if they do they have to be scripted, so we have a totally un-democratic, dictatorship as our government, that is a scary thought! then consitter they've already passed bills taking away so many of our rights, they also have a huge desire to change the constitution, they already have the supreme court stacked with a majority of conservatives and soon they will have the senate too, they show huge desire to take away all funding to the other parties so that they will be the only party we have to choose, can't you see what they are doing? if they get a majority, within 1 year canada will be unrecognizable, they will fast track every evil plan they have and since they own the supreme court and the senate and if they have a majority, the government too, then we have no hope, this vote is not so much about who's the best to lead the country its about saving the country from a tyrannical dictator that has sadly slipped into the seat of PMO, GOD help us!!!

Anonymous said...

All Hail to the KIng Harper
is what they will say in the new Harper Government if Harper gets a Majority!

Quote from cbc.ca:
First it was the "Government of Canada." Then it was "Canada's New Government." Now it's the "Harper Government."

Public servants from four different departments have confirmed to The Canadian Press that they received a directive late last year that the words "Government of Canada" in federal communications be replaced with "Harper Government."

he is a Dictator!

Anonymous said...

Mr. Harper still holds a commanding advantage in Nanos Research’s daily leadership index, a one-day snapshot of how Canadians rate the leaders on whether they are trustworthy, competent, and have the best vision for Canada.

In the April 18 survey, Mr. Harper surged almost 15 points to 110.6, while Mr. Layton was second at 59.5, and Mr. Ignatieff was third at 49.1.

Yet the polls favor Libs over NDP.

Wake up Canada !!Mr Harper is the only way to stop the political nonsence in this country. Canada on a world stage is at the top of the pack. Hard to believe I know with all the money wasted on elections.

Anonymous said...

Yes top of the pack Financially but respected, NO, Harper lost our seat at the UN, all that poll shows is a lot of harper supporters were polled and they still love harper, it defiantly isn't the rest of canada's view!

Anonymous said...

Take a look at the Candidates when they were younger:
www.vintagevoter.ca

Harper looks like a dork in the first pic then in his other picture he looks like a miserable person one step away from becoming a serial killer lol and today he looks like a miserable cult leader!
Ignatieff is looking sharp! In Duceppe looks like he belongs in a rock band, rock on Duceppe!

Anonymous said...

hey rob from calagary i have only one thing to say to you stfu please. conservertive party should be called rednex united and their budget rednex spree this is the best way to sum up their party and ideas

Anonymous said...

To those who freely use the word "socialists". Read the true meaning before you open your mouths.

Anonymous said...

How quickly everyone seems to have forgotten the sponsorship scandal. Thats why we have Ignatief as the red leader, becasue everyone else in the red party was tainted. They even brought in Bob Rae, the former NDP Bob Rae to run. Jack Layton is running around blowing smoke up everyones *** as his promises would crush us all financially and he know's it. Harper has done a reasonable job considering he has had to cowtow to the other parties. I say give him a majority.

Anonymous said...

If you think the NDP will crush us what do you think the Torys are doing? Head in a pail?? The biggest debt in Canadian history and growing daily. And as for the Sponsorship scandal check the names. If was a FRENCH issue more than a Liberal issue. I'd like to see a referendum asking the rest of us if we would like to keep Quebec within Confederation or kick them out on their butt.

Anonymous said...

To whoever said "i no longer vote and frankly don't know why anyone does" ..........hello; you are an idiot and poor excuse of a Canadian. Quit wasting space here.

Anonymous said...

You know back when the NDP first introduced National Healthcare, it ran really well for many years, but for the last almost 2 decades the Conservatives and the Liberals have constantly mismanaged healthcare to the point its now in critical condition, year after year since the problem started they say things like the medical system is broke and they promise to fix it, but then get into power and continue to mismanage it. Now could it be that the reason this happens is because they don't understand how national healthcare should be run, after all they are mostly against national health care so i doubt they take the time to learn how it should be run, and if thats true and I think it is, then logically the people we should have running healthcare is the NDP who created it and introduced it, who better to run it than the people that created it. But as we know the NDP has NEVER been in power, mostly because of the most successful un-true smear campaign in history probably the longest one too since it started before we even had healthcare, is that people say they are socialists and then people here this run to the dictionary to look it up and then panic because they think the NDP will radically change everything and put us in debt. well they have been in power at the provincial level and have done as well or better in most cases than any other party, so there's no real evidence to support that theory, when I look at the NDP i see a strong, good looking, well spoken leader, a leader Canada could be proud to have represent us, Jack Layton has done allot of great things in his Career and deserves to be PMO as much or more than the other candidates! I really hope Canada decides to have real change and show the world just how progressive we can be and vote in the NDP, this is the best time in history to give them a try, we have a strong stable economy that because of our natural resources will stay strong for a along time to come, its so strong that we came through the recession almost as though there wasn't one while we had a monkey at the controls running government, the Harper monkey, so I hope Canadians take the time to take a look at the NDP and then vote NDP and watch how this country can win back its awesome reputation on the world stage that Harper has so badly tarnished.

Check out this cool viral video:
http://www.ndp.ca/video/all/zUhyGqElgjk

Anonymous said...

vote less taxes
vote less programs
vote less government

unless you don't have a job.

Its true the minority will always try to sway the majority.
Thats what I see here.

20 Years ago I bought my house for $35000 and now my insurance says its worth $250000. WOW thats the highest price in history.

nice to see the different points of view and making it very clear who I should vote for.

Eckostream said...

Go ahead vote for the retard Conservator/Republican...

Just gonna give us more of an excuse to split up into our own Country Québec !

Go for it U.S. of Canada...

Anonymous said...

It's frightening to read all these inane comments and to realize the lack of education and intelligence displayed here that will vote in the next election. No wonder Canada never moves forward. God help us all.

Anonymous said...

You already are your own country... Quebec. Leave. We won't miss you.

Anonymous said...

If you want to see what the Conservatives will do to Canada, come to Alberta and check out our healthcare. Conservatives have de-listed so many things, that they felt guilty about charging us premiums. If you need an M.R.I. you can wait about 6 months and get it through health coverage. If you don't want to wait, you can pay upwards of $250.00 out of your pocket and have it done privately, just like the U.S.A. Conservatives will sell us out to big business just like the U.S. WAKE UP and get rid of "Harpers government"

Robyn - Alberta said...

http://www.conservative.ca/party/founding_principles/

If anyone is interested, these are the principles of the Conservative Party which I observe have been supported by the actions of Harper.

As to the fighter jets, I think the majority of Canadians need to get their heads out of the sand and realize that terrorism is the new threat of the next decade. Muslims radicals have sworn to 'kill all infidels' (translated as non-Muslim) and evidence of this is happening all around us. There is a reason why Israel has been been a hotbed of contention for thousands of years - open up the Bible, compare it to a history book, and find out the truth.

Who cares if Ignatieff is American or Canadian - he hasn't lived in Canada for long enough to have earned the privilege to run our country. While he was off enjoying the rest of the world, I was working and living under the Canadian conditions, putting in my sweat, tears & taxes...was he?

As for Quebec, First Nations, red, blacks, greens, what have you - we are all Canadians, who should be treated equally as Canadians, who should contribute equally as Canadians and benefit equally as Canadians. This is an English speaking country and the majority speak english (if you want to speak your own language at home with your family & friends, power to you) - so why have the Liberals wasted millions upon millions of dollars on bilingualism? - there's a TON of money that could be better spent. I am irritated everytime I buy something that I have to search out the english - how many people ACTUALLY can ONLY speak French in Canada?? Bet that money would have helped healthcare.

The Conservatives stand strong on the fact that marriage is a union only between a man & a woman - Halleluiah! The breakdown of the family unit is one thing that will tear this country apart. Same with abortion - our constitution is based on God and thank goodness Harper takes that seriously. Alternative lifestyles - tearing the family unit apart. These are the things that are going to break us down. We need to take these issues seriously - if we don't, our moral fibre will be worn down with the rampant liberalism in our society. That will make us weak as a country.

To Anonymous who called me an idiot - just because I don't share your views on Bills C-32, C-60 & C-61 doesn't mean I haven't read them. I should have the right to share my CD with whomever I choose just like I share a book. Welcome to the world of digital media - the media people happily use to share their inane life drama with everyone on social networks, then freak out because someone now has access to it. Grow up people. At least I am not afraid to share my views and my name!

Anonymous said...

Some moron said..

"Anonymous said...
It's frightening to read all these inane comments and to realize the lack of education and intelligence displayed here that will vote in the next election. No wonder Canada never moves forward. God help us all."

Well if you're so intelligent why don't you post something about the issues rather than your stupid condescending remark!

People should say what they like how thy like, as long as its about the issues its all good! People like this jerk are no better than the idiots that post messages encouraging people not to vote.

Anonymous said...

Anyone wondering why we are having an election? Seems there is only one party willing to work for your vote, the rest are on a free ride.

According to Elections Canada, the Green Party received $469,000; the Bloc Québécois received $691,000; the NDP received $1.2 million; the Liberals received $1.8 million; and the Conservatives got $2.6 million.

The money was the latest quarterly instalment paid to all registered political parties which in the last election received at least two per cent of the popular vote.

You’ll recall that the last time Harper tried to dump the subsidy, he shoved his snout into a beehive.

In 2008, the move kindled an attempt by a Liberal-NDP-Bloc coalition to overthrow the recently-elected Conservative minority government, prompting Harper to suspend Parliament in order to survive. Micky blames Harper. Maybe he didn't want to lose his handout. Hows that for Democracy?

Harper argues all political parties should look to their own ways and means not the public purse for that kind of financial support.

I agree all party,s should have to work for there dollar just like the rest of us do. Not leave the country for 30 yrs,comeback and go on a tax payers opportunist self seaking joyride.

Now how many criminals do you think regester their guns before they rob a bank. Another billon wasted. How many jets and how much Health Care would that cover. Are our jets really 30 yrs old. Did Micheals Liberals buy those before he left? Whow !! Like someone said. God help us.

Anonymous said...

To anonymous above:
Don't make me laugh. The Conservatives don't have to work for their dollar. All they have to do is kiss the a** of big business and the money just mysteriously appears.
Read what the governor-general said about Harper after he lied to her in order to get her approval to suspend parliament.
With voters like you....GOD HELP US!

Election Watcher said...

If the Conservatives are serious about eliminating government funding of political parties, they should also get rid of the tax credit for political contributions. When you donate $400, you get $300 right back from the government, so really you're only giving $100, with a $300 subsidy. Also, you only get the subsidy if you make enough to pay income tax, as the credit is non-refundable.

You can think of the per-vote subsidy system as follows: the government gives every voter $2/year. Through their vote, each elector decides which party should get the money, or whether the government should get it back (if they don't vote or cast an invalid vote). Political parties do work for your money through working for your vote.

In my opinion, per-vote subsidy is more democratic than, "If you can spare $100 for your favourite party, the government tacks on $300... but only if you owe income taxes."

Anonymous said...

OK folks,

Let's start with this:
1. Common sense is not that common.
2. 49.9% of people are below average.

So I've read quite a few of these posts and I'm noticing a trend; mindless rednecks and left-wing conspiracy theorists bantering back and forth with one-sided perspectives, all of which supports the notion that the foolishness we constantly see on the political stage really is a microcosm of the Canadian mindset. Here's an approach you should all try: Let the politicians be politicians and let's all of us voters try our best to make informed decisions. Ask yourself these questions: Who's the best leader? Who's the best candidate in my riding? Which party platform makes the most sense for me, Canada, the environment, the economy, health care, or whatever you think is important. Then cast your ballot and see what happens. My thinking is that if I employ a sensible approach, then that's one more Canadian who's trying to do it right.

So, my friends and fellow Canadians, smarten the hell up and spend your free time taking a closer look at what the other side has to offer before your start ranting.

P.S. I shall not divulge my voting preference for 2011, because you'll only love me if you agree and hate me if you don't. But one thing I can say is that I'm employing a lot more common sense than most of you.

Anonymous said...

Ya the only reason Harper wants it scrapped is to choke off the other parties so his big corporation funded conservative/reform coalition will be the only choice we have! It's weird how he doesn't try to hide his dictator behavior from the public, I think he feels Canadians are so dumb that he doesn't have to hide it. I really think it's time for us to vote out this evil dictator and send the conservatives back to rid their party of the nut ball reformers that have taken control of it. If they can restore it's values back to what the conservative party was before it was taken over by the Reform party, then I might be inclined to consitter voting for them, but right now they have a mentally unstable man running the party like a dictatorship which is really scary to think what would happen if he had a majority, vote your abc's "anything but conservative"

Anonymous said...

Harper is a Bush wanna-be who has been lying to Canadians for years, selling this once great, independent and sovereign country to his US buddies for his own personal wealth.

For example: we cant built planes in Canada? no: because his friend Mackay has been promised the vice presidency of lockeheed (F35 makers) if they manage to get that contract signed.

Never in the history of Canada is the democracy and the constitution has been step on, and like the good little dictator he is, do not give a damn about it! Worst, there is still idiots that thinks he is doing anything at all, while the real numbers about the economy are been hidden; Numbers about jobs faked not saying that the 450 000 part time jobs created where in fact to fill the number whole left by the 465 000 full time job exported to the US; and varied millions "disappearing" right and left without any explanation.

Are the liberal better replacement? OF course not! but there is a GOOD alternative: the NPD: a guy who will place the people BEFORE the corporations, the US and even before the rest of the Maffia we call a government.

Moron said...

Moron here...

You're missing the point as usual.

Some 40% of the country does not vote ( http://www.sfu.ca/~aheard/elections/historical-turnout.html ) and the number is growing with each election, so you need to ask why. Most of these folks are aware that there is no longer a meaningful reason to vote as we rarely get what we want or need. Promises are made at election time and then broken after. This equates to lies told during the process to draw in the sheep to follow their party and with great success I might add.

We also notice that the youth thinks they have all the answers. Just ask them. (like the person above who stated the NDP brought in our current Health Care... they didn't. The CCF did) They will tell you how to solve every issue and with attitude I might add. So let them all vote and bury themselves. After all they will end up paying the bills in the end.

I have lived through Deifenbaker, Stanfield, PET, Joe Who?, Mulrooney, Chretien, and now Harper, and I can tell you The Tory's have always tried to redesign us (sell us) as the USA, driven up our debt and the Liberals have always paid down the debt and enhanced our sovereignty.

Not voting may not, in some eyes, be a valid approach to a problem but it is an alternative. You do so not by NOT staying home but my going to vote and then drawing a line through the ballot and stating "no viable alternative". It demonstrates contempt for the current party offerings available to us all. And if you think that doesn't have an impact you're kidding yourself. This IS being watched.

The reality is those ideals that our founding fathers fought for are no longer either available or evident to us. For example: most of us wanted Capital Punishment. We didn't get it. Most of us wanted the GST killed. We didn't get it. We want the Gun Registry killed. We won't get it either because our Government, those we put into office now believe they are superior to all of us. They know better than us. They vote themselves huge wage increases after majority elections. They take huge pensions for themselves. They offer us all very little. Harper moved the Gun Registry to vote knowing full well it wouldn't make it. It was a game, and the public bought into the game. He's still playing the game bringing up the Gun Registry and the Liberal Collision again and again. They think everyone is stupid. (Judging by some here I guess they are correct.)

So consider all this before demonstrating your lack of understanding by making such statements and THINK for a change. There's more to a comment than just the surface.

Perry from Sask said...

I find it hard to understand why you anonymous folks will spend the time to write half a novel,yet can`t take the time to clarify your identity!

It leads me to believe that your just liberal stooges at work.

Anonymous said...

Are the polls at the top of the page being updated?

I see this as the current situation.

Latest National Poll

CON 43%
NDP 24%
LIB 21%
BQ 6%
GRN 4%


Why s no one here mentioning on the Green party? Wouldn't you like to vote for a party that is apposed to everything, guns, atomic power etc. that is lead by a single mom who is an American?

Anonymous said...

To Election Watcher

Censorship is also not a valid method of controlling this site. You must be a Conservative at heart.

Election Watcher said...

To Anonymous 1:50pm:

Unfortunately, it's Blogger automatically marking certain legitimate comments as spam. Those comments need to be manually approved, hence the delay. People that log in before/as they post usually do not encounter this problem.

All comments (except duplicate ones) submitted to this blog have been posted, usually within 24 hours.

Btw, I believe censorship would actually be valid here - it is my blog after all. But I do not censor comments because that is inconsistent with my beliefs. Yes, I do feel slightly insulted that you're calling me a Conservative in a non-economic sense :)

Election Watcher said...

To Anonymous 1:44pm:

You need to go to the front page of the blog to see the most recent posts! Just click on the title of the blog at the top.

I discussed the poll that you're citing two days ago:
http://cdnelectionwatch.blogspot.com/2011/04/ipsos-tories-by-19-over-ndp-22-over.html
Note that this poll deviates substantially from the consensus of other polls that were conducted on the same days.

Anonymous said...

Hey I heard a good one today on Question Period from Senator Smith as well as from other people are saying the same.



60% of Canadians don't want PC government. Well Senator that means 75% heading towards 80% don't want Lib. & 80% moving up to 75% don't want NDP & finally 95% not in favour of Bloc. So what's your point.



This week Canada will have to chose between PC or coalition lead by NDP or Libs that's the bottom line. If we look at the past in a negative light that is what you will see it doesn't matter witch party you look at they will all blow our money. And I am sure the media will find something on Jack this week because that is what they love to do. But my opinion is this. If he does well in Quebec that is good news for Canada PERIOD. Also good news for the other party's yet they seem to be missing the sign somehow. So Canada look who is the most focussed on our future and vote wisely.

Anonymous said...

After Chretien, we haven't had any kind of leader from any of the parties that gave Canada its identity and independance.But if Chretien was a Liberal, that's what i am voting. Harper does not have a majority and is bullying and abusing the democrasy, immagine what he will do if he had majority. He and his gang can go do this in the states, this is Canada !!!

Anonymous said...

Why do posters and mainly conservative posters gloss over all the points about harper's evilness and bring it back to issues like how they spend money etc, is no one worried about the facts that he plans to change the constitution? are none of you freaking terrified to let him near our constitution, how about the fact he wants to cut off funding to the parties, is no one afraid of this do you all really want to have only 1 choice, well since he is a dictator and plans total control I would say we will end up with no choice at all he will rule us forever if he has his way, and talking about keeping the economy stable is no one worried the fight he is trying to pick with quebec to get them to separate will be really bad for keeping our economy stable? forget about the normal issues, think about what I have just said, do you really want to risk giving him a majority? Just consider this, suppose he does win a majority, bam in less than 100 days he will fast track his crazy crime bills through and you can bet they will be a lot more harder than they were before, he will change our constitution in a way that will take away any rights we have to challenge him, He will build countless new prisons to house all the non violent drug offenders, who's lives he will ruin, think about tens of thousands of citizens put in prison for simply going about their daily lives going to work, paying taxes etc, how is ruining these peoples lives and taking them out of productive society and putting them in prison where the tax payers will spend over 100,000 per person to house them in jail. How many of these peaceful people will be so hurt from the unjust punishment they have to endure, will turn to hard crime when they get out, please people look at Harper for what he is, a lieing evil dictator. Just consider what will happen if he gets a majority and makes all these changes suppose all you conservative voters then realize you made a very serious mistake in giving him a majority and you decide you need to get him out, how will you get him out when he would have changed the constitution, and the very way parliament works, and he has publicly said his desires to do all of what I have listed here today, how will you get him out? seriously HOW?

Anonymous said...

In my life of 65 plus years as a 4th generation Canadian never have I read so much BS. A minority government is paying down our LIBERAL debt, giving Canadian families a tax break and staying STRONG through a recession. Cannot fault anyone for that. I hope the NDP forms our next government and all of you will be swearing and tearing for 20 years. Some people never learn, they love to repeat bad history over and over.

Election Watcher said...

Except that more than half of our debt was contracted under Conservative governments, despite them having held power for just 15 of the past 48 years.

Anonymous said...

As a 52 year old woman,mother and housewife most of my life. I remember being in ah of Pierre at 16 the charisma thing. What he did to our country as I got older with children I did not appreciate, Brian Mulroney was some sort of an enigma. Jean Chretien and Paul Martin were okay for awhile. My beef with the liberals too many special interest groups they cater too. We need our military, and planes that work for them, I have 3 relatives in the military, all in Afghanistan. Two of my children that have college education and jobs in their fields disagree with Iggy's idea of grants, which work out to $1000 a year that they laughed at. My children cannot afford to move out of home yet because of high taxes thank you Mr McGuinty in Ontario and the past federal liberals. Everyone seems to forget what Bob Rae did to Ontario as premier under a different stripe. I am voting Conservatives not because of Stephen Harper but I believe they have what interests me and I am not rich. Give them their 4 or 5 years, hopefully by that time the Liberals will have their house in order and be back in the middle of the left and right not so far left as they have become. I hope it will be goodbye to Iggy,Rae and little Trudeau as well.

Anonymous said...

We in BC that have had our public owned corporations decimated by the right wing liberals really fear a further right wing conservative government. There are center and left wing liberals but they continue to support the right wing liberals because of the propoganda of the main stream news. This article puts BC politics in perspective http://thetyee.ca/Mediacheck/2011/04/25/DixFraming/ The federal switch to the NDP is because a lot of Canadians see the federal liberals moving to the right. We need more representation from our federal parties for the average working person. Not representation for the big multinational corporations that the BC liberals have given. Time for change is now. Time to become an intentional citizen. http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2011/04/25/LaytonSurge/

Election Watcher said...

Interesting that the previous two posters are criticizing the federal Liberals for exactly opposite reasons: 10:24am for moving too far left, and 2:43pm for moving too far right.

As for BC, we'll see what Dix proposes. But I'm pretty sure most swing voters preferred the Liberal years to the NDP years given the comparative economic performances. Dix has to prove that this time will be different if he wins - a tall order. I agree that the media is certainly not helping.

Just like the right often forgets about the poor, the left forgets that ultimately, corporations also serve people - their shareholders. That would include anyone who has a stake in the CPP.

More importantly, the only sustainable way to raise wages is to make workers more productive. Part of that is better education, but schools can only do so much. The other part is that companies must be willing to invest in their employees. But that'll only happen if it's profitable.

Note that some very left-wing countries understand this point. Harper's proposed corporate tax cut will bring our federal-provincial tax rate in line with... the Scandinavian countries'!

Anonymous said...

I have been reading these comments since this whole fiasco started. One person blames the Conservatives, and someone else says it's the fault of the Liberals. The rest say not to vote N.D.P. because they are "socialist pinkos", whatever that is, and that they will throw away lots of money. How do you know? Give them a chance. They can't be any worse than the other two, and may surprise people with what they can do if given the chance.

Anonymous said...

We are forced yet into ANOTHER election costing 300 Million. I'm sure based on polls that "CANADA" didn't vote no-confidence, the sour grapes from the other parties did. Parties do not work together anymore, so a minority government is usless, how can the Conservative party do anything with a minority government? Vote for a majority government and lets give the Conservatives a chance to do something! Enough elections...vote Conservative for a majority. Put this to rest. The Liberals and NDP are killing this country by not working with the government. Another minority government will destroy Canada. Love em or hate em , you have to vote majority to save Canada! Be smart.

Election Watcher said...

So my blog is a fiasco? (Just kidding - I know you probably mean either the election or the excessive commenting here.)

"Give them a chance" Depends on one's political leanings - there's no right answer here.

"They can't be any worse" I have to disagree here: they could be a lot worse. Just like they could be a lot better. We just don't know.

The NDP worked just fine in SK and MB. But more people will remember ON and BC's experiences, both of which were worse than Chretien, Martin or Harper, at least in an economic sense.

Election Watcher said...

Anon 10:29p: And who caused the 2008 election?

So after 5 years of minorities, our country is in tatters? The Conservatives couldn't do anything to help us weather the recession?

You seem to disagree quite a bit with the man to whom you want to give a majority...

Anonymous said...

Sorry, I did mean the election fiasco. Yes, I agree that the NDP could be worse or better. All we can do is try.
But, you would think that after multiple minority governments, the public confidence is not where it should be. If the present government is doing such a good job, why have they not had a majority by now? Public confidence is not there.

Election Watcher said...

If you mean majority of seats, that might happen next week. If you mean majority of votes, that happened only twice in peace time during the past 100 years.

That said, the 60% voting against the government seems much more dissatisfied than usual. But some may decide that a social-democratic government is even worse than a conservative one...

Anonymous said...

I always vote Liberal and I wish I could vote Liberal but in all seriousness - I just have no confidence in Michael Ignatieff. That being said - you can't not life Jack Layton - but his approach and platform just don't seem realistic. I'd rather set myself on fire that vote for Harper..there is no real democracy is there...

Anonymous said...

Harper weak? Weak doesn't really describe him - and voting a guy back in that disolved parliment twice due to non-complaince and under threat of contempt (costig us how many millions?) - that to me is complete incompetance. He is an outrage - did you see him on the debate - he reminded me of private moments from SNL

Anonymous said...

Personally, I think that it is time for the Liberals to be in power. One of his main platforms is to make post-secondary education a bit easier by giving four thousand dollars to students who will be starting their studies in the fall. I think that this is a great idea because in this economy it isn't easy for young adults to pay for post-secondary education. So any extra help for them is a great idea.

Anonymous said...

Harper is probably the worst thing to ever happen to this great country of ours. He wants to take everything that IS Canada and destroy it, from our environment to our basic human rights. If he could get away with it, he would abolish abortion, whether you agree with it or not, do we really want to go back to the days of dangerous back alley abortions? I dont think any man has the right to tell any women what to do with their bodies. I will never vote Conservative and I'm hoping the rest of the country agrees, however I am sure we are going to be in the same exact place as we were before the election.

Robyn said...

To another 'Anonymous' who won't give their name - I would welcome abolishing abortion. Maybe you should read the following article and do some research of your own:

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - In only a matter of days thousands will gather in Washington, DC to mourn and march in response to the horrors unleashed by the US Supreme Court decisions in Roe v Wade and Doe v Bolton thirty eight years ago. On January 22, 1973, the highest Court in the United States rejected the Right to Life revealed by the Natural Law and written on every heart, fashioning instead - out of a constructed "penumbra" - an alleged "right" for a woman to take the life of her child in the womb at any time during pregnancy for any reason. 52 million of our innocent neighbors have been killed as a result.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011, news reports were filled with stories concerning the events which occurred in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania involving one Dr. Kermit B. Gosnell. He has been criminally charged for the commission of eight murders. Seven children were killed by this man after they were born. This butcher executed them by utilizing a procedure he referred to as "snipping". He severed their spinal cord with surgical scissors which he inserted into the back of their necks. The eighth charge involved the death of one of the mothers from an apparent overdose of anesthetics administered during one of the executions.

Like I said in a previous post - the moral fibre of our society is being destroyed bit by bit with political correctness and minority rights. Our country was founded on God and the Bible - maybe some of you should read it. It is against immorality, which is rampant in our society. The Conservative platform keeps these morals intact - something sadly lacking these days.

Election Watcher said...

"Our country was founded on God and the Bible"

Are you talking about Canada or the US? The Constitution makes zero mention of the bible, and the only mention of God is in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. God is mentioned in juxtaposition with the rule of law, and the latter guarantees the right to abortion in this country.

What is moral or immoral depends on your values. Millions of Canadians would consider *banning* abortion to be immoral.

I have no idea why a gathering of a few thousand people in the US has any bearing on what Canada should do. You are just validating the point made by Anonymous that Conservatives want to make Canada more like the US.

As for infanticide - yes, it is illegal, and as far as I know, no one thinks it should be legal. Your point?

Robyn - Alberta said...

The Parliament of Canada, affirming that the Canadian Nation is founded upon principles that acknowledge the supremacy of God, the dignity and worth of the human person and the position of the family in a society of free men and free institutions;
Affirming also that men and institutions remain free only when freedom is founded upon respect for moral and spiritual values and the rule of law;

And being desirous of enshrining these principles and the human rights and fundamental freedoms derived from them, in a Bill of Rights which shall reflect the respect of Parliament for its constitutional authority and which shall ensure the protection of these rights and freedoms in Canada:

If the Nation of Canada is founded upon principles that acknowledge the supremacy of God - what is that supremacy? It is the moral values & laws laid out in the Bible which prohibit abortion. If God is supreme, why do women have the choice to kill what is created as a result of the supremacy of God? They don't.

That is my point.

Election Watcher said...

God doesn't necessarily mean the Christian God. The Bible's teachings (or those of any Holy Book) have no legal standing in Canada.

If you believe fetuses are "created as a result of the supremacy of God" and that whetever the "supremacy of God" creates should not be killed, that's your right. (Although by that logic, either we shouldn't kill animals or they aren't the "result of the supremacy of God.")

But don't try to force your belief upon others by changing the law. Pro-choice folks don't get to choose whether your foetus gets aborted, and you don't get to choose whether theirs does either. Seems fair to me.

Robyn - Alberta said...

Exactly my point! There is no supremacy and our society is full of liberalism - do what feels good - and what feels good to some is not so good for others! I don't need to force my opinions on anyone - we all have free choice to do our homework and find out the truth and choose death or eternal life. I am entitled to my opinion and I am entitled to voice it and as a Christian who knows that grace gives us eternal life, I have the responsibility to share the truth. I also have the responsibility to vote for the party I feel will best uphold these morals.

As far as the animals, if you read the Bible, God gave us supremacy over the animals - so your comparison of killing fetuses to killing animals has no merit.

By your logic, the law allowing abortion is forcing belief on me, which is why we need the supremacy of God.

Anonymous said...

Wow! There is severe tolerence issues here. No two Canadians are alike.

We have to respect freedom of opinion, AND learn to not hate those whose opinion is different than our own.

Discussions on abortion are not a good way to do this.

Politics isn't much better.

Stompin' Tom had it right "The good ole hockey game is the best game you can name."

Bottoms up fellas, you'll all still be in a great country next week...

Anonymous said...

Okay....the bottom line is that Conservative majorty is the best thing for canada now. I know from the other two parties- NDP and Liberals- could not construct a budget as well as the conservatives did to keep Canada from going bankrupt.The NDP cannot run a contry because they promis to many social programs among other things. The reason people like him is because he tells people what they want to hear. It would be too hard to follow through with all of those promises.And for the liberals they quote "I'm not going to take a GST hike off the table." The Liberals will undo everything that the Conservatives have built up and this will send us into financial trouble. Steven Harper may not be the most likeable guy but I have faith in him and his party. Don't you think the Liberals and NDP have wasted enough tax dollars on calling for another election? Oh by the way if you want to vote for a party who wants to seperate from Canada then be my guest. VOTE CONSERVATIVE!!

Election Watcher said...

What party actually brought Canada back from the brink of bankruptcy in the early 90s?

Ask an economist (a real one, not a political hack) what forms of taxation are the most efficient. You may be surprised.

Anonymous said...

In the ad" I'm not going to take a gst hike off the table", does anyone know what the balance of the phrase was? The ad is conveniently cut off at the right time to make it sound like a final statement. I'm not a Liberal supporter, but just curious.

BBA said...

My first child is due this December. My question is simple: Will we still have health care? I don't need any partisan rednecks or hippies chortling in without any real idea, I want a party insider, economics grad, etc. I have a degree in business, myself, and a long memory. Right wing does not equal better with money. It's been a myth and I don't know why everyone assumes that this government will practice what it preaches when it hasn't before, in Canada or the U.S. (Charts and graphs are EASY to find - compare Republican and Conservative deficits and prepare for the shock. Or look the other way and keep reciting talking points. I don't care. This isn't about the country's money for me. This is about a politician who wants to privatize our system and potentially indirectly make an effort to ensure my child isn't born, or at the very least, born here. Congratulations to everyone here if you can afford to pay for everything out of pocket. I doubt it's true, though, so do I need to find a new country for my child or can I bring a Canadian into this world?

Anonymous said...

"We are forced yet into ANOTHER election costing 300 Million."

Yes, isn't it odd how the Conservatives started running attack ads months before the opposition 'arbitrarily' decided to bring down the government?

This election was engineered in such a way that they could lay the pricetag for it at another party's feet. Quite slick actually, given how many people seem to beleive that story.

Anonymous said...

npd said today big company makes bilions of dollars because they evade not paying back in our system the actual gouvernement make the working population pay more because of that cause gouvernement is missing money so we need the money and it is those who work hard the average population to pay the taxes so gouvernement can fonction but this what harper and the liberals wants not the ndp we say those who makes more money should pay their fair portions of it also instead of evading and making those who work everyday to feed their familly having to pay more so no wonder harper and liberals or against npd cause they (harper,liberals )are for the business but to a point to let them do what they want and than pretend they care about population , and npd thinks quebec belongs in canada and would like to include quebec in canada the way it should instead harper don,t really cares about quebec at all .

Anonymous said...

It is rather frightening when reading the majority of these comments to realize that all of these people get a vote......yet few can make an objective point or put things in an intelligent context

Sadly it makes me think we might not be any worse off by lowering the voting age to kindergarten graduates if this indeed represents our collective opinion....I sure hope enough intelligent ( street smart and/or university educated with street smarts) so up and vote on an informed basis.....and not on a one issue ( real or percieved).

Many are quick to condemn Harper but it is always easy to condemn the leader - leadership is difficult. Both Mulroney and Trudeau were admired and hated, but the did lead, as is Harper. We need to take this into account as our nation has done very well economically in this global downturn and all must be evaluated in this context.

Many are quick to condemn Layton as he has never led - and most likely will never be in the PMO as Canada is not ( or at least not yet) ready for a federal NDP government.......but we should applaud him for being a good leader of the opposition and a nice check and balance of what good is being done by the right.

Many are quick to condment Iggy ( frankly I have a hard time not joining in here............) but perhaps we are not giving him his fair respect and are jumping to conclusions.

Please vote with your heads......not your ignorance.

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous 7:24 PM

Well stated. The only regrettable thing is that there is a large portion of the voters that vote the way they are told.

Anonymous said...

I would like to see what a Conservative majority can do for us. I like that Harper takes our sovereignty seriously. He is trying to protect our holdings in the north that the other parties care little about, our border guards have weapons of their own instead of having to yell for help from the American border guards, and we have more tax breaks now under a Conservative government than we have had under the Liberals. I think that being governed by someone with a degree in economics makes a good deal more sense than being governed by a history professor who has hardly lived in Canada or someone who promises to give to the poor by taking more from the middle class. I know that I have nothing left to give already. I definitely don't want it worse.

Ken B said...

The absolute greatest thing about living in a free country, is our ability to discuss, argue and yes even preach our individual thoughts on forums like this. I've read most of the posts here and with election day at hand, I can see this ought to be one of the most interesting results in many years.

I'm not going to add to the rehetoric posted previously. I'm just asking everyone to get out and make your vote count. Vote your conscience, vote your gut, vote your heart or vote your heritage - but vote. Don't take for granted what our fathers gave their lives for.... VOTE!

Anonymous said...

I would just say that Harper is a dangerous man. Take for example:

a) his attempts to cut off funding to the opposition parties rather than focus on the economy with the goal, of course, of getting a majority in the face of a much-weakened field. We all know how that ended up!!! A second budget and a shutting down of Parliament for weeks.

b) Oh and remember, his avoidance of questions regarding Afghanistan by once again shutting down Parliament.

c) Oh and who can forget his recent contempt of Parliament by not revealing the true costs of certain conservative initiatives.

d) And don't forget that Harper pushed for a coalition with the Bloc when Paul Martin was Prime Minister. AND Harper himself is leading a coalition party--a merging of the reformers and the conservative party.

e) And my friends in Atlantic Canada--remember when he said that all we wanted was to be on unemployment insurance.

f) Remember, he doesn't want to answer any questions that are not scripted by him. So how can we get to the truth?

g) Remember they ejected the young woman from one of their meetings. Yes he apologized but...come on.

h) And remember all of the questionable decisions and actions taken by members of his party that he's defended over the years--including lying to Parliament.

i) And don't forget that he would have called an election himself if not for the contempt of Parliament business that caused him to fall in the polls. So this nonsense about Canadians not wanting an election now is only because he felt that he wasn't in a position to get the majority he is so desperately seeking.

j) His desire to eliminate the long form census so we will not be able to track employment equity in this country is scary. And believe me, the time for the marginalization of women, the disabled, visible minorities and Aboriginal peoples is long gone. Some folks may not see this as a disadvantage but in the long run it cannot be sustained and it will harm our country.

k) He is against universal day care saying that it takes away our choice. How can having another option take away our choice?


Listen up guys, this is just the surface. I could go on and on. And remember folks, Stephen Harper has done most of this as a minority leader. Imagine if he has a majority. I'm not saying that the NDP or the Liberals have the answer but I know that Stephen Harper leading a majority government is NOT the answer. In fact I find I thought of it frightening.

Rob G. said...

We're heading for a Con majority and once again the country will have to be pulling down to near destruction before the people realize that the Conservatives and Harper are what we should be fearing.

And in 4 years time will we still be able to wrest control away from them or will they have used their power to propagandize and hold onto it.

It's going to be a repeat of what Bush2 did to that country's economy. Have a nice ride folks! Or vote for any party that has a chance of defeating the Cons.

Anonymous said...

Vote NDP we are way up in the pols ...gogog NDP

Anonymous said...

Canada will regret this majority in 5 years

Anonymous said...

No. Canada will not regret this majority in five years.

Some Canadians will regret in FOUR years, some regretted it four minutes ago, but most will be quite happy to live in a stable economy with relatively lower taxes without having to listen to separatists wrecking th political landscape of our great country.

And chew on this. If Quebec were its own country, The Conservatives would have the support of more than 50% of Canadians. So this is truly a majority that they deserve

Anonymous said...

Actually, that is a tremendous point...

Election Watcher said...

I would encourage you to move to the election night thread by going to the front page of the blog.

Anon 12:30a: The Tories are under 50% outside Québec.