When the first bit of the inquiry was revealed earlier this month, the Liberals poll results dipped for only a couple of days, and now they've started to rise again. Before Christmas break they will pass all sorts of legislation to win favour with the public - including a rebate check for heating fuel for low-income Canadians. Those checks will roll out sometime in January, along with everyone's Goods and Services Tax rebate checks.
More than one person will entertain warm thoughts about the government while holding checks for about $300 in their hot little hands. No one can even accuse the politicians of buying votes, because the heating-oil checks have been on the books since Hurricane Rita and are just now coming up for a House vote.
The Liberal Party of Canada has been running the country for the last 20 years. It knows more about the ins and outs of parliamentary maneuvering than the other three parties combined. It remains to be seen how everything will fall out in terms of when the election will be called, and then, how the voters will vote.
It would be typically Canadian for the weather to cast the deciding vote in our election, but it may come down to that. At least there will be something on TV other than hockey and curling this winter.
Edited: nd
.jpg?t=20120527181101)
Article comments
1 - Aaman
So Canada has no far-right party? How singular, really
2 - Eric Olsen
what an entertaining and informative run down of the Canadian system and the current situation - great job g-man! What party do you belong to or sympathize with?
3 - Natalie Davis
I would like to know that too -- it's hard to tell from the text. Fine piece. I raise a Molson to you.
4 - Eric Olsen
I should have said I very much appreciate your neutral tone and balance in a very valuable overview/primer-type story, but I am curious. That it isn't obvious is a real credit to your presentation
5 - Dave Nalle
The Conservative party sounds an awful lot like our Republican party, with its combination of far-righters and libertarians.
Dave
6 - gypsyman
Its actually very confusing on the issue of a "far right" party. Dave has it partialy correct, the new Conservative Party of Canada does sound like it should be similar to the Republican Party, and if you were to look at both parties policy books, you'd see little difference.
But where it gets complicated is the fact that the majority of the finacial world and establishment business, read old money, who used to support the old Progressive Conservative Party now back the Liberals. You see the leader of the Liberals, the Prime Minister, Paul Martin is the scion of one of Canada's oldest business families. Shipping and transportation is the family business.
Prior to becoming leader he was Finacne Minister, and he preseided over the most fiscaly conservatie budgets in Canadian history, cutting spending and creating a buisness friendly tax system which Bay Street (our Wall Stree) loved.
He still clings to a lot of those belt tightening concepts, but has a lot more leeway now becuase he's bringing in budget surplus's every year in the billions of dollar range. So for the last few years, especially since his minority win, he's been "buying" popularity by replacing the money he gutted from programming in the past.
In other words he tries to be all things to all people and steals thunder from both sides of the political spectrum.
While the Consevative Party of Canada (Do they know their initials are identical to the old Communist Party of Canada: CPC) maybe a far right party, their problem is credibility. Too many of their candidates have a tendancy to say things like Homosexuality should be illeagal, and end up scaring the crap out of most Canadians.
The concept of Libertarian doesn't really exist in the Canadian politcal spectrum Dave, at least in the way you'd define it. With our roots as a federalist system of government means everything is based upon having a strong central power. The provinces are all dependant upon Ottawa for about 25-40% of their budgets. While they have some leeway in how they spend the money, they have to follow certain guidlines in order to be eligible.
Canadians as a rule have never shared the same government is bad attitude as Americans. Even the parties that mouth things like less government interference still advocate more control than even the Democrats do.
I used to vote for the Rhino party of Canada: Nationalize pay toilets and call it Petro Can, boil the St. Lawrence river to elimenate pollution etc., but now I either vote for the N.D.P. or stay at home and laugh/cry.
Tech question, I was under the impression that Magazines and newspapers were quotation marks and itlaics were reserved for titles of specific titels like novels, movies, and CDs. Was I wrong. Oh and thanks for the add on description of ridings, assumption on my part to think that was a universaly understood phrase.
That was almost a second post wasn't it? confused no problem, now you're a typical Canadian voter.
7 - Triniman
Fellow Canadian here. I agree with Gypsyman's assessment of what is current political climate is like and what the current federal government has been doing to steal the thunder from both the left and right wings of the opposition parties.
There's more.
In the 1980's, when Ronnie was president, the Progressive Conservatives swept to power with a lot of seats in Quebec. Some of those elected ended up as cabinet ministers (Secretaries) and later on, they left to form a Quebec separation party - the Bloc. Since then, the Bloc has had a firm hold on Quebec - 20% of the population of Canada. Subsequent conservative parties have been unable to win enough seats in Ontario and Quebec to form a majority government. And it doesn't look like they will be able to do so again for a while.
The Liberals were able to win without Quebec since they handidly won Ontario, Canada's biggest province, with just about 1/3 of all the seats in the House of Commons. For the Conservatives to get back in power, they need to win Ontario. Unfortunately, a lot of Ontario voters are scared of the Conservatives due to their Republican-esque values.
The Liberals will likely rule Canada for the next few decades or until the country breaks up.
Oil rich and debt-free Alberta, the richest province or state in all of North America, has a movement to separate from the rest of Canada.
8 - gyspyman
I did leave out one mitigating factor about a spring election: it would have to before May. Otherwise they would never get television time once the hockey playoffs start. After a year without that ad revenue the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is not going to let anything interfere with televising the playoffs: the world could end, but the annoucement would have to wait until the end of overtime
gypsyman
9 - Bill Larson
One thing the four major Canadian political parties have in common is their opposition to self-determination for Native people. The Liberals try to come across as the upholders of human rights and the NDP likes to pretend that that's their exclusive claim to fame. They both draw the line at full human rights for Natives. The Bloc argues that Quebecers have the right of self-determination...but Native nations that have existed in Quebec since time immemorial...don't. The Conservative Party would like to scrap internationally recognized Native treaty rights and have Native nations reduced to the status of municipalities within the Canadian state. The fact that Canada is a signatory to the International Covenants on Human Rights means nothing to the Old Boy's Network that operates in the Great White North. Bet your bottom dollar that no matter which party rules the roost in Ottawa, Natives will be denied basic human rights.
10 - Temple Stark
This is an Blogcritics editors' pick of the week. Click HERE to find out why.
Also, NEW this week, we are requesting the honor of your very own "best of the week that was" pick for showing an interest and a dedication in your own writing, and as a second thank you for writing well. I will be e-mailing you separately on this as well, but for a little more info read the top of the link above.
Cheers. - Temple, BC Editor / Special Projects Directo