Newfoundland and Labrador-based Fortis (CA: FTS) isn’t alone in its bid to buy Central Vermont Public Service. The CVPS board announced on June 27 that the company has authorized talks with Gaz Metro on Gaz Metro’s unsolicited acquisition of…
Continue readingWhy Manitobans are Rejecting Hugh McFadyen
A couple months ago the polls had Hugh McFadyen ready to move into his new digs at Room 204 of the Legislative Building. Well, today a fresh poll released by Probe Research shows that Hugh may be stuck on the Main Floor for another four years. According to CKY, Probe notes that the NDPs popularity […]
Continue readingRecreating Eden: Strawberry Time: Maybe Lee Will Get His Fill, as We Eat Locally
The Jean Talon Market is full of strawberries right now–and I even saw some in a supermarket. The strawberry season is not long here: about a month, except for a couple of varieties that bear all summer. The weather has been mostly cool, so I don’t t…
Continue readinggritchik: The NDP’s mea culpa
The NDP admits to using American stock photos in its platform, says it was a mistake and it won’t happen again.
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: BC Government to invest $1 billion in Telus network
Substantial upgrades to internet and cell phone service in rural BC are in the works thanks to a new deal between the BC government and Telus. Over the next 10 years the government will contribute $1 billion towards upgrades of broadband internet and w…
Continue readingThe value of a life: time to juxtapose
This is summer, the living is easy, and my blogging may be light from time to time. Readers know that my place is not solely devoted to incidents of uncontrolled police brutality, and I had meant to give the topic…
Continue readingBigCityLib Strikes Back: Google’s Gone Downhill?
So, I use Google, and in particular the Google Toolbar, at least 100 times a day, maybe up to 200 times. I depend on its performance in my professional life, and if its offline then that’s like stealing the Broad-axe from a Viking warrior, o…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: New Jersey Senate Passes Fracking Ban
Lawmakers in the New Jersey Senate voted 33-1 today to ban hydraulic fracturing (fracking), in a move to protect the Delaware River from potential contamination from the risky unconventional gas drilling practice. The Delaware River supplies drinking w…
Continue readingImpolitical: $15 million for AECL
“Ottawa sells AECL to SNC-Lavalin.” The federal government is selling Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.’s Candu division for $15-million and future royalties, after pouring billions of dollars into the troubled nuclear company to get it ready for privatiz…
Continue readingLarry Hubich's Blog: Join Us For the Unveiling of a Headstone In Memory of Nick Schaack
Join Us For the Unveiling of a Headstone In Memory of Nick SchaackWhat: Unveiling of a commemorative headstone for Nick Schaack, who died as a result of his participation in the Regina Riot, July 1st, 1935, struggling for economic security on behalf of…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On selloffs
Sure, it takes some effort to pull a sweetheart deal out of the wreckage of AECL. But we probably shouldn’t be surprised that the Cons seem to have pulled off the feat:Versant Partners analyst Neil Linsdell told CBC News there’s still a market for the …
Continue readingPaper Dynamite Online: Stephane Dion & Michael Ignatieff: A Study In Contrasts
The headlines speak volumes: "The Resurrection Of Stephane Dion"; "Stephane Dion Steps Out Of The Shadows". In either case, the meaning is the same: Mr. Dion has returned form a pretty dark place.Over the past several weeks, Stephane Dion has been making his presence felt after a long hiatus from the public stage. He was front and centre on the Afghan detainee issue; he took a lead role during
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: The Filibuster Comes To Canada
Last week’s postal filibuster is the first real case study of the new political reality. If it’s a preview of the next four years, I’d say Stephen Harper’s 2015 re-elected chances look quite rosy.Personally, I don’t know who was on the side of the ange…
Continue readingArt Threat: Toronto theatre fest gets funding pulled – A conversation with Artistic Producer Michael Rubenfeld
Toronto’s indie theatre festival SummerWorks has recently reported that core funding from Heritage Canada has been pulled at the last minute. Given the ire the festival drew from the government over last year’s play about terrorism in Canada, those of us working in the arts are feeling a sudden chill in the collective national room. […]
Continue readingWorld Headlines Review: Tahrir Square, June 28 Post-Script
Yesterday’s clashes in Tahrir square were covered here at WHR as breaking news. A more complete picture of the context and extent of the situation has emerged. As mentioned in the previous report, the protest began in Cairo as a peaceful demonstration and public mourning by the families of those
Continue readingMorton's Musings: Ottawa funds clinical trials of controversial MS treatment
The treatment is effective or is not effective. Clinical trials will answer the question. With so many Canadians suffering MS the Federal Government did the right thing — even a negative result is worth the effort. http://bit.ly/jf7hJM In a surprise m…
Continue readingSketchy Thoughts: Pelican Bay Prisoners Go On Hunger Strike to Protest Grave Conditions: Lawyers, Advocates, Organizations Hold Press Conference, Voice Prisoner Demands
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—June 29, 2011Press Contact: Isaac OntiverosCommunications Director, Critical ResistanceOffice: 510 444 0484Cell: 510 517 6612What: Press ConferenceWhen: Thursday, June 30, 2011, 11:00amWhere: Elihu M.&nb…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Fund-Raising Review By Province – NDP
Following up on my previous post, let’s take a look at the NDP’s partial fund-raising numbers from 2007 to 2010. (I’ve kept the 2010 data in the chart as an FYI, but a keen-eye reader notes that we shouldn’t compare to previous years’ data since it reflects quarterly returns rather than annual ones.)
Prov/Reg | 2007 $ | 2007 % | 2008 $ | 2008 % | 2009 $ | 2009 % | 2010 $ | 2010 % |
AB | $307,001.80 | 10.31% | $406,575.72 | 9.23% | $307,350.79 | 10.01% | $143741.94.50 | 9.44% |
BC | $805,217.20 | 27.04% | $1,109,104.94 | 25.18% | $680,108.02 | 30.22% | $504,443.60 | 33.13% |
MB | $148,937.94 | 5.00% | $251,361.54 | 5.71% | $174,442.71 | 5.68% | $64,005.27 | 4.20% |
NB | $34,410.77 | 1.16% | $42,393.92 | 0.96% | $38,635.19 | 1.26% | $13,144.86 | 0.86% |
NL | $13,894.00 | 0.47% | $22,273.00 | 0.51% | $22,290.00 | 0.73% | $11,340.00 | 0.75% |
NS | $105,734.34 | 3.55% | $155,442.45 | 3.53% | $110,203.00 | 3.59% | $37,112.50 | 2.44% |
NT | $7,146.00 | 0.24% | $21,542.00 | 0.49% | $9,433.00 | 0.31% | $2,150.00 | 0.14% |
NU | $2,830.00 | 0.10% | $2,420.00 | 0.05% | $4,018.00 | 0.13% | $2,040.00 | 0.13% |
ON | $1,199,357.72 | 40.28% | $1,841,233.15 | 41.81% | $1,364,679.90 | 44.46% | $583,063.67 | 38.29% |
PE | $7,145.00 | 0.24% | $8,300.82 | 0.19% | $5,952.00 | 0.19% | $2,470.00 | 0.16% |
QC | $94,120.42 | 3.16% | $120,570.19 | 2.74% | $65,811.41 | 2.14% | $30,502.58 | 2.00% | SK | $243,518.12 | 8.18% | $411,029.18 | 9.33% | $278,655.30 | 9.08% | $124,664.37 | 8.19% | YT | $8,300.92 | 0.28% | $11,703.92 | 0.27% | $8,174.92 | 0.27% | $3,887.34 | 0.27% | Total | $2,977,614.23 | n/a | $4,403,950.83 | n/a | $3,069,754.24 | n/a | $1,522,571.13 | n/a |
The NDP received $23,019.67 in other donations included in La Presse’s dataset; as with the Cons, that extra amount looks to consist generally of donations from Canadians living outside the country. And another $1,237,818.50 was linked to a province but not classified by year.
I’ll note that the above chart doesn’t include one of the ways I played around with the data, which was to compare the parties’ 2008 donations to their votes in each province. Based on the Cons’ numbers alone I wasn’t entirely sure what to look for, but there are some rather interesting comparisons to be drawn between the Cons and the NDP:
– Both parties posted their top fund-raising take per vote in…the Yukon, with the Cons raking in $11.85 per vote and the NDP $9.17. The Northwest Territories also rank near the top of both parties’ lists, but Nunuvut breaks the territorial trend as the Cons’ lowest per-vote source of income.
– The Cons’ most efficient province for fund-raising is predictably the one where they hold a stranglehold on the popular vote, with $4.53 finding its way into party coffers for every vote won in Alberta. Next in line were B.C. ($3.89), Ontario ($3.69), Manitoba ($3.52) and Saskatchewan ($3.36).
– For the NDP, by far the most efficient province for fund-raising compared to votes received (and the lone one where it exceeded the Cons on that measure) was Saskatchewan, with $3.83 raised by the NDP for each vote it won. Surprisingly to me at least, Alberta ranks second at $2.52, followed by B.C. ($2.37), Manitoba ($2.24) and Ontario ($1.96) – making the fund-raising bases substantially the same for the NDP and the Cons, even if they’ve had varying success in cultivating them.
– Meanwhile, the NDP had two provinces far below the rest in dollars raised per vote. In Newfoundland and Labrador ($0.34), the party’s vote was itself based largely on Danny Williams’ ABC campaign, making for an obvious explanation for the disconnect. But even that effect couldn’t win the bottom place on the NDP’s list of dollars raised per vote – which leads us back into the discussion of the NDP generally.
While I noted that the Cons’ returns in Quebec has always been less than impressive, the NDP’s (at least for the years covered by La Presse’s data) have been substantially lower…and declining by the year as a proportion of the NDP’s overall fund-raising. And even in the 2008 election which saw the party make modest gains with a 12% showing at the polls and its first ever general-election seat, the NDP raised only 27 cents for every Quebec vote it won.
Which isn’t to say that the NDP can’t indeed build up its capacity in Quebec now that it has 59 MPs and a majority of popular support to work with. And one can’t say that the model of working toward winning votes based on relatively soft support which doesn’t yet reflect a donor base has been anything but a stunning success.
But there’s an awfully long way to go for the NDP to turn what had previously been its least efficient fund-raising generator into a national power base. And I’ll be highly curious to see whether the party’s fund-raising base shifts substantially based on its Quebec success.
I’ll note one other trend in the NDP’s data, as the close relationship between the NDP and its provincial sections looks to have a significant influence on how the party raises its money. The 2007 and 2009 years offer an ideal basis of comparison since the dollars raised are such a good match, and they show an almost unbroken pattern: where a provincial party faces an election (including Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario in 2007, and B.C. in 2009), the federal party’s fund-raising is lower for the year.
And the exception that proves the rule is Nova Scotia – where despite the euphoria of winning a provincial election for the first time and the added attention from hosting the party’s federal convention in Halifax, the federal NDP improved on its 2007 fund-raising numbers by less than $5,000.
Continue readingPoverty on the rise in Harper’s Canada
New data released by StatsCan shows the national rate for low income earners rose in 2009, for the second straight year, up from 9.2 to 9.6 %. To put that number in context, roughly 3.2 million Canadians,with more 630,000 of those being children, liv…
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