In the same week that Canada’s political pundits hailed Stephen Harper’s “remaking of the political landscape,” — the week that Micheal Ignatieff resigned as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and headed to the University of Toronto — Andrew Coyn…
Continue readingTag: Election 2011
The Progressive Economics Forum: Reflection on the Election
Poring over the entrails leads me to a couple of observations. First, as is usually the case, the change in the distribution of seats which commands headlines is an imperfect reflection of the change in the distribution of votes. The NDP breakthrough in Quebec was remarkable and historically important and unprecedented, but so was the […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: The Perils of “Strategic” Voting
Several Toronto Star and Globe and Mail columnists have suggested that the Conservative majority resulted from too little strategic voting for the Liberals. In every federal election that I can remember, the Liberals have appealed for progressive votes to stop the Conservatives (or their Reform-Alliance predecessors). A major flaw in this logic is that relatively […]
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Mushy Middle?
Those who are hailing the new “clarity” reflected in Monday’s election results should read Dan Gardner’s column in this morning’s Ottawa Citizen. Looking back at the demise of the British Liberal Party, Gardner writes:Something similar is quite possib…
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: I said campaigns matter, but Jesus!
I’ve already written about my experience in #elxn41 on the ground in Vancouver Island North, where I got the campaign office closed Wednesday and the last of the signs taken down. I’d like now to offer some thoughts on the national campaign and the way…
Continue readingAttacks on federal NDP come fast and furious
#cdnpoli #ndp #cpc #lpc #elxn42
As soon as it was clear that the NDP had ousted the Liberals as official opposition to the federal government in the House of Commons, the media decided that the NDP were the enemy of the people.
First, it was the atta…
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Historic NDP Breakthrough is Good
My fellow bloggers are being too negative about yesterday’s election results. A Harper majority is very bad. However, I have trouble imagining it cutting public programs more than Chretien’s majority did. The Conservatives and Liberals have long been rather similar on economic issues. The NDP replacing the Liberals as one of the two predominant parties […]
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: Wrapping-up five weeks in Vancouver Island North
I’d hope to be more active blogging during this election than I was in 2008, when my role in the BC war room made blogging as openly as I like too a little difficult. This time as campaign manager in Vancouver Island North, my hometown riding in BC, I …
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: A progressive paradox for Québec and Canada
The mood in the progressive milieu here in Québec seems rather grim this morning. In Québec history we call the twenty year period when anti-union, right wing populist Duplessis ruled, the “Era of the Great Darkness”, and many by email or on social media have spontaneously referred to the upcoming period in an analogous way. […]
Continue readingExcited Delirium: MayDay 2011: Yer Blues, Orange Crush and RIP LPC
In 2015, the only thing that will defeat the Cons is a concerted effort. The ‘death by a thousand cuts’ approach by Canada’s progressives will only ensure that we never have a voice in this country.
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: BQ Demise- Not Good
We have a lost a lot with the demise of the Bloc Quebecois as a significant presence in Parliament. Social policy in Quebec has been more progressive than elsewhere in Canada for a long time. This is particularly important for policy related to women’s rights, including labour and social policy that allow women’s full participation […]
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Russell’s Nightmare
Canada changed last night. It was a change which voters made consciously and deliberately. In doing so, they ignored the warning of one of Canada’s best known constitutional scholars. A week before the election, Peter Russell appeared in what will beco…
Continue readingA. Picazo: Sun News Network: Let The (Incredibly Lazy) Astroturfing Begin!
It has been fascinating to watch the Conservative campaign strategy evolve over the past two weeks; working in tandem with Sun TV in a quest to secure a Harper majority, and to destroy the opposition leaders. Aside from the standard issued talking points submitted by the Conservative war room and
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Harper’s Reckless Economics
Throughout the election campaign Stephen Harper claimed the political high ground on the management of the economy. The surprise is that the opposition has pretty much let him get away with this. During the English Language debate the first question focused on $6 billion tax cuts to corporations. Harper said there were no tax cuts […]
Continue readingWhy Ignatieff will have his ass handed to him on Monday
Yes, we all know that the only poll that counts is the one on election day. However, after #elxn41 wraps it up, _if_ the results are merely in the same ballpark as the polls, then the Liberals are going to be handed ther worst defeat, EVAR! Everyone knows this. While there are many opinions on […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: The Conference Board on Weak Business Investment
I do not know if the Conference Board intended its latest release on sluggish investment in machinery and equipment to be taken up during the election campaign. However, as Canadian Press reports: The Conference Board report comes at a time when the issue of corporate taxes is a key demarcation point among the parties in […]
Continue readingFacing Autism in New Brunswick: Autism Ignorance: Conservative James Moore Says Autism Is Not a Disability
UPDATE: NDP Candidate Mark Ireland who was present at the forum has twice CONFIRMED in a message below that James Moore stated that autism is not a disability. Mr. Ireland also confirmed that Moore made the statement in a twitter discussion with…
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Fiscal Record of Canadian Political Parties
With all the recent news stories — as well as alarm raised by other leaders — about the fiscal and economic impact and record of NDP governments, I decided to take a look at and review the fiscal record of all federal and provincial governments in Canada for the past three decades. These results may […]
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: A Failed Prime Minister
Stephen Harper set the bar for success in this election. There were only two choices, he said — a Conservative Majority or Chaos. No one at this point can accurately predict the outcome of this election. But it would appear that Canadians — as they d…
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Stephen Harper’s Economic Record: Best in show?
According to the polls, Stephen Harper gets the highest score on handling the economy, though he only gets the nod from 38 per cent of Canadians. As the incumbent, he’s got the advantage on all other candidates. What the others have done and might do is a topic for another blogpost. This short summary of […]
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