Justin Trudeau passes through the Calgary Centre riding, as seen by the media. Actual Liberal Party of Canada leadership candidates may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: Conservative Party candidate Joan Crockatt, still the front-runner in the by-election that hasn’t been called yet; Liberal candidate Harvey Locke looking outdoorsy; the
Continue readingTag: new democratic party
Montreal Simon: The NDP Attack Ad and the Con Zombies
I'm not quite sure what to think about this latest attack ad from the NDP. I suppose I should be grateful that somebody put out a video calling the Cons Lying Liars. I'm sure that somewhere out there, some people who get their news only from YouTube, must be saying "Who
Continue readingPop The Stack: Could the Liberal Party Become The Open Party?
Here’s a short survey from the Liberal Party on foreign ownership rules for natural resources. There are two interesting things about this. First, foreign ownership of our natural resources, especially by state corporations of other nations, is an important issue Canadians need to talk about more. I’m not especially knowledgable
Continue readingPop The Stack: Could the Liberal Party Become The Open Party?
Here’s a short survey from the Liberal Party on foreign ownership rules for natural resources. There are two interesting things about this. First, foreign ownership of our natural resources, especially by state corporations of other nations, is an important issue Canadians need to talk about more. I’m not especially knowledgable
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Alberta NDP’s Brian Mason lays claim to Tory Peter Lougheed’s legacy
Free of his moustache, Alberta NDP Leader Brian Mason addresses his party’s 50th annual convention in Edmonton yesterday. Below: Federal NDP Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair, who also spoke yesterday; former Alberta Conservative Premier Peter Lougheed. Freshly shorn of his trademark moustache, Alberta New Democratic Party Leader Brian Mason made the
Continue readingAlberta Diary: ‘Crowdsourcing our confidence’? Don’t bet on 1CalgaryCentre, whoever’s behind it, having much impact
A crowd: They have wine and balloons, and they’re all dressed in white. Does this make them progressives? Have they been crowdsourced? Alberta Diary is not certain and you shouldn’t be either. Below: Calgary pollster Brian Singh, Calgary Centre Conservative candidate Joan Crockatt. “Crowdsourcing our confidence” will get a progressive
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Hurricane Isaac makes landfall in New Orleans; Hurricane Joan hits Calgary
A prophet laments the unwillingness of the people to heed warnings from on high. Alberta political bloggers may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Nominated federal Tory candidate “Hurricane Joan” Crockatt. At the risk of going all Old Testament on readers, when Hurricane Isaac slammed into New Orleans last night,
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Why the Tar Sands are Bad News for Canada
James Laxer is an economist and Political Scientist, one of the founders of the “Waffle Movement”that attemped to pull the New Democratic Party left and controlling our natural resources nationally as a great many other countries had done. Although Laxer gained support from 37 percent at the 1972 convention the
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Problems with their papers? No word yet on Conservative candidates for Calgary Centre
Members of the Calgary Centre Conservative Constituency Association puzzle over nomination papers presented by would-be candidates. Alberta political insiders may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: CPC Candidates Joan Crockatt, Joe Soares, Jon Lord and Richard Billington. Wherever are the Conservative Party of Canada’s Calgary Centre candidates? Or, more to
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Mystery story: is there an opposition candidate who can win the Calgary Centre by-election?
Your blogger with David Swann: Remember, when the author of this blog appears in a picture with a politician, it does not necessarily imply an endorsement. (That’s enough photos with politicians for one week, thanks – ed.) Below: Likely Conservative winner Joan Crockatt, Edmonton Strathcona NDP MP Linda Duncan and
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: With new NDP shadow cabinet, Mulcair plots Harper’s 2015 defeat
Last week’s 24-hour House of Commons vote on Stephen Harper‘s draconian budget Bill C-38, the “Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Act”, ended in a dramatic fashion. The New Democratic Party (NDP), the Official Opposition, concluded the vote with a spontaneous: Deux mille quinze! Deux mille quinze! Deux mille quinze! chant. That’s French
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Harper v. Canada: Stephen Harper Addresses Right Wing U.S. Think Tank
Understanding the Canadian prime minister’s war against our democratic institutions, freedoms and legitimate dissent Editor’s Note: In June 1997, Stephen Harper addressed a Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy (CNP), a right-wing U.S. think tank. His speech unequivocally foreshadowed his ongoing war against Canadian democracy. Harper described Canada
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Triumph of Thomas Mulcair
The Cons and their stooges in the right-wing media have gone after him like a pack of rabid hyenas. They have attacked the man, claiming he was too angry and divisive to be a leader. They have mocked him for pointing out the dangers of the Dutch Disease, that is
Continue readingcenterandleft: Free Riders and Dire Needers
Breaking news: bad jobs exist. In a classic case of Conservatives boiling down an issue to a wide-sweeping preposterous claim, Jim Flaherty claimed that “there is no bad job”. Yikes Flaherty is proposing reforms to the Employment Insurance program, making it harder for Canadians to remain on the program for
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Harpo Hate Monster and the Liberals
Oh. Mein.Cabaret. It's showtime in Harperland. The Cons are screening their latest attack ad. And this time the Harpo hate monster is going after the NDP !!! But wait what's this? Despite the creepy Halloween theme, the critics are panning it. Not because it's clearly a product of Stephen Harper's
Continue readingcenterandleft: I Am Not Afraid of an Abortion Debate
If we, as Canadians, believe a woman ought to have the right to choose whether to terminate a pregnancy, why are we so afraid of having our views challenged? Why is it so frightening to open up debate on this socially contentious issue? If we are an open, democratic society,
Continue readingPolygonic: The case for an NPD-Q
A year, now, since Québec first crested the Big Orange Wave, and still, the NDP continue to thrive. It prompts a brand-new big idea: isn’t it time to build a provincial New Democratic Party in Québec? Will six be enough for the thirsty masses? There used to be one, though
Continue readingcenterandleft: Bob Rae’s Steep Climb
A Leger Marketing poll was conducted between April 2nd and 4th, and showed the NDP on top of the pack, with 33%, leading the Conservatives by 1%. The Liberals were far behind at 19%, the same level of support given in May 2011. Leger’s information confirms another poll done earlier
Continue readingcenterandleft: Mulcair’s Center Squeeze
Most New Democrats – probably all New Democrats – genuinely dislike Steven Harper. With good reason, he’s muzzled scientists, bullied unions, abandoned the impoverished, given tax breaks to the largest corporations, all things that stir up democratic socialists. Yet, their newly minted leader was not only represented the Quebec Liberal Party in the Quebec National […]
Montreal Simon: The Failed Assault on Thomas Mulcair
Well I see that even before Thomas Mulcair rose in the Commons today, the Cons sent out one of their attack chihuahas to try to “define him.” Or in their mob lingo, bite his balls knees ankles. “This hug-a-thug, soft-on-crime leader will return Canada to policies favoring the rights of
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