First-past-the-post creates a conservative English Canada vs. a progressive Quebec
The NDP scored a number of firsts for itself in the 2011 election: the first time with seats in the triple digits, the first time as Official Opposition, the first…
NDP
MayDay 2011 Aftermath: Let the Distractions and Deflections Begin
Constantly lampooning the NDP for having the only youth in their party may provide a short-term distraction from the crimes of the Cons, but it ain't gonna last.
Mulcair questions the details of the Osama compound raid
Osama bin Laden is dead, like a doornail. It’s without a doubt. There’s some sense of relief in the air, although what has pupped as a result of the attacks…
Attacks 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,…
Somebody bring me the head of my predecessor!
There is a real irony that the obvious need for this NDP call for more democratic riding distribution in Saskatchewan is a consequence of this NDP call for more democratic…
Quebec NDP: The Kids [Could Be] All Right
Monday was an exciting night for Quebec university NDP clubs, as a number of members of their executives were elected to the House of Commons, amidst a wave that elected…
Confessions of an Election Hawk and Red Tory
I’ll confess it. I’ll admit it and put it on my sleeve. I was one of the election hawks in March. I did not get the government I voted for,…
Hobbits for Electoral Reform
Dear Wise Races of the United Kingdom of Middle Earth, Please forgive a humble Hobbit for bothering you but I just wanted to write about an urgent matter of democracy.…
Electoral math II: vote splitting in the Liberal ridings the Conservatives won
While there was an enormous transfer of seats towards the NDP from the Bloc and to a lesser extent the Liberals, the Conservatives managed to move from a minority to…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
Electoral Math I: Vote Splitting and the NDP+Liberal merger hypothesis
This historic election has seen the complete collapse of the Bloc Québécois and the decline in the Liberal party to historic lows while propelling the Conservatives to a majority government…
Massive dual win for Harper—a majority and a Liberal Party in ruins
Stephen Harper has long had two goals, a short-term goal of winning a majority government and a long-term goal of destroying the Liberal Party. Last night he achieved the first…
Economic Impact of Harper Majority
This 6 minute debate between Michael Hlinka, CBC business correspondent, and myself examines the economic impact of a Harper majority. It took place early today on Metro Morning, the local…
Did NDP Sectarianism Screw Canada?
While NDP supporters might be celebrating last night’s election results, the reality is that it was an umitigated disaster for Canada. The Tory majority will mean more tax breaks for…
Harper’s centralization of the democratic process: the litmus test for the next four years
Leaving all policy discussion aside, one of the most disheartening aspects of the last five years of minority government under Harper has been a consistent erosion of the adversarial process…
Québec’s NDP revolution: the new normal, or a BQ holiday?
Québec doesn’t do things by halves, does it? Some of us have begged and implored the NDP to focus its energies on Québec: to play to its social democratic credentials,…
A Shift in Canadian Politics
With one of the most unpredictable and unimaginable elections in recent memory, the most accurate way to summarize it all in one sentence would be to say; there is a…