Federal Election Thread

[blind_synergy]

Which of the lying liars are you going to vote for this time?

[juice]

Which of the lying liars are you going to vote for this time?

 

hahahaha, i love it.

[<abstract>]

I am praying for some sort of majority of either the liberals or conservatives so i don't have to vote every year and a half...

 

seriously, 4 elections in 7 years. Talk about voter fatigue.

[Akmed89]

they're all crap, but IMO the conservatives are the crappiest of the crap, so hopefully no majority for them.

 

Otherwise I dont care.

[jetstar]

Are you complaining about democracy in action? The fact that we had a peaceful dismantling of the government (regardless of how planned and somewhat disingenuous it was) when individuals in countries are dying for the right not only to choose who they want in power, but also just to simply voice their opinion shows how privileged we are.

 

I'm voting for the NDP in my riding as the MP candidate is not only intelligent and well-spoken but also because the NDP's platform meets my progressive views on social programs and internal economic matters.

 

I'm a little wary and even resigned to the idea that the CPC will get a majority because Canadians are tired of elections and just want to give them the majority to be guaranteed not to be bothered for another four years (I think it's been changed from five).

 

I am praying for some sort of majority of either the liberals or conservatives so i don't have to vote every year and a half...

 

seriously' date=' 4 elections in 7 years. Talk about voter fatigue.[/quote']

[Erk]

I'm kinda with Para D here. I will probably vote for some independent who is less of a complete ****ing loser than everyone in federal politics.

 

After having been heavily involved in the outstanding and inspiring Calgary municipal elections, where there were actually good people vying for positions, federal elections seem even more fruitless and pathetic than ever.

[mdDave]

Is there something wrong with me if I know 1000x more about American politics than Canadian?

I really have no clue what's going on in this country

[blind_synergy]

I am voting for the Conservatives for the first time in my life so they can get a majority. The Liberals have really lost their ways with regards to policy and the NDP are hell-bent on ruining Canada (socialists). Don't get me wrong, the Conservatives are slimy too but its way better than the alternative.

 

Regardless, if the Conservatives win a majority, they are bound to falter somewhere and lose support with the Liberals coming in with a more centrist policy for a majority win.

 

I don't think the NDP have identified with socialists for a number years, at least not since the early 90s.

 

I'm probably going to be voting for anyone but the Cons. Like Donald Trump, their greatest accomplishment is convincing people of their business/economic credentials (rather than actually possessing them).

 

Regardless, does anyone else think it doesn't make much sense to have a conservative majority in parliament when most people are voting for liberal parties by a fairly wide margin (the left vote's just being split)?

[blind_synergy]

I think its like the Bloc saying they aren't "separatist" but rather sovereigntists. But to each his/her own.

 

Regardless of what happens, I hope we don't have to deal with another election for four years, we find a way out of our current deficit, and our taxes aren't raised. All of these probably won't happen but at least we can hope.

 

They're not socialists.

[blind_synergy]

Yes they are. This is something that is common knowledge. There are provincial arms that are more centrists but not at the federal level. And officially, they identify their line of thinking as social democracy. Some definitions of social democracy simply refer to all forms of socialism that follow an electoral, reformist or evolutionary path to socialism rather than a revolutionary one.

 

Social democrats are not socialists (this is just arguing semantics; the poing I'm getting at is that you shouldn't dismiss something because of a label). Anyways, I really don't think they're hellbent on ruining Canada; I can't seem to find that policy on any of their platforms.

[K-Doc]

I'm voting for the Conservatives. Honestly, after the conservatives kept their election promise and brought down the GST from 7% -> 5%, that made me really happy. I know that sounds stupid, but at least they did something positive for the everyday person when purchasing goods. That 2% really does make a difference. Other than that, all the politicians are full of #@^ anyway. I am hoping for a majority like above people said so we don't have to vote again in two years. It's getting ridiculous! Personally, I'm getting rather sick of politics and all the constant negative aspects of it.

[blind_synergy]

Regardless of what its called, they are hellbent on spending on unnecessary programs for the hell of it. They got some policy that are just "out there" and are extremely scary. Don't forget the fact that they want to raise corporate taxes in such a volatile economy.

 

The Trudeau deficit started because of all the crazy pressure from the NDP back in the early 70s (minority gov't) and this deficit continued for 30 YEARS. And don't forget about the horrible situation Ontario was in the late 80s (minority propped by NDP) and early 90s (Rae majority). People have yet to recover from that.

 

Don't get me wrong, the NDP are nice people and have good intentions but they just don't have good policies.

 

Okay, first of I all, I should probably point out that I'm not voting for the NDP.

 

The "hellbent on ruining this country" phrasing is something I would expect in the States, not in Canada, which is what irked me.

 

What you listed are valid concerns; you initially dismissed the NDP out of hand on a label.

[blind_synergy]

I should apologize for that. And I didn't mean to offend anyone. Sometimes politics brings that out in people.

 

No worries. Out of curiosity, since you seem to be economically minded, what are your issues with the liberals? Let's say someone resurrected a young Chretien and his cabinet: Would you vote for them?

[Corie]

In the G8 countries, Canada's doing far better than any other country and has even surpassed the pre-recession mark. Gota give Harper credit for that. I'm voting conservatives.

 

I kinda agree with ssd regarding the other parties.

[apache]

ndp, mostly for my hard left position on social issues and the fact that the mp here is extremely dedicated and deserves another term

[K-Doc]

Oh, one more thing I wanted to add. It's nice that the Conservatives show more respect towards the Western Provinces (maybe since Harper and a lot of others are from Western Canadian ridings). I feel like when the Liberals are in power, all that matters is ONTERRIBLE and Quebec. At least Conservatives have shown more respect for the west, and for that, I give them credit. For Western people, don't you hate it when the election is already basically decided before our polls even come close to closing? I understand Ontario has such a huge population, but it's definitely annoying being out here and not really having an impact on the election.

[blind_synergy]

Oh, one more thing I wanted to add. It's nice that the Conservatives show more respect towards the Western Provinces (maybe since Harper and a lot of others are from Western Canadian ridings). I feel like when the Liberals are in power, all that matters is ONTERRIBLE and Quebec. At least Conservatives have shown more respect for the west, and for that, I give them credit. For Western people, don't you hate it when the election is already basically decided before our polls even come close to closing? I understand Ontario has such a huge population, but it's definitely annoying being out here and not really having an impact on the election.

 

Easy there, cowboy. Ontario, particularly Toronto, and BC are the swing provinces this election.

[K-Doc]

Easy there, cowboy. Ontario, particularly Toronto, and BC are the swing provinces this election.

 

LOL! Hardly. The party that will be in power is almost always decided before our polls close. The only thing that BC may decide this year is if the conservatives will get their majority (and if that decision comes down to the west, they will).

[blind_synergy]

I might but the thing is that the Liberals have veered too left for a while now and that has hurt the party. I might vote for them depending on the platform they present this upcoming week (Friday?).

 

I still consider myself a Liberal at heart but obviously the Liberals today aren't the Liberals of the 90s and I think they need a centre or even centre-of-right leader to get these guys back into line. Manley or McKenna would have been perfect but now they are too, too old.

 

There are things I don't liek about the conservatives, including their gun policy and lack of focus on innovation and technology.

 

Do you mean too left economically or socially? I've always kind of thought of the Liberals as a Third Way party.

[blind_synergy]

LOL! Hardly. The party that will be in power is almost always decided before our polls close. The only thing that BC may decide this year is if the conservatives will get their majority (and if that decision comes down to the west, they will).

 

That's what I meant. Toronto and BC will decide if the Cons get their majority or not, in that those regions have the most seats up for grabs.

[Triathlete90]

Honestly I think it comes down to this.

1. All politicians will be politicians in the end...

2. Some please others more in one regard, and displease others in another and vise-versa. Ok people have opinions.

3. There are too many parties with interests that are too close to differentiate in Canada at the FEDERAL level IMO...

 

I really think it comes to personality and SIMPLY image that can dignify Canadians internationally. Harper has been FAR from outstanding when it comes to representing Canada in the best way possible throught the years internationally. Not going to get into details unless someone wants...

 

To get to the point, I think Iggy is by far the best candidate. He is incredibly well versed and knowlegable. He has so many diverse life experiences. He has an outstanding education. For this he is a role model.

 

Finally, he is a liberal, and liberals are the only true Canadian party. Everyone who howls lower taxes, align with US, and wants American culture, and American salries...why dont you just move to the US if you want to be like them? This is Canada and it's a different country!!

[K-Doc]

liberals are the only true Canadian party. Everyone who howls lower taxes, align with US, and wants American culture, and American salries...why dont you just move to the US if you want to be like them? This is Canada and it's a different country!!

 

That whole statement is complete bulls**t. Last time I checked, Canada was a democracy and allowed Canadian voters to determine the most suitable party at that particular time. There is no such thing as only 1 true Canadian party, otherwise, why bother having elections?

[Wayward son]

I vote for the best local candidate. The political party is a distant secondary consideration.

[Wayward son]

In the G8 countries, Canada's doing far better than any other country and has even surpassed the pre-recession mark. Gota give Harper credit for that. I'm voting conservatives.

 

Gotta give Harper credit for what? For the strength of our banking system? That was the main reason why we faired better than the other countries and those regulations were entirely due to the previous Liberal government. The most vocal opponent of those regulations that saved our butts? Stephen Harper both as Opposition leader and before that when he was head of the National Citizens Coalition. Harper was also lucky enough to inherit a massive budget surplus thanks in part to our not partaking in the Iraq war. The political leader who was falling over himself to get us into that quagmire? Stephen Harper. Now we have something like a $56 billion dollar Federal deficit this year which of course is not entirely Harper's fault. However, with Harper also wanting to spend almost $30 billion dollars on new fighter jets and who knows how many billion dollars on new prisons despite crime going down year after year, he doesn't seem to care about fiscal responsibility. 10 years from now when you are an attending and you are wondering why there is less and less money for health care as we try to pay off this massive debt, unneeded prison expansion, and fighter jets you can at least be comforted by that penny you save on a can of soda pop.

[Wayward son]

What is un-Canadian about lowering taxes, etc.? You'd rather the gov't take your money and spend it on Quebec culture?

 

Personally, I would rather a tax and spend government than than one that racks up debt while spending.