Federal Election Open Thread
October 14, 2008, Matthew Good 
Leave your opinions in the comments.
Updates:
- CBC calls election - Conservative minority government.
- Conservatives gain slightly larger minority.
- Green Party leader, Elizabeth May, loses her seat.
- Conservatives fail to make gains in Quebec.
- Voter turnout may be one of the lowest in Canadian history.
- Past election stats.
- Twitter Tweet traffic used during CBC’s election coverage.
- Libby Davies re-elected in Vancouver East. Congrats Libby!
- Bloc retains its position in Parliament.
- Election cost $300 million dollars.
- Blackout was broken online.
- Election could produce most women in Parliament in Canadian history.
That’s It
Well, that does it for me this evening. So, do you feel like you got your $300 million dollars worth? There are those that will argue that you can’t put a price tag on democracy. In this instance I disagree. The Prime Minister broke his own election law in an attempt to gain a majority. He failed and nothing has really changed. In the process we lost hundreds of millions of dollars that could have been used to bolster any number of social programs. As far as I’m concerned, that is the price we’ve paid for political vanity.
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I voted Green Party… pout
very disappointed McKay > May
Dissapointed I moved into a major Conservative stronghold here in the Ottawa Valley. Nice to see the NDP picking up seats. Too bad about May, but nice to see Trudeau winning at the moment.
Looks like the conservatives made gains in Ontario. None in Quebec.
I was hoping we’d unseat John Baird here in Ottawa West, but he remains.
We made it close…but close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades.
Hi great place that Ottawa Valley…home boy! =)
there’s a surprise with how Liberals made gains in Quebec.
In BC so far, Liberals aren’t even making the scoreboard
Paul Dewar won Ottawa center…again
That’s a shame for May.
It’s interesting that Quebec showed no gain in the Conservatives, but not much of a surprise.
Also, so far, no strong interest in the Liberals. Very, very interesting.
Stephen seems to have failed. Minority it seems says the CBC.
Is this a waste?? R we looking at going back to the polls yet again, very soon?? I think we just might.
My current city (Fredericton) and my hometown (Miramichi) both switched over to Conservative. Lame.
CTV and CBC are projecting 143 seats for the Conservatives. That is WAY too close to a majority for my liking. What happened?
What happened is that Dion is not an effective leader. I think many would LIKE to vote Liberal, but can’t do it under the current circumstances given the lack of a strong leader and economic uncertainty.
I don’t think the Liberals were ready for this election. Hopefully this will be a wakeup call for them, so next time around they’ll have a leader who can pull it off.
Either that, or Jack Layton and the NDP can come along and sweep up more of their seats.
Earlier, in the GTA, Ignatieff was trailing behind. I was worried. But he made it through. whew.
Ditto to what Eric said - I had high hopes for Pratt, and high hopes that Baird would not be reelected.
Frankly, I’m disappointed in the projections - as Ender mentioned, the projections are disconcertingly close to a majority. Here’s hoping that there will be some last-minute wins for everyone except the Tories.
In the end, though, undecided voters, falling voter turnout and a growing sense of disenfranchisement are big concerns for the long-term stability and durability of our democratic and electoral models - I wonder how few Canadians will be responsible for electing our government this time?
what a waste of time and money…
let’s just hope the american election gives us something to smile about
Gezz what did this election studio cost the CBC…they’d better store it and use it again to get their money’s worth.
So. How long until we see a new Liberal leader? And who will it be?
What a waste, what a waste…
Dion won in my riding, as usual.
KET: Indeed it was a waste.
I’m not going to say who I voted for, but it definitely wasn’t for Stephen Harper. In my opinion, his final message before the General Election:“Think about the Economy.” left much to be desired. I can’t believe so many would put their faith (where the economy lies) in someone who has been at the steering wheel during the dawn of the impending fall from grace everyone’s so worried about. I’m absolutely against his plan to pull troops out of Afghanistan in 2011, and his lack of attention to arenas such as health care, education, and the environment leaves me feeling somewhat overlooked as a young adult with a child and one incomplete year of college under my belt.
I thoroughly understand that most if not all politicians will promise their voters the moon, but there has to be a point where we set aside the mundane matters of crunching numbers and focus on our social problems and how we as a society can begin to progress and move forward as human beings.
I don’t know that it really matters at this point. People will always make the mistake of trusting the wrong person with their vote. Perhaps me too, but I like to think that there’s more to life and this country than the stagnant and sombre views that are currently being imposed on us by the Conservatives (see gay marriage, foreign affairs, corporate tax cuts, Afghanistan, the environment, etc, etc,.).
I realize my ideal is an unrealistic expectation, but I thought progressing was the point of living life.
…don’t forget the economy though:)
random: watching CBC and they’re going through Twitter (to see the discussions online). I found this amusing b/c I just joined Twitter today.
Knowing it a great possibility it’s still very disheartening to see that the Green party will not pick up even a single seat. I personally voted Green but can’t help to feel that Elizabeth May may have caused a bit of confusion among her followers. Although she did not come right out and say that Green supporters should vote either Liberal or NDP in order to stop the Conservative party she did imply it on several occasions. Whether or not it had an impact on the grand scheme of things, we will never know, but given how close the Conservatives came to a majority I guess I should just be happy with the Minority government regardless of how it was reached. Here’s hoping that out electoral system will be given a good hard look and a more effective system implemented. I refuse to believe that the results in this election reflect the true feelings of out country!
Definitely a waste of time and money. I agree that the biggest problem is Dion’s lack of appeal. He should have become another person’s righthand man for a few years until people learned more about him. A lot of people are talking about Trudeau, but he’s too young to be chosen I think. At least Ignatieff has some recognition. Happy for the NDP though. Seems they’ll make good inroads, especially if they keep that Quebec seat.
As a Newfie, I was quite glad to see that Danny Williams’ ABC campaign was a success on The Rock. But as a current NB resident I’m very disappointed with the number of Conservative seats won.
My personal view is that Bernard Lord’s endorsement helped boost the Conservative vote in a province which is getting increasingly annoyed with the sitting Liberal provincial government.
The Reform/Aliance Party hijacked the former PC party and I’m saddened that Lord would use his reputation in this province to sell the Conservative platform.
I hope that we can move toward a more proportional type of electoral system. It seems clear, once again, that many of these votes going toward “unviable” local candidates for the sake of boosting the national status of their party are effectively being wasted.
I’d like to see a more proportional system… but the devil is in the details. I voted against Mixed Member Proportional when we had the referendum, because it could lead to “tenure politicians”. I believe every single individual who is seated in parliament must be put there by voters. Any other way is unacceptable to me personally.
Yup, Ottawa is still blue……..
Last I heard was just over 50% of Canadians voted. Sad, both for the country and as a commentary on the leaders, platforms, and parties. I like the idea of required voting like in Australia, but with an extra protest box that is blank for people that do not want to pick a candidate.
I don’t get why someone of age wouldn’t vote. It takes ten minutes out of your life.
I’ve voted in all three elections I’ve been eligable to. I feel a sense of duty to vote.
I will never forgive Chretien because he called an election really early in Fall 2000, weeks before I turned 18, and all summer people had been saying that we were in for an election in spring 2001. I will pie him myself if I ever get the opportunity! Joking…partially. I agree with the duty to vote.
Baird won my riding:( I voted Green.
Not exactly happy with the results, although a Tory minority is better than a Tory majority.
I just wish I lived somewhere that it didn’t feel like my vote didn’t count. That little map on cbc.ca is all blue in Alberta. But, I guess someone’s always going to feel slighted.
Since we’re mentioning the duty to vote… what does everyone think about compulsory voting (like in Australia)?
Duceppe is on CBC now. Tackling point after point
I guess I’m not as much as a pessimist as I think, because it turns out I was actually secretly pretty hopeful going into today. I’m pretty disillusioned and disappointed right now.
It would be such a waste of money and time to enforce.
I wish more people felt like they should vote. For me it’s not a choice.
Andy: I’m not sure that I’d consider it a waste of time or money, but I can understand why some would see it that way. In the beginning, it probably would be quite costly to enforce, but people would get the hang of it.
(Australia’s Electoral Commission shows that voter turnout in 2007 was approximately 95% - leaving very few fines to be enforced. http://www.aec.gov.au/FAQs/Elections.htm#voter_turnout2004)
Nonetheless, I agree with you - more people should vote - not because they are required to, but because it’s their duty.
What a waste. Though, it could have been even worse.
re: compulsory voting: I don’t think it’s a good idea. Like andy said, it would probably be expensive to enforce. On top of that, throw in an even larger number of un or ill-informed voters…
I don’t think risking a fine should be the main motivator to get someone to vote.
If you don’t follow the issues or care about what happens in this country, fine, don’t vote. I think it sucks and you’re being a horrible Canadian if you choose to act that way, but don’t mark an X for some random jagoff and throw the whole balance.
@KET: i was too; secretly hoping that maybe things really will change.
i was disappointed… but now i’m hearing Layton speak on CBC, though i know it’s all politics and talk, i’m still going to hold my breath and see what happens with this new parliament, b/c as Layton is saying, they want to work together and leave behind the campaign and move forward, blahblahblah…so maybe maybe this time around. maybe?
To all the Ottawa folks, I as well am very disappointed at amount of blue I see in the Valley. I’m happy Paul Dewar won again.
Netti Wiebe conceded the Northern Saskatchewan riding(Desnethé—Missinippi—
Churchill River) to the Conservative. At least Goodale got re-elected in Wascana.
The other day, John Gormley complimented Small Dead Animals.
I’m surrounded by right-wingers. Please send help.
Once again, I did not vote. And once again I feel good about not voting. It wouldn’t have made a lick of difference.
I agree that I think more people should vote, but I wouldn’t conceive of enforcing it. So many people just don’t follow politics and feel themselves not fit to vote if they haven’t been following the political times. I think it’s great for students to get involved but understand if they choose not too, it can be tough to follow politics in college or university.
I hope as many people vote as are eligible, but forcing people to is definitely not something I would personally agree on. I’ve voted every time since I’ve been able, so 3 federal elections, but if I was forced to vote I’d be more upset than anything.
Plus, any party that suggested that would do just as well as a party riding into an election talking about tax hikes…
The whole “my one vote doesn’t count” argument is just horse shit.
Brent, if everyone that thought the way you do actually went out and voted then who knows how things would look.
Mmmmm. 300 million plus, in a reccession, down the drain.
In my riding, the NDP curently have 10,642 votes to the Conservatives 9,906.
Pretty close, with or without your apathy.
“Horse shit” or not it’s a person’s right to not vote when they don’t like the options presented. This “lesser of evils” stuff just don’t do it for me.
Yeah, while I was in the giant line at the disorganized polling station. This girl told me she was going to vote for Jack Layton. Too bad we’re not in his riding.
At least her heart was in the right place.
The girl at the polling station actually tried to close the station before 7PM because she wasn’t being paid overtime. Go democracy!
I found the idea of forcing people to vote interesting, and even appealing on one level…
But the more I think about it, it gets less and less appealing. The last thing you want to do is cause resentment, and I think that’s what a policy like that would do. Who knows what people would do with those votes if they feel resentment toward the electoral and legislative systems for forcing them to vote.
No, I don’t think force is the solution. I think that we need to do a few things…
a) find a better electoral system, or at least redraw the riding boundaries to make it a little more proportional
b) find better candidates to run at the grass roots level who engage locals on the issues that really matter to them
c) find more collaborative ways to formulate platforms (I like where the Greens went with this concept)
Dion’s speaking on CBC now…he has not indicated he will step down.
Andy: “I think it sucks and you’re being a horrible Canadian if you choose to act that way, but don’t mark an X for some random jagoff and throw the whole balance.”
People do that now. Or so we assume - since we use a secret ballot, no one can know for sure.
(You may wnt to read the document here - http://www.aec.gov.au/pdf/voting/compulsory_voting.pdf - at the very least, it paints an interesting picture of the history of compulsory voting. Food for thought?)
Eric, now you’ve got some great ideas.
Eric, I agree with you on the redrawing of riding boundaries. We’re a much bigger province compared to the other east coasters yet we have less seats than them. I was driving home from Victoria and for at least 20 minutes it was just the Peter Julian riding.
I’m happy May lost. I just wish she didn’t lose to a Conservative. It may be petty, but I don’t care. I really, really don’t like her.
Oh, Edmonton-Strathcona. Please don’t fail me now. This may just be a first.
I’ve linked this piece here before. I realize he’s a comedian, but I think he’s on the right track.
Take it away, George….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efKguI0NFek
I’m in a conservative stronghold up in northern BC. No candidate has ever come close to unseating our MP, so even though the NDP were the closest, which they always are, I voted Green to help bolster their numbers nationally. I was honestly torn right up until the last minute, but I made my final decision based on the candidates’ debate that was held in my town.
I’m glad to see that the NDP were able to pick up a few more seats, but ultimately sad that Dion wasn’t able to rally his party in the face of Stephen Harper. The same goes for Elizabeth May, she took on a tough fight running against Peter McKay, perhaps a little too tough.
Ultimately to me though this whole thing remains a waste of time and money under our current electoral system, with the Bloc remaining grossly over represented yet again. That’s one of the primary reasons I chose to vote for my Green candidate, she was the only candidate to bring up the issue of electoral reform in the debate, despite the fact that it is part of the NDP’s platform as well.
I don’t think equating Govenor Bush stealing two elections to Canada’s history of elections is really all that appropriate.
Hey, there’s a lot of sick and stupid people out there. Do you really want them all to vote?
“I was driving home from Victoria and for at least 20 minutes it was just the Peter Julian riding.”
That’s literally nothing, my riding goes from Prince George to the territories, you can drive for more that 10 hours and still be represented by the same asshole.
Eric: “Who knows what people would do with those votes if they feel resentment toward the electoral and legislative systems for forcing them to vote.”
What could they do that is worse than not voting? Spoil a few more ballots? Legally elect an ill-favoured party to government? Sure, it would be unfortunate if, say, the Tories won a majority because of it, but at least the majority of Canadians would have had their say.
“I think that we need to do a few things…
a) find a better electoral system, or at least redraw the riding boundaries to make it a little more proportional
b) find better candidates to run at the grass roots level who engage locals on the issues that really matter to them
c) find more collaborative ways to formulate platforms (I like where the Greens went with this concept)”
I am all about a). The first-past-the-post system does not work given the current levels of voter apathy. Even when participation is at a high, the FPTP system is deeply flawed, requiring no set level of votes received to determine the winner. Democracy is not a horse-race.
b): I am not certain that grassroots candidates are the solution - better quality candidates - period - would be preferable, no?
c): Partisan politics are embedded in the Canadian psyche - collaborative platforms would blur party lines too much, and the liberal/leftist vote would likely be even more thoroughly split than it currently is. I don’t disagree with the idea, but I doubt that we could pull it off.
Holy shit Andrew, that’s terrible. I had no idea it was THAT bad.
Andy: “I don’t think equating Govenor Bush stealing two elections to Canada’s history of elections is really all that appropriate.”
I didn’t mention Bush, unless someone else did?
eremm. can’t edit.
Just wanted to point out that my riding is huge and in an urban area. The Prince George example could make sense if there are only a few people in the area but c’mon.
They’ve combined Burnaby and New West.
Andrew: “That’s literally nothing, my riding goes from Prince George to the territories, you can drive for more that 10 hours and still be represented by the same asshole.”
At least you know he probably has no fun canvassing door-to-door? :P
(In all seriousness - I understand this completely. My riding [Ottawa West-Nepean] is only about an hour/hour and a half long, but it’s still too much.)
Bianca: “At least you know he probably has no fun canvassing door-to-door? :P”
The guy could go door to door kicking babies in the face and still win buy a landslide, that’s how thick most of the voting public is up here.
I think that is exceptionally awsome that this could produce the most women in history to be elected into Parliment!! That’s a positive!!
Andrew: I LOLed.
(Because you can only be serious and frustrated about elections for so long, and so late at night. :P)
The name Zoe seemed pretty cool for the NDP. I x’d that baby and went home!
Go NDP?
J: Definitely! Thanks for highlighting something good to come of this piss-poor excuse for an election.
I find it kind of funny that pretty much all of Toronto voted Liberal or NDP. At least I’m in the right city… heh.
Bianca,
The thing is, people CAN have their say. They have the right to do so. They simply need to exercise that right, should they wish to convey a preference.
But I strongly believe that to force someone to convey a preference where they otherwise would not, is simply going to generate a lot of meaningless votes. Regardless of who these votes would eventually benefit, they would still be meaningless.
To say that such a person has “had their say” is utterly void of any meaning, and does not, I believe, contribute to the health of our democracy.
This would be akin to folks voting Democrat or Republican because they always have, because they come from a “Democratic family” or “Republican family”, without putting any thought into the actual policies.
It just doesn’t mean anything at the end of the day.
Look at Stephen’s shit eating grin, you know that guy will be getting some tonight, missionary position only of course. Maybe his wife will even let him turn the lights on as a special treat.
Bianca: Thanx but it was Matt that pointed this out. Honestly, i think that this really is the only positive to come out of this election. When i lived in London Ont i supported Irene Mathyssen. I hope she got in again…..
Wow, I really repeated myself there. Sorry, it’s getting late.
Goodnight all :)
So tired…my first experience working an election and I must say - I have a whole new respect for those who do. 6 am start and we just finished…I imagine some will be there for hours. It’s quite an ordeal.
I was disappointed at the fact that maybe 1/3 of the people I had on my list actually showed up to vote. But it was also encouraging to see many young people out voting for the first time.
Speaking of long days, I better get to bed myself.
Thanks to all of you guys for giving a damn.
The votes are still being counted in my riding.. it’s a very close race between the Liberal candidate and the Conservative.. about 400 votes.
Come on Liberal! Don’t give Harper another seat!
“I’m in a conservative stronghold up in northern BC. No candidate has ever come close to unseating our MP, so even though the NDP were the closest, which they always are, I voted Green to help bolster their numbers nationally. I was honestly torn right up until the last minute, but I made my final decision based on the candidates’ debate that was held in my town.”
@AndrewfromBC: Don’t give up too much hope. One day he’ll be gone. Not only was my riding was not only a Liberal stronghold for at least 13 years, but was a strong hold for a “maverick” Liberal. (Don’t know if Roger Gallaway rings a bell to anyone - he was extremely vocal about his opposition to same-sex marriage and tried to put for the parliamentary vote to be open.) Eventually though, we ended up ousting him during the last election - unfortunately it was to a Conservative candidate, but it was still getting him the fuck out. Now this election, although we still re-elected the Conservative candidate, the Liberals actually ended up coming in third, after the NDP candidate.
For anybody still up and who cares - Larry Bagnell will continue to be the single MP for the entire Yukon Territory - he represents 37,000 constituents over 483,000 sq/km - and he’s done a great job over the last 8 years. You gotta love a guy who has a picture of himself kissing a 700lb grizzly bear on his campaign brochure. Sorry to hear that the Greens got 0 - Elizabeth should not have picked that riding to run in - totally agree with that.
Oh well - back to the grind tomorrow!
A shameful waste of money and time and energy and Harper didn’t even win his majority - ie, a failure!
Infuriating.
The most alarming aspect of this election, I believe, is the voter turnout. It’s been steadily decreasing for decades and now it’s at an all-time low. I believe that speaks volumes about the changing demographic of our nation - the younger generations don’t understand the importance of voting. Granted, our political system has it’s faults and the campaigning is terrible but that shouldn’t stop anyone from forming an opinion and excersizing your right to voice it. We have to get everyone involved so our government is better represented!
What utter bullshit this turned out to be.
Proportional Representation — NOW.
Seriously — it’s pretty much time to camp out on Parliament Hill until they change the system. This is getting ridiculous. The NDP should have 55 seats. Instead they have 37.
I was disgusted with the voter turnout for the election tonight, 50% of our nation voted! As for protecting Canada’s economic interests? Harper better plan on setting more, not less funding aside to enable effective implementation of environmental policies, and rid Canada of your disgusting Placebo Policies while you’re at it! Yes, some of us are educated and it’s pretty evident that those who vote conservative are extremely ignorant, or just as neoconservative as Harper is! Three terms for your Mr. Harper: Carrying Capacity! Ecosystem!! Sustainability!!! Every nations economy depends on efficient management of natural resources. Frontier Economics is proving to everyone its inability to conserve, let alone preserve our natural resources.
Australia and some others use proportional representation and I agree it is better in a bicameral system, usually for the upper house, although it is possible for the lower instead.
Anyway, truly an idiotic waste on the part of Harper and those who supported him.
The Bloc saved us this time, without their standing in Quebec, it would be an even more depressing day in Canada.
Also, I hate first past the post. It really should be changed. Preferential is better, although if people don’t know their candidates (particularly independents) it can be confusing and people may accidentally put an independent ahead in preference without knowing their political orientation. If voting preferentially AND proportionally for an upper chamber it is even worse because it is harder to judge how many votes will push a candidate (who voters are even less familiar with) to their election.
Some electorate have clearly been gerrymandered, redrawing would really be fairer. Having entire states solid blue when there is strong support for other parties is a bit dubious, to me.
“Provinces” rather… As an American, please absolve me of this mistake. I fully intend to return, however, soon enough.
Unbelievable. I know of at least two people who did not vote because they were turned away at the polling station for what they were told was inadequate identification. They had with them the voter’s card that was sent out plus at least 3 other items (no driver’s license). And to make the situation even more exasperating, their polling station was out in the “boonies”. Since neither of them drive, it took them nearly an hour to reach the place.
My one friend was so livid over the situation that she’s writing a letter to all concerned about this experience.
Here’s to hoping that Harper doesn’t assume that one minority plus one larger minority equals a majority because it doesn’t. It’s still a minority no matter how you slice it. Hopefully he’s aware of that and runs his government accordingly.
59% voter turnout too. I’m hearing that this is the lowest turnout ever.
Oh man.. im one of those canadians who live abroad.. Did my vote even MAKE it across the water?
Well not much we can do, I sat here last night watchingt he results roll out… it was a total waste of 300mil.
FUCK… my green/red/orange heart is chocked with a blue hue…. sigh what does a girl have to do to get proportional representation? The percentages tell the real truth.
Reviewing the results of the Canadian general election, I’m trying to find a better use of the $300 million used for the campaign; this is what I’ve come up with:
-Give it to the poor.
-Give it to the rich.
-Health Care.
-Education.
-Roads.
-Embellished vanity mirrors for everyone in parliament.
-Invest in a high-powered sex toy, sell it as a national product.
-Tape the stacks of money together and use it as a table.
-Hold on to it until the next Batman movie, send the country.
-Subsidize the liquor industry; throw a mad party.
-Recreate the “Make it Rain” video in IMAX and 3D.
-New Stephen Harper action-line, with 14 articulation points for a fuller play experience; send one to George Bush, potentially minimize the damage he can do in his last months.
$300mil, give me half that and i could run the election AND provide some snacks at the voting poll.. or a free gift bag!!
This is a shame, 3 elections in 4 years.. Why? Think of the paper ALONE that was used for these elections.
300 mil could fuel a lot of homes for the winter.. so people dont have to chose food over fuel.
300mil could make the OHIP waiting list for surgeries a lot smaller.
300mil divided up could be a great tax relief for a lot of people
I love Canada, it will always be my home. I am moving my UK family over there, and part of me wonders now, what the less of the 2 evils really is.
I cant believe we call ourselves a compassionate and progressive country yet the guy who is so far Bushe’s behind becomes the P.M . It was sad day for Canada with the least percentage of voters and another Conservative gov’t. Lame.
My riding (North Vancouver) went Conservative too. Boo. But I was pleased to see the NDP pick up a seat in Alberta. As you say, this whole election was a waste of time: everyone dug in their heels and voted strategically, which is a guaranteed time machine back to 2006.
At least the Green Party got good exposure, so they’ll be in a better position to do well next time. We definitely need electoral reform though; all this vote splitting is killing us.
Harper gave himself a handjob with $300,000,000 of taxpayer lube.
Our electoral system makes me want to not care about politics but I can’t.
Where’s the Libertarian Party when you need them?
Whywhywhy aren’t we talking about proportional representation? my best-case scenario for a few years now has been a liberal/ndp coalition government, and by the popular vote liberals+ndp have a total greater than the conservative share of the popular vote — with a proportional system they COULD form a government! The majority of Canadians vote “left” — yet our current political system grossly misrepresents this, with all the vote-splitting ridiculousness that happened this year. The scenario where liberal and NDP candidates splitting the vote with in individual ridings can result in electing conservatives is silly and archaic.
On CBC last night they were reporting that the “blogosphere” was talking about what a difference some kind of proportional system would have made here… and yet every time any kind of proportional system has come to a referendum provincially (in BC and in Ontario — I think that’s it) it’s been voted down. I can’t understand why this keeps happening! Proportional representation is about making your vote actually count, wherever you live in Canada. Several versions of proportional representation pose some problems, but try looking up the “mixed member proportional” (MMP) system proposed in Ontario last year. It’s pretty interesting. I’d love to see this silly election result in more serious attention to the need for a proportional system in Canada — it’s about time!
ok so I was pissed that they called it two years too early.
Also, wasn’t that a waste of $300 Million. This election got the conservative party no where, no majority which in my opinion was the entire point of this election. So much money that could have been used elsewhere instead, Harper was being arrogant and overconfident in his party. Sure they gained a couple of more seats in parliament but that won’t get anything done. I’m guessing there will be another election soon. I’m giving it two years until the next one which I will be eligable to vote in!
I was disappointed to see Gerard Kennedy beat Peggy Nash in my riding.
The proposed electoral reform failed in Ontario last year simply because the majority of voters didn’t know enough about the mixed member proportional system.
Faith-based schools grabbed most of the media’s attention and the referendum almost seemed to move onto the back burner. And if people aren’t too comfortable with the proposed electoral system, I can understand why they’d want to keep what they’re familiar with.
Glad to see bringing up mandatory voting got the discussion going. I agree that it should not be mandatory, but think that there should be a reward for voting. That way there is no waste of money for enforcement. Maybe people who vote can somehow be given a small deduction on their income tax return?
As for proportional representation, I have not seen one version of it that works. It’s a good concept, but needs to be practical in a way that does not give party favourites a seat for life; it’s not supposed to be the senate (another giant waste of money that should be voted in or abolished)
Just read a 59% turnout…2% lower than the previous low.
Eva….that’s total crap.
If people had their driver’s license, that was sufficient (if all the info was correct). If they didn’t have something with a picture/name/address, then two pieces of ID were required - one both with the name and one showing the current, correct address. Even if an elector didn’t have ID, they could vote if the had someone in their poll district who could vouch by them and they both took a verbal oath.
Whoever was running your friend’s poll station was misinformed…which is a huge issue I saw. They were still hiring people Thursday who’d never worked at an election before.
A 100 page manual was provided to all workers as a reference guide - but it was fairly confusing. The three hour training session ended up being two hours because people arrived late? (who does that, gets hired for a job and then shows up 20 minutes late for training). It pissed me off because those of us who took this seriously and arrived 15 minutes early sat for a long time, waiting.
The people working the poll station beside us were fairly clueless - they were doing several things wrong that could’ve easily compromised the vote. Our main functions were supposed to be to make the voting process AS EASY as possible for voters and assist and enable them to vote. And my job (DRO) was to safeguard each and every ballot and ensure it got back into the ballot box (did you know someone actually ate their ballot before?….brought condiments and everything).
I’m sorry to hear your friend was turned away - it just shouldn’t have been. The ID thing was a bit of a fiasco and, when people didn’t have sufficient ID it was a lot of work, but it still shouldn’t have prevented someone from voting.
*not “one both” - should read “both with the name and one….”
*man, I shouldn’t post when I’m tired…sorry for all the mistakes…
“vouch FOR them”, etc.
Proof read first deb!
Deb: I agree with you totally. Whether or not people agree with how rigid the rules are, it does not take a lot of looking to figure out what will be accepted and what will not. I voted in the advanced poll in Whitehorse and it took me longer to walk across the parking lot to the Yukon Inn than it did to find my station and cast my ballot. I probably have 4 suitable pieces of ID on me at all times - Yukon Drivers License, Yukon Health Card, PAL (easy all you anti-hunters…I need it for work), and gov’t issued work ID. I would be interested to know exactly how many people were turned away and specifically WHY. If people travelled all that way to vote without having their shit together - I don’t know what to say - normally when your living arrangements are such that you have to travel to everything like that you learn through trial&error to make sure you have what you need before you walk out the door. Having said all this, the fact remains that Harper basically spent $300 of the taxpayers money for the benefit of the Conservative Party and not for the benefit of all Canadians - we should be sending the gobshite a bill.
So many topics to cover, so little time.
Firstly, blaming Stéphane Dion for the poor Liberal showing is almost entirely unfair. It must be recalled that he took over a floundering party that had lost the confidence of its entire base. With most voters being only vaguely informed of what’s occurring across the political landscape, you find that narratives and soundbytes are what people remember most. As such, you have individuals like my older brother, who voted for the Conservative Party because he thinks the Liberals are corrupt.
This isn’t to say that Dion is blameless, though I do feel bad for the man considering how competent he would be at handling the ins-and-outs of the day-to-day Prime Minister duties. He brings to the table a wide breadth of knowledge and experience. He is an educated, intelligent fellow who is also quite humble in real life (by all accounts). Unfortunately, while we often decry the need for politicians to be charismatic, handsome, tall, ad infinitum, I believe that’s why most are objecting to Dion now.
My other concern with tossing Dion out on his behind has to do with the utter lack of individuals capable of replacing him. I believe it was Mr. Rex Murphy who noted yesterday on the CBC that Dion wasn’t necessary the most qualified so much as the other candidates for the leader’s position were “deeply flawed.” And obviously so, I would add. Gerard Kennedy seems like he’d be a decent fit but by all accounts (his staff, etcetera), he’s… not the brightest bulb in the box? Justin Trudeau carries his dad’s name, but that can work against him as much as for him. Also, do we really want to propel an inexperienced, cocky young man to the head of the party simply because he is handsome, or known from his myriad television appearances?
Finally, I’m not so sure that proportional representation is necessarily the answer. I too become frustrated with the first-past-the-post results, when a group like the Green Party has approximately 7% of the nation’s support but no seat. Still, countries that use proportional representation in their elections tend to have problems with minority governments and bureaucracy that make our troubles seem trite by comparison.
Also, I should note that there weren’t problems with voter fraud before the need to bring ID was implemented. The entire debacle centred around a lot of hypotheticals (’Those in burquas could, theoretically, cheat!’) then any supporting evidence. That is what makes me the most angry.
[...] Good ‘ol Canadian boy Matthew Good thanks Harper for wasting his money on sweet f$ck all – Matthew Good Online [...]
Some pretty harsh comments…
“Harper gave himself a handjob with $300,000,000 of taxpayer lube.”
“Look at Stephen’s shit eating grin, you know that guy will be getting some tonight, missionary position only of course. Maybe his wife will even let him turn the lights on as a special treat.”
Man this sounds like a ‘hard ass’ republican putting down the democrats and Obama in the south.
Interesting…
Quoting Shawnmeat: “I too become frustrated with the first-past-the-post results, when a group like the Green Party has approximately 7% of the nation’s support but no seat.”
Yes, and then a party with 10% national support gets 50 seats. How skewed is that?
I am underwhelmed by this election and extremely disappointed in Stéphane Dion today.
Going into the election it seemed public opinion was receptive to Liberal policies but not with Stéphane as the leader. He’s an intellectual, hard-working, honest man - the kind I admire - but he doesn’t inspire macho confidence and leadership like Harper does. It was a stretch to think Canadians out West would feel any kind of association with the man. Sorry buddy, it’s time to move on and let your party gain back its foothold. Justin is waiting in the wings…