Canadian elections: Who are you going to vote for and why?

[Socod_badne]

Lander,

 

It would be mistake to think Canadian and American convservatives are comparable on major issues. They aren't. Canadian conservatives are closer to US Democrats then republicans. While socially conservative on issues like family, gun ownership, justice, immigration etc... they're fiscally centrist or center right. Their major campaign promise is to strengthen Health Care -- the invention of the left. They want to cut taxes but so do the left-of-center Liberals.

 

In Canada, we don't really have a Righwing party. We have far left party in the New Democrats. And no Rightwing or Leftwing party will likely get elected in this country. If you wanna win in Canada and in most countries of the West, you gotta fashion yourself as centrist. The general public is disenchanted with extreme politics.

 

I haven't decided if I'll vote for them though.

[LANDER]

Originally posted by liibaan:

Actually, what surprises me is how many muslims vote liberal.

surely you'll bring up the gay issue here. I wasn't really advocating any single party, just highlithing the conflict of interest between the average somali and the conservative party.

 

Originally posted by Socod_badne:

In Canada, we don't really have a Righwing party

. We have far left party in the New Democrats. And no Rightwing or Leftwing party will likely get elected in this country. If you wanna win in Canada and in most countries of the West, you gotta fashion yourself as centrist. The general public are disenchanted with extreme politics.

^If you say so, but I don't think what you said specially about being "right wing" is accurate at all. If you pay attention to the evolution of the canadian conservative party from the canadian alliance to the reform party, you will noticed much of the same political views.

[Nailah]

I don't like any of the parties so i've decided to withhold my vote.

 

The Liberals are well known Isreali stooges and moutpieces, While the Conservatives ( which I prefer to call Neo-Nazis) want to keep Canada as "white" as possible. No thanks.

[Jabhad]

Harper gains in Canadian poll, but Liberals lead

Wed Dec 28, 2005 3:18 PM EST169

 

ANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Canadians are warming to Conservative leader Stephen Harper but his party still trails Prime Minister Paul Martin's Liberals, according to a tracking poll released on Wednesday.

 

The Liberals have the support of 38 percent of decided voters, compared with the Conservatives at 31 percent. The New Democratic Party has 15 percent support, with 5 percent for the Green Party, according to the SES/CPAC survey.

 

The Bloc Quebecois, which runs candidates only in Quebec, has the support of 51 percent of decided voters in that province, which is calculated at 12 percent support on a national basis, according to the survey.

 

Nationally, 18 percent of voters remain undecided about which party they will support in the January 23 election, including 21 percent in Quebec.

 

The survey found 25 percent felt Harper would be the best prime minister, his highest rating since the election campaign began and only 3 percentage points behind Martin.

 

The poll surveyed 1,200 people Dec 21-23, and has a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.

 

The campaign slowly returned to life on Wednesday after a Christmas holiday break, with Harper campaigning in British Columbia and Martin in Montreal.

[Jabhad]

Conservatives are getting closer to their dream of ruling Canada. Finally Bush has a partner to sing the COW BOY song with.

 

Polls give Conservatives strong lead

Friday, January 13, 2006 9:32:48 AM ET

 

By Janet Guttsman

 

TORONTO (Reuters) - Two new polls gave the Conservative Party a strong lead in the run-up to the January 23 federal election, and a projection based on several surveys said they could be within three seats of a majority.

 

A Strategic Counsel poll for The Globe and Mail and CTV News said support for the Conservatives held steady at 39 percent, while support for the ruling Liberal Party slipped by one point to 27 percent.

 

An EKOS poll for The Toronto Star and La Presse put the Conservatives at 37.6 percent and the Liberals at 28.3 percent. A previous EKOS survey put the Conservatives at 39.1 percent and the Liberals at 26.8 percent.

 

"The race is now the Tories' (Conservatives') to lose, and their game looks pretty sound," EKOS President Frank Graves told the Toronto Star.

 

"If (Prime Minister) Paul Martin and the Liberals are not able to disrupt this pattern in the next few days, the only remaining question will be whether it is a Conservative minority or a Conservative majority on election night."

 

The Globe and Mail said number crunching from several Strategic Counsel polls projected that the Conservatives would win 152 seats in the new Canadian Parliament, more than twice the 74 seats projected for the Liberals.

 

There are 308 seats in Parliament, so a party needs 155 seats to win a majority.

 

"Projecting seat totals is an inexact science," the paper cautioned, noting that projections ahead of the June, 2004 election were not accurate.

 

The Liberals won only a minority government in that election and were ousted last November amid anger at corruption and kickbacks during an advertising campaign to promote Canadian unity.

 

The anti-Liberal backlash was especially strong in French-speaking Quebec, where they trailed behind the Bloc Quebecois, a party that backs Quebec independence and campaigns only in the province.

 

But the Conservative resurgence has affected voting intentions in Quebec as well, and the Strategic Counsel survey put support for the Conservatives in Quebec at 23 percent, compared with 48 percent for the Bloc and 18 percent for the Liberals.

 

The Conservatives have no seats in Quebec at present.

 

"If they are going to have a breakthrough, it will be outside of Montreal and at the expense of the Bloc," pollster Allan Gregg told the Globe and Mail.

 

Polls for individual provinces are traditionally less reliable than those for Canada as a whole, because they are based on smaller sample numbers.

 

Another key electoral battleground is Ontario, Canada's most populous province, and both pollsters said the Conservatives appeared poised for big gains there.

 

Ekos polled 2,045 Canadian voters between January 10 and January 12. Its survey showed support for the left-leaning New Democratic Party at 18.1 percent and countrywide support for the Bloc Quebecois at 11.6 percent.

 

The Strategic Counsel survey questioned 1,500 Canadians about voting intentions between January 10 and January 11. It put support for the NDP at 16 percent and support for the Bloc Quebecois at 12 percent.

 

(Additional reporting by Scott Anderson)

 

($1=$1.16 Canadian) [

[LANDER]

Originally posted by Mumia Abu-Jamal:

"If (Prime Minister) Paul Martin and the Liberals are not able to disrupt this pattern in the next few days, the only remaining question will be whether it is a Conservative minority or a Conservative majority on election night."

^That be disastrous if somehow the conservatives could pull out a majority government.

[Baluug]

Originally posted by LANDER:

quote:Originally posted by Mumia Abu-Jamal:

"If (Prime Minister) Paul Martin and the Liberals are not able to disrupt this pattern in the next few days, the only remaining question will be whether it is a Conservative minority or a Conservative majority on election night."

^That be disastrous if somehow the conservatives could pull out a majority government.

It probably wouldn't be as disastrous as you think. It's just that the Liberals are trying their best, especially in Ontario where the votes are, to convince voters that Harper and the Conservatives are hiding something. While the Conservatives are too right-wing(meaning Christian) for my liking, I admit that if I were to vote, they would get my vote, simply because the Liberals have proven they are not reliable with my tax dollars, while conservative governments generally like to lower taxes, besides the money Canadians would keep in their pockets from tax cuts would end up getting spent and put into the economy, anyways. And like I said before, I could use an extra $1200 a year for each of my 2 younger kids.

[ElPunto]

It looks like a Conservative win - but a minority gov't I think - those who see a Conservative majority underestimate Liberal staying power. With that said, I am officially voting for the NDP - if the rest of Canada wants Conservatives they can have them but I won't do anything to help them come to power.

 

I do think that like another poster - the Conservatives are NOT like the Republicans at all. Most of the Liberal stuff about them is extreme and no party NDP/Green/Bull Moose party will dismantle the social programs and structure of this country. To do so would be at their own electoral peril.

 

I'm sure people in Ontario remember when the provincial conservatives under Ernie Eves refered to Dalton Mcguinty as a kitten-eater! It's that sort of ridiculous hyperbole that Liberals are engaged in with regard to Conservatives.

[Haneefah]

I must admit, the Liberal campaign has been quite a disappointment to my surprise. Whatever happened to good ol' Canadian values of decency and moral uprightness one might ask...

 

In any case, I urge you all to vote tomorrow Insha'Allah, and vote wisely! It's time that we as Muslims became more active in the political affairs of this country and let our voices be heard. It's our right as well as our responsibility to choose those who will best represent us and the interests of all the citizens. So nay to silence and indifference I say

 

I've personally always supported the NDP, so has my family, and that's where our vote will definitely go this election as well Insha'Allah. Even if the NPD has a very slim chance of winning the elections, each vote still counts, and it helps ensure the election of a New Democrat MP to parliament!

 

I just pray the Tories don't win a majority gov't--that will be disastrous indeed. I guess we'll see soon.

[Jabhad]

The result is, minority Conservative government. Rural wariors(Conservatives) vs Urban wariors(Liberals). Let the game begin.

[Haneefah]

Unbelievable! :mad:

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Originally posted by Abraar:

Unbelievable! :mad:

What is wrong, dear? Did you vote NDP? Maskiin. Anigaba, this is the first time I voted [i am a political junkie, but voting is a whole different matter.] Of course, I voted NDP.

 

By the way, do know what happened in Dixon on election day? Duqooshinkeeda daraad wee is dabayaacayeen, saying, "War, war, war yaa ii wado meesha laga codeeyo; inkaarqabahaan [Harper] waxaan maqlay haduu dalka la wareego in uu jeegii $900 [pensionka] naga jaraayo."

 

Basas aa loo keenay, lagu raray, iyagoo dhaarsan. No wonder all Etobicoke seats were easily and overwhelmingly won by the Liberals.

[Animal Farm]

I didn’t vote this time around – I don’t know why – figured the Conservatives were going to win. – and they did – the Liberals are too corrupt, NDP too idealistic and the Bloc too scary –

[Jabhad]

I voted 2 times in Canadian elections, and have given my votes to the Liberals.

[Maverick]

It will remain to be seen what the Conservatives are able to accomplish though. I'm thinking not very much.