Thread: Election Season

And ... The Green Party is in the debate. I'm shocked actually. I just can't wait to see how much it'll hurt the Conservatives. A lot of people feel that the NDP will suffer and they might be right because they picked up a lot of votes in 2006, but it was the Conservatives that lost votes to them in 2004. I bet this is rougher on the Cons than the NDP.

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Oddest campaign I've ever seen. We were talking about family issues and now we're talking about the economy. Suddenly too. Canadians will do exactly as they did last time I suspect. What fun, more of the same.

On a personal front I have been down to my MP's office three times so far and hope to squeeze another visit to poll the riding. You know, "C'Mon out and vote"!

I've already voted on the final day of advanced ballots because I'll be working for Elections Canada on E-Day counting votes the good old fashioned way, on paper.

The real victory in all of this so far has to be Elizabeth May of the Green Party. It'll be a miscarriage of democracy if they don't win a seat. It could really happen too. The miscarriage of democracy seems imminent again.

Once the votes are all counted I'm gonna go and party like a mad mad ... for about an hour and then sleep.

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Great campaign with a half-decent result. Harper is the man for the job. I'm obviously disappointed in Quebec and Newfoundland and Labradour, but pleased with Ontario and British Columbia. Nunavut was a nice touch but it is a shame the Northwest Territories didn't send the Tory candidate there to Ottawa. He'd have been in cabinet hands down. Imagine that, the North having a minister. The local campaign I was volunteering on experienced a pretty stunning victory, too, which was nice.

I'm glad we took two in British Columbia, but disappointed that we didn't wave Hedy Fry and Ujjal Dosanjh goodbye and make it four.

The attitude of some pundits that this was a waste of time really angers me. What would they prefer over the occassional inconvenience of democracy? A dictatorship? Boneheads.

The Conservative are coming out of this strong and wealthy. The Liberals are still going down and they'll be bankrupt. The Bloc needs to be finished, somehow. How can that not be illegal? The NDP has peaked. The Greens will never be a force. Once Dion is replaced we'll be back at the polls and I predict a Tory landslide. Harper will join the ranks of MacDonald, Laurier, King, etc. me thinks.

I can sleep easy knowing my Candian dollars, the arctic, etc. are safe.

Back to Belize for me now, though. 36 days was enough to last me a couple of years.

Amazing...the Canadians have already replaced the government.....in just over a month.

I wish we could restrict the campaigns like that.....

Just think November is coming soon, then it will be time to start running for 2012

Originally Posted by WireBeard

Amazing...the Canadians have already replaced the government.....in just over a month.

I wish we could restrict the campaigns like that.....

Still the same government.

And yeah, the 36 day campaign is a Godsend.

So I am guessing that Canda has a system similar to the UK....

Regardless, how does campaigning compare to the US?

Do you have "primaries"?

Do you elect everyone (Prime Minister, representatives, etc.) at the same time or are the done in alternating years?

With the recent election, who exactly was voted on?

What determines if the new government will have to be a coalition?

When Parliament was dissolved, what was up for grabs in the election?

I could go look this up on the web, but I want to hear the view of an actual Canadian.

Originally Posted by WireBeard

So I am guessing that Canda has a system similar to the UK....

yup

Originally Posted by WireBeard

Regardless, how does campaigning compare to the US?

Well, we get it done in a shorter span, but otherwise it's pretty much the same.

Originally Posted by WireBeard

Do you have "primaries"?

No. Party leaders are voted on at the leadership convention if a new one is needed.

Originally Posted by WireBeard

Do you elect everyone (Prime Minister, representatives, etc.) at the same time or are the done in alternating years?

All at once.

Originally Posted by WireBeard

With the recent election, who exactly was voted on?

Currently you can only vote for your local MP. The party with the most MP's forms the government and their leader becomes Prime Minister .. usually.

Originally Posted by WireBeard

What determines if the new government will have to be a coalition?

In the antiquated First-Passed-the_Post system our countries both share, it is easy to get an unfair majority, that is a majority of seats without a majority of the vote. If you don't get enough seats for that and must forma more natural Minority Government with fewer than half the seats, the government must create legislation which will gain the support of at least part of the opposition parties. Sometimes a few parties will band together and create a coalition between two or more parties.

Originally Posted by WireBeard

When Parliament was dissolved, what was up for grabs in the election?

Each Parliamentary seat.

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