Election Season

[xman]

It is all, but for the formality of the Prime Minister walking down to Governor General Jean's residents to ask her to dissolve Parliament and Canada too will officially be in election mode. So many questions arise and like all elections, only time will tell the answers. Still, I'd like to know what you all think.

1. Can Stéphane Dion muster the charisma needed to even keep the Conservatives in a minority let alone become PM himself, or will Canadians run like rats from a sinking ship from his party?
2. By meeting the criteria with their first sitting member at the time of dissolution of parliament, will the Green Party finally be included in the leaders' debate?
3. What's "the issue" gonna be this time around?
4. What riding are you in and how do you hope/expect it to turn out? (I'm in Libby Davies' NDP riding and will be stunned if she loses it)
5. What do you want the candidates to do?
6. What else would you like to say?

X

[Nord Jim]

It is all, but for the formality of the Prime Minister walking down to Governor General Jean's residents to ask her to dissolve Parliament and Canada too will officially be in election mode. So many questions arise and like all elections, only time will tell the answers. Still, I'd like to know what you all think.

1. Can Stéphane Dion muster the charisma needed to even keep the Conservatives in a minority let alone become PM himself, or will Canadians run like rats from a sinking ship from his party?
2. By meeting the criteria with their first sitting member at the time of dissolution of parliament, will the Green Party finally be included in the leaders' debate?
3. What's "the issue" gonna be this time around?
4. What riding are you in and how do you hope/expect it to turn out? (I'm in Libby Davies' NDP riding and will be stunned if she loses it)
5. What do you want the candidates to do?
6. What else would you like to say?

X

Gee, where's Joe Clark when you need him. Or Kim Campbell?

j

[Hutch]

The difference is that the election will get called and about a month later Canadians will vote, its nothing like the never ending US election process. I really don't know how anything gets done in the US, actually I do, nothing does get done.

I love this too.

According to elections Canada, the major parties had an $18.3-million spending limit for the 2006 election, while individual candidate limits averaged about $80,000 each.

Thats what a slow weekend during the US Presidential Elections.

[xman]

And as a result of that spending cap the 4 incumbent parties are all on a level playing field for spending.

I just found out the Liberals are really in disarray with no candidates yet in 31 ridings in Quebec alone. No wonder Harper wanted to break his own fixed election law.

Jack Layton's first campaign stop was in the Conservative stronghold of Alberta. Talk about wishful thinking. Either that or he's seen how badly Dion polls out there and is looking at stealing a few ridings. I suppose it could happen.

The media is trying to write the Bloc out and as much as I'd like to see that happen, somehow, I suspect Duceppe has a little more support than that.

X

[xman]

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.

X

[xman]

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.

X

[Whiggamore]

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.

[WireBeard]

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

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

[Hutch]

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

[Whiggamore]

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.