Separatists in the House of Commons December 3, 2008
Posted by tomflesher in Canada.Tags: Canada, coalition government, economics, politics, Quebec, secession, separatism, sovereignty
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Disclaimer: The title of my blog, “Heureusement, ici, c’est le Blog!”, is a pun, not an endorsement of the Bloc Quebecois. I harbor no particular affinity for the Bloc Quebecois. Though this post argues for acceptance of the Bloc as a coalition member, it does so solely on rational grounds which could be applied in any analogous situation of home-rule separatism.
There have been a number of complaints about the separatist/sovereigntist influence on the House of Commons under the proposed left-wing coalition in Canada. The concerns appear to be that A) Separatists are a bad thing to have in the national government, and B) It is undemocratic to topple the plurality government of the Conservatives. Behind the cut, I’d like to discuss these concerns.
Quickie: Change-in-Government Roundup December 2, 2008
Posted by tomflesher in Canada.Tags: Canada, change in government, coalition government, divided left, Gilles Duceppe, Globe and Mail, Jack Layton, macroeconomics, Michaelle Jean, minority government, politics, Stephane Dion, Stephen Harper
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Quick roundup of news and editorials about the leadership crisis in Canada.
Background: After spending $300 million for an election to congeal his minority into a majority government, Stephen Harper made little progress and ended up with another minority government. This appeared to be well and good, despite the fact that a coalition of the left-wing parties plus the Bloc Quebecois could easily defeat the Conservative government in a confidence motion if it decided to do so. However, because Harper failed to deliver an economic stimulus package in his fall budget, the coalition is attempting to take over as government.
Election Day! October 14, 2008
Posted by tomflesher in Canada.Tags: Canada, elections, minority government, NoDice.ca, politics
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Polls open in Newfoundland and Labrador in less than an hour. The big thing on the blogs? Strategic left voting.
- The Gazetteer has a stop-the-conservative Ivins Rule list up for the West Coast. Looks like a lot of work went into it.
- Cyberwanderer links to AnyoneButHarper.ca, which allows you to input your postal code to find out who the correct strategic vote is.
- AOL News quotes Robert Bothwell, director of the international relations program at the University of Toronto. “I think the absolute best result for Harper is a stalemate.” (Bothwell is suggesting that the economic crisis will cause Harper trouble.)
- Finally, according to the Hill and Knowlton seat predictor, using the numbers from the latest polls at Nodice, the Conservatives lose one seat, the Liberals lose 14, and the Bloc gains 4. This may be thrown off by the fact that the Nanos polls are consistently a few percentage points higher for the NDP than anyone else’s polls. We’ll see.
Leftist long-division October 8, 2008
Posted by tomflesher in Canada.Tags: Canada, divided left, editorials, elections, Globe and Mail, NoDice.ca, politics, Research
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Professor Judy Rebick of Ryerson University looks at the polling numbers and points out that a coalition government of the three left-wing parties (the Liberals, the New Democratic Party, and the Green Party) with the Bloc Quebecois would undoubtedly defeat the Conservatives in the upcoming October 14 election. Would it really require all four parties?
Natural government need not be shifted October 7, 2008
Posted by tomflesher in Canada.Tags: Canada, conservatism, EdiToryals, election predictions, elections, politics, research project ideas, Stephen Harper, Tory Tuesdays
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It’s Tory Tuesday!
A number of commentators have discussed Stephen Harper’s attempt to move the government of Canada rightward as well as fill a niche as the “natural governing party” of Canada. That seems at odds to me – I would think that the natural government is a party of the radical centre, and that attempting to fill that niche would require a step centreward by a given party rather than an attempt to move the country.
My conjecture: Harper’s ideal of Canadian government does not match that of the average Canadian citizen. I’ll take a look at an editorial and a specific case, then make a prediction, after the jump.
EdiToryal roundup, 26 september September 26, 2008
Posted by tomflesher in Canada.Tags: Canada, editorials, EdiToryals, elections, Globe and Mail, minority government, politics, Tories
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This week, despite all of noted Green Party activist Stephane Dion’s attempts to kill the Liberal brand, Stephen Harper managed to show up and exist. After the jump, I’ll take a look at the methods he used to do so.
These Grits are a little watery. September 23, 2008
Posted by tomflesher in Canada.Tags: Canada, editorials, elections, Globe and Mail, Liberal brand, politics, Stephane Dion
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Two editorials from the Globe and Mail discuss the perception of Liberal Party leader Stéphane Dion and the Liberal Party itself as weak.
Polling numbers for week ending 19 september September 19, 2008
Posted by tomflesher in Canada.Tags: Canada, elections, NoDice.ca, politics
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Here’s a look at the numbers from NoDice.ca, aggregated for this week.
Canadian Election roundup for 19 september September 19, 2008
Posted by tomflesher in Canada.Tags: Canada, editorials, elections, Globe and Mail, Liberal brand, politics, Quebec
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It’s been difficult to keep abreast of the Canadian federal election this week because so much of the news has focused on American economic troubles. Here’s a quick roundup of the editorials that have been written.
Election Opinion Roundup for 10 september 2008 September 10, 2008
Posted by tomflesher in Canada.Tags: Canada, economics, editorials, elections, Globe and Mail, policy, politics
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Stephen Harper in a sweatervest! Four guys in suits! Stephane Dion doing his best to enfranchise one of the siphons of his power! All this and more… after the jump.
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