2015 Canadian Election

[Minoa]

Canada is quite an influential country: that would put pressure on "the war on drugs" based on arguments that are being lost to the likes of Richard Branson who feel that criminalisation has worn out its welcome in the community.

However, it will not entice me to try cannabis in Canada because I am not a smoker of any kind: but it might help speed up the phase out of tobacco, which has proven serious health risks.

Then again smoking cannabis or tobacco are both bad for our lungs anyway.

If there is to be a direct and credible link with Marijuana and death in the future, I will reconsider my opinion. At this time the general opinion seems to be not all Drugs are X and Y.

[Ontorisa]

AW FUCK. EVERYWHERE IN THE MARITIMES IS RED AND BLUE. NO ORANGE.

STILL A PROBLEM

Maritimes have never been great for the NDP.

True. Especially where I live. Been pretty screwed up since the by-election.

I don't know what Trudeau's first act would be, but I would hope that his priorities aren't "legal pot first". I'd much rather see government scientists un-muzzled, Canada's involvement with the TPP canceled, Canada's lakes and rivers protected again, some effort into seeking justice for First Nations women...

I mean, legalizing pot is fine and all (as long as the system for it doesn't suck), but I think there are slightly more important things to do first.

Getting Canada out of the clustershit deal known as the TPP would be a nice start.

[Fanosolia]

Maritimes have never been great for the NDP.

True. Especially where I live. Been pretty screwed up since the by-election.

I don't know what Trudeau's first act would be, but I would hope that his priorities aren't "legal pot first". I'd much rather see government scientists un-muzzled, Canada's involvement with the TPP canceled, Canada's lakes and rivers protected again, some effort into seeking justice for First Nations women...

I mean, legalizing pot is fine and all (as long as the system for it doesn't suck), but I think there are slightly more important things to do first.

Getting Canada out of the clustershit deal known as the TPP would be a nice start.

I assuming we can't just look at the companies in the eyes and say. "No. not feeling it?"

[Dakini]

Well, it looks like Harper will be stepping down as leader. Harper brought it down on himself with his awful campaign and making the mistake of underestimating Trudeau.

Very surprised that Mulcair didn't step down for the time being.

Now that the election is over, I suppose we can discuss the aftermath, like why things happened the way they did, who will be in Trudeau's cabinet, who will replace Harper, etc.

I'm not surprised that Mulcair hasn't stepped down. The NDP basically lost because their stance on the niqab issue softened their support in Quebec, which prompted basically all of the "Anybody but Harper" voters who were on the fence to jump from the NDP to the Liberal party. Mulcair might have been slightly underwhelming during the campaign, but I think he ran a good campaign and mostly got fucked by circumstance. The only thing he could have done to help his party would have been to adopt a shitty stance about the niqab.

[Dakini]

AW FUCK. EVERYWHERE IN THE MARITIMES IS RED AND BLUE. NO ORANGE.

ftfy.

There's no blue in the Maritimes either. The Liberals got a clean sweep of all four Maritime provinces. They also swept Toronto and almost swept the GTA.

This election was a bit crazy, tbh.

[Dakini]

I don't know what Trudeau's first act would be, but I would hope that his priorities aren't "legal pot first". I'd much rather see government scientists un-muzzled, Canada's involvement with the TPP canceled, Canada's lakes and rivers protected again, some effort into seeking justice for First Nations women...

I mean, legalizing pot is fine and all (as long as the system for it doesn't suck), but I think there are slightly more important things to do first.

I really don't think legalizing pot will be first, there's going to be a long process to draft those laws and it'll probably need to be done in consultation with the provinces.

Yeah, I'm not actually sure I like what I've heard about the Liberal's legalization plan anyway. It sounds like it will be a clusterfuck... hopefully they make a better one.

[Fanosolia]

Well, it looks like Harper will be stepping down as leader. Harper brought it down on himself with his awful campaign and making the mistake of underestimating Trudeau.

Very surprised that Mulcair didn't step down for the time being.

Now that the election is over, I suppose we can discuss the aftermath, like why things happened the way they did, who will be in Trudeau's cabinet, who will replace Harper, etc.

I'm not surprised that Mulcair hasn't stepped down. The NDP basically lost because their stance on the niqab issue softened their support in Quebec, which prompted basically all of the "Anybody but Harper" voters who were on the fence to jump from the NDP to the Liberal party. Mulcair might have been slightly underwhelming during the campaign, but I think he ran a good campaign and mostly got fucked by circumstance. The only thing he could have done to help his party would have been to adopt a shitty stance about the niqab.

That's just depressing to think that that's all he could have done. Just makes me wonder what the hell is up with my country.

[Eol Sha]

Congratulations to Justin Trudeau and the Liberals on their electoral sweep. Better them than Stephen Harper. I just hope Trudeau decides to limit, even renege on, Canadian military operations in Syria.

[Dakini]

I'm not surprised that Mulcair hasn't stepped down. The NDP basically lost because their stance on the niqab issue softened their support in Quebec, which prompted basically all of the "Anybody but Harper" voters who were on the fence to jump from the NDP to the Liberal party. Mulcair might have been slightly underwhelming during the campaign, but I think he ran a good campaign and mostly got fucked by circumstance. The only thing he could have done to help his party would have been to adopt a shitty stance about the niqab.

That's just depressing to think that that's all he could have done. Just makes me wonder what the hell is up with my country.

It came on pretty late in the campaign, I think, so there didn't seem to be much time to maneuver. I think if there was a better electoral system in place it might not have been that way, but the system we have is the system we have to use for the forseeable future.

[Oneracon]

AW FUCK. EVERYWHERE IN THE MARITIMES IS RED AND BLUE. NO ORANGE.

ftfy.

There's no blue in the Maritimes either. The Liberals got a clean sweep of all four Maritime provinces. They also swept Toronto and almost swept the GTA.

This election was a bit crazy, tbh.

As Hugh Segal (a former academic and Progressive Conservative Senator) once said "The people are never wrong, they're just sometimes a bit excessive"

[Kelinfort]

I still can't get over the fact the Liberals were in third just a month ago and dropping in the polls. Truly this is a campaign for the ages.

[Fanosolia]

That's just depressing to think that that's all he could have done. Just makes me wonder what the hell is up with my country.

It came on pretty late in the campaign, I think, so there didn't seem to be much time to maneuver. I think if there was a better electoral system in place it might not have been that way, but the system we have is the system we have to use for the forseeable future.

Oh yeah no doubt. Ndp would have been a bit more represented if we had at least mmp, and I think for the better. I don't trust that liberals with majority to actually go through with a meaningful election reform. Maybe I'm just being cynical, but I don't think a majority government has much reason to actually go through with it.

[Oneracon]

It came on pretty late in the campaign, I think, so there didn't seem to be much time to maneuver. I think if there was a better electoral system in place it might not have been that way, but the system we have is the system we have to use for the forseeable future.

Oh yeah no doubt. Ndp would have been a bit more represented if we had at least mmp, and I think for the better. I don't trust that liberals with majority to actually go through with a meaningful election reform. Maybe I'm just being cynical, but I don't think a majority government has much reason to actually go through with it.

It depends. I think that, despite their claims that their support was because Canadians liked their platform, they understand they only got this result because of the anti-Harper vote. There's a chance that the Conservatives might pick a new leader that is less universally hated... so we could go right back to Liberal-NDP vote splitting in 2019 without a new system.

[Charlottetown]

Mulcair certainly doesn't seem inclined to resign anytime soon.

The NDP has a leadership mechanism in place and Mulcair will have his leadership reviewed at that time.

What an election. It was a rout for the NDP and the Conservatives (not quite so much for them) but it was a wake up call for the Conservatives. The anti-Harper sentiment hit some solid Conservative ridings and resulted in Liberal wins in places that one would never thing the Liberals would win. It was Harper's racists attitudes to minorities that lost him the election, not really Trudeau's win.

I'm surprised that Harper was strung up by the party faithful for this loss.

[Oneracon]

Mulcair certainly doesn't seem inclined to resign anytime soon.

The NDP has a leadership mechanism in place and Mulcair will have his leadership reviewed at that time.

What an election. It was a rout for the NDP and the Conservatives (not quite so much for them) but it was a wake up call for the Conservatives. The anti-Harper sentiment hit some solid Conservative ridings and resulted in Liberal wins in places that one would never thing the Liberals would win. It was Harper's racists attitudes to minorities that lost him the election, not really Trudeau's win.

I'm surprised that Harper was strung up by the party faithful for this loss.

He wasn't strung up by the faithful, his base still loves him. It's the not-so-faithful soft supporters (espcially ethnic minorities) that abandoned him when he went all crazy anti-Muslim xenophobe (or "full Trump").

The way the statement the party released was written seems to indicate that resigning as leader was his idea. If you look at some of his interviews over the last portion of the campaign, he seemed pretty at ease with the idea of losing... so I think he saw it coming.

[Ainin]

Well, it looks like Harper will be stepping down as leader. Harper brought it down on himself with his awful campaign and making the mistake of underestimating Trudeau.

Very surprised that Mulcair didn't step down for the time being.

Now that the election is over, I suppose we can discuss the aftermath, like why things happened the way they did, who will be in Trudeau's cabinet, who will replace Harper, etc.

I'm not surprised that Mulcair hasn't stepped down. The NDP basically lost because their stance on the niqab issue softened their support in Quebec, which prompted basically all of the "Anybody but Harper" voters who were on the fence to jump from the NDP to the Liberal party. Mulcair might have been slightly underwhelming during the campaign, but I think he ran a good campaign and mostly got fucked by circumstance. The only thing he could have done to help his party would have been to adopt a shitty stance about the niqab.

Although what's interesting is that the same voters that were turned away by the NDP's niqab stance... then jumped ship to the other party that supports niqabs.

That's like jumping out of a burning house into a volcano.

[Fanosolia]

I'm not surprised that Mulcair hasn't stepped down. The NDP basically lost because their stance on the niqab issue softened their support in Quebec, which prompted basically all of the "Anybody but Harper" voters who were on the fence to jump from the NDP to the Liberal party. Mulcair might have been slightly underwhelming during the campaign, but I think he ran a good campaign and mostly got fucked by circumstance. The only thing he could have done to help his party would have been to adopt a shitty stance about the niqab.

Although what's interesting is that the same voters that were turned away by the NDP's niqab stance... then jumped ship to the other party that supports niqabs.

That's like jumping out of a burning house into a volcano.

I don't get it either. It'd like supporting green over liberals while they have the same stance on mosques to combat radicalization, that you're against, then focus on the liberals having that stance.

[Dakini]

Oh yeah no doubt. Ndp would have been a bit more represented if we had at least mmp, and I think for the better. I don't trust that liberals with majority to actually go through with a meaningful election reform. Maybe I'm just being cynical, but I don't think a majority government has much reason to actually go through with it.

It depends. I think that, despite their claims that their support was because Canadians liked their platform, they understand they only got this result because of the anti-Harper vote. There's a chance that the Conservatives might pick a new leader that is less universally hated... so we could go right back to Liberal-NDP vote splitting in 2019 without a new system.

Indeed. In the last decade (and especially the last four years), we got to see how much damage a very determined person can do to Canada and its values when they bully their ideas through. Hopefully, it's enough to encourage the Liberals to change the electoral system in such a way that all of the future governments will be minorities and politicians will have to work together. It'll keep a mess like the one they'll hopefully clean up from happening again.

[Dakini]

I'm not surprised that Mulcair hasn't stepped down. The NDP basically lost because their stance on the niqab issue softened their support in Quebec, which prompted basically all of the "Anybody but Harper" voters who were on the fence to jump from the NDP to the Liberal party. Mulcair might have been slightly underwhelming during the campaign, but I think he ran a good campaign and mostly got fucked by circumstance. The only thing he could have done to help his party would have been to adopt a shitty stance about the niqab.

Although what's interesting is that the same voters that were turned away by the NDP's niqab stance... then jumped ship to the other party that supports niqabs.

That's like jumping out of a burning house into a volcano.

No, it wasn't getting away from the niqabs...

The thing was, there was a three way tie between the three major parties and most people wanted the Conservatives gone. So when the NDP support in Quebec softened because of the niqab thing, everyone who was on the fence between Liberal and NDP, but really wanted Harper gone saw the way the wind was blowing so they all jumped to the Liberals.

While niqabs aren't popular with the majority of Canadians, they're especially unpopular in Quebec, where much of the NDP's support was in 2011. So supporting the niqab at citizenship ceremonies hurt the NDP's chances much more than the Liberals.

There might be other factors as well, but that seemed to be the point where it stopped being a three way tie and the Liberals started breaking away with a lead.

[Flame Trees]

This thread is very interesting reading. So the election was, to a greater or lesser extent, based on what some Muslim women should or shouldn't wear over their heads?

[White Chrobatia]

While the guy that I wanted to win ended up not winning, I didn't vote, so I suppose I have no right to complain, since I have more important things to do than vote for an election that, in my opinion, won't affect me much. It'll be an interesting period under Trudeau, I think, if not a truly successful one. His resume isn't super impressive, in my opinion, but I'm not really saying that means he'll be a bad prime minister.

[White Chrobatia]

This thread is very interesting reading. So the election was, to a greater or lesser extent, based on what some Muslim women should or shouldn't wear over their heads?

Not really, I don't think. Each party had their own thing, but one of the issues concerned the Niqab being acceptable for a public servant/government official to wear, where iirc the Conservatives argued that the government should be separate/secular and not represent any religion whereas the NDP and (quietly) the Liberals argued that religious freedom allows the use of the Niqab in the public sector.

[Kryozerkia]

If there is to be a direct and credible link with Marijuana and death in the future, I will reconsider my opinion. At this time the general opinion seems to be not all Drugs are X and Y.

Which is likely since legalization will allow for greater research of the plant for its medicinal benefits and drawbacks.

[Dakini]

This thread is very interesting reading. So the election was, to a greater or lesser extent, based on what some Muslim women should or shouldn't wear over their heads?

Not really, I don't think. Each party had their own thing, but one of the issues concerned the Niqab being acceptable for a public servant/government official to wear, where iirc the Conservatives argued that the government should be separate/secular and not represent any religion whereas the NDP and (quietly) the Liberals argued that religious freedom allows the use of the Niqab in the public sector.

1. No, the Conservative argument had nothing to do with secularism. The Bloc might have made that argument, but the Conservatives made it about security.
2. It came up because the Supreme Court had decided that women could wear the niqab to citizenship ceremonies, the government appealed it and the court rejected the appeal during the election period. The Conservative party vowed to continue spending money to fight this issue if elected, but the NDP and the Liberals were both like "nah, we agree with the court, it's a religious freedom issue" and then the Conservatives tried to make it a huge issue...

I think that it backfired on the Conservatives big time. I suspect that their intent was to remove support from both opponents, but it really just shifted support from the NDP to the Liberals. If they'd left well enough alone, the vote might have been split and maybe they could have gone up the middle again.

Additionally, the niqab issue and the proposed "Barbaric Cultural Practices" hotline might have cost them a lot of the votes from new Canadians. If you look at some ridings in the Greater Toronto area with high immigrant populations and compare how they voted in 2011 to now, the CPC lost up to 20% support in them.

[Kincoboh]

I think Trudeau mentioned that he prefers the Colorado method of legalization, which seems to be good enough for me. I love this country.