Canadian Politics

[Shrillland]

The whole Canadian federal system is a sham really, Quebec gets 76 seats based off its whining and threats to leave while all of the Maritime, all the territories and Alberta all have LESS COMBINED SEATS than Quebec. Some say it’s a population thing, but Alberta gives lots of power to Canada , the maritimes give Canada lots of fish besides BC, and the Territories at least deserve something. Hell the Territories only have 3 seats, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had none.

I live in Alberta and I can tell you at the moment we are contributing sweet fuck all other than whining and creating more and more divisiveness. Saskatchewan is no better, but at least they have a somewhat diversified economy that relies on more than black gold. The federal government needs to step the fuck up and tell the Premiers we are Canada and not 13 different countries that think they are united......

Oh, come now. Quebec thinks you're contributing a lot.

[GuessTheAltAccount]

I live in Alberta and I can tell you at the moment we are contributing sweet fuck all other than whining and creating more and more divisiveness. Saskatchewan is no better, but at least they have a somewhat diversified economy that relies on more than black gold. The federal government needs to step the fuck up and tell the Premiers we are Canada and not 13 different countries that think they are united......

Oh, come now. Quebec thinks you're contributing a lot.

Doesn't that really drive home how un-natural it was to mix anglophones and francophones, though? "Canadian" is not a naturally occurring identity, just an attempt to merge incompatible peoples together, and we see the natural consequences of that in terms of multiple attempts by Quebec to secede, and some public officials paid for this with their very lives.

The English should've stayed in England and the French should've stayed in France. "Canada" was a mistake. -.-

[Shrillland]

The whole Canadian federal system is a sham really, Quebec gets 76 seats based off its whining and threats to leave while all of the Maritime, all the territories and Alberta all have LESS COMBINED SEATS than Quebec. Some say it’s a population thing, but Alberta gives lots of power to Canada , the maritimes give Canada lots of fish besides BC, and the Territories at least deserve something. Hell the Territories only have 3 seats, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had none.

For a long time, NWT didn't. From confederation to 1887, none of the Northwest Territories had representation, then everything south of 60 degrees did. When Yukon was split off, they got a seat in 1903, but the rest didn't until the late 1940s when NWT was divided into two ridings that nearly resemble the territories today....one of which was merged with Yukon's into Yukon-Mackenzie. Then in the 50s, the system developed into what we know now.

If you knew this or are Canadian, I apologise for mansplaining.

[Impaled Nazarene]

I'll never understand what Canadians see in that man. Typically when one wears blackface and is repeatedly outed as a racist that ends their political career.

[The Reformed American Republic]

I'll never understand what Canadians see in that man. Typically when one wears blackface and is repeatedly outed as a racist that ends their political career.

Well, was the opposition any good?

[Vikanias]

The whole Canadian federal system is a sham really, Quebec gets 76 seats based off its whining and threats to leave while all of the Maritime, all the territories and Alberta all have LESS COMBINED SEATS than Quebec. Some say it’s a population thing, but Alberta gives lots of power to Canada , the maritimes give Canada lots of fish besides BC, and the Territories at least deserve something. Hell the Territories only have 3 seats, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had none.

I live in Alberta and I can tell you at the moment we are contributing sweet fuck all other than whining and creating more and more divisiveness. Saskatchewan is no better, but at least they have a somewhat diversified economy that relies on more than black gold. The federal government needs to step the fuck up and tell the Premiers we are Canada and not 13 different countries that think they are united......

Yeah your right.

[GuessTheAltAccount]

I'll never understand what Canadians see in that man. Typically when one wears blackface and is repeatedly outed as a racist that ends their political career.

In 2015, we really saw in him a chance to start fresh and return to a Pierre!Trudeau-esque pre-Chretien Liberal government without the sponsorship scandal baggage, through a fresh injection of Trudeau blood. Boy, were we wrong.

Since then, we've been caught between a rock and a hard place with Tory leaders whose policies could embolden the bourgeoisie exploiters of the working class even more than those of the Liberals and a fear that splitting the anti-Tory vote* between the Liberal frontrunners and the NDP underdogs would make the Tories even more likely to win.

Think of it as being like a milder version of Trump's rise to power on people's hatred of Clinton. (Okay, hatred of minorities carried Trump in the Primaries, but from the general election hatred of Clinton carried him from there.)

* (I'm reluctant to use the phrase "left-wing vote" as I'm growing increasingly skeptical "left-wing" has a definition at all.)

[Czervenika]

I'll never understand what Canadians see in that man. Typically when one wears blackface and is repeatedly outed as a racist that ends their political career.

A lot of us don't like him, but we realize that the alternative is worse. The only alternative that would be better is the NDP, but they'll never win.

[Shrillland]

I'll never understand what Canadians see in that man. Typically when one wears blackface and is repeatedly outed as a racist that ends their political career.

In 2015, we really saw in him a chance to start fresh and return to a Pierre!Trudeau-esque pre-Chretien Liberal government without the sponsorship scandal baggage, through a fresh injection of Trudeau blood. Boy, were we wrong.

Since then, we've been caught between a rock and a hard place with Tory leaders whose policies could embolden the bourgeoisie exploiters of the working class even more than those of the Liberals and a fear that splitting the anti-Tory vote* between the Liberal frontrunners and the NDP underdogs would make the Tories even more likely to win.

Think of it as being like a milder version of Trump's rise to power on people's hatred of Clinton. (Okay, hatred of minorities carried Trump in the Primaries, but from the general election hatred of Clinton carried him from there.)

* (I'm reluctant to use the phrase "left-wing vote" as I'm growing increasingly skeptical "left-wing" has a definition at all.)

It was purely by accident. I've said it often enough and I'll continue saying it, 2015 would've been a LOT different if it came down to a Trudeau-Layton showdown. We may well have seen the tables turned and the Tories in third place.

[GuessTheAltAccount]

In 2015, we really saw in him a chance to start fresh and return to a Pierre!Trudeau-esque pre-Chretien Liberal government without the sponsorship scandal baggage, through a fresh injection of Trudeau blood. Boy, were we wrong.

Since then, we've been caught between a rock and a hard place with Tory leaders whose policies could embolden the bourgeoisie exploiters of the working class even more than those of the Liberals and a fear that splitting the anti-Tory vote* between the Liberal frontrunners and the NDP underdogs would make the Tories even more likely to win.

Think of it as being like a milder version of Trump's rise to power on people's hatred of Clinton. (Okay, hatred of minorities carried Trump in the Primaries, but from the general election hatred of Clinton carried him from there.)

* (I'm reluctant to use the phrase "left-wing vote" as I'm growing increasingly skeptical "left-wing" has a definition at all.)

It was purely by accident. I've said it often enough and I'll continue saying it, 2015 would've been a LOT different if it came down to a Trudeau-Layton showdown. We may well have seen the tables turned and the Tories in third place.

Why on Earth isn't Jagmeet Singh achieving comparable results to Layton's, then? Is it because his manner of speaking isn't as hammy as Layton's or is it because voters don't want a Sikh and/or non-white candidate?

[Czervenika]

Why on Earth isn't Jagmeet Singh achieving comparable results to Layton's, then? Is it because his manner of speaking isn't as hammy as Layton's or is it because voters don't want a Sikh and/or non-white candidate?

I think it's the latter, honestly. A lot of Canadians genuinely do not want a brown guy representing them. This country is a lot more racist than we give it credit for.

[GuessTheAltAccount]

I'll never understand what Canadians see in that man. Typically when one wears blackface and is repeatedly outed as a racist that ends their political career.

A lot of us don't like him, but we realize that the alternative is worse. The only alternative that would be better is the NDP, but they'll never win.

Not with that attitude.

What we need is a way to co-ordinate the votes of people who prefer the NDP over the Liberals. Find out where the people who deep down prefer the NDP actually live, communicate with them, see if they would pledge to vote NDP if a petition for NDP votes got enough responses.

If we can somehow prevent said petitions from being hijacked by Tories, that is. -.-

I don't even agree with the NDP on everything but holy hell do they come across as more leaderly than any of the other parties right now.

[GuessTheAltAccount]

Why on Earth isn't Jagmeet Singh achieving comparable results to Layton's, then? Is it because his manner of speaking isn't as hammy as Layton's or is it because voters don't want a Sikh and/or non-white candidate?

I think it's the latter, honestly. A lot of Canadians genuinely do not want a brown guy representing them. This country is a lot more racist than we give it credit for.

No doubt. :/

One of the biggest mistakes of the past few decades is the public responding to racism by trying to deny they have racist thoughts themselves. They all do. It's human nature. It's how we act on them that's the issue.

[Czervenika]

A lot of us don't like him, but we realize that the alternative is worse. The only alternative that would be better is the NDP, but they'll never win.

Not with that attitude.

What we need is a way to co-ordinate the votes of people who prefer the NDP over the Liberals. Find out where the people who deep down prefer the NDP actually live, communicate with them, see if they would pledge to vote NDP if a petition for NDP votes got enough responses.

If we can somehow prevent said petitions from being hijacked by Tories, that is. -.-

I don't even agree with the NDP on everything but holy hell do they come across as more leaderly than any of the other parties right now.

Being in Alberta, finding federal NDP voters may not be the easiest task in the world. However, I'm also a cynical dick, lol.

[Shrillland]

It was purely by accident. I've said it often enough and I'll continue saying it, 2015 would've been a LOT different if it came down to a Trudeau-Layton showdown. We may well have seen the tables turned and the Tories in third place.

Why on Earth isn't Jagmeet Singh achieving comparable results to Layton's, then? Is it because his manner of speaking isn't as hammy as Layton's or is it because voters don't want a Sikh and/or non-white candidate?

It's because Layton was one of those charisma-laden politicians that draws people to them, that and Layton actually made a strong effort to wean Metro Montreal and Hull off the Bloc, which the Bloc learned from. Oh, and because Ignatieff was possibly the worst Leader the Liberals ever had.

[San Lumen]

Why on Earth isn't Jagmeet Singh achieving comparable results to Layton's, then? Is it because his manner of speaking isn't as hammy as Layton's or is it because voters don't want a Sikh and/or non-white candidate?

It's because Layton was one of those charisma-laden politicians that draws people to them, that and Layton actually made a strong effort to wean Metro Montreal and Hull off the Bloc, which the Bloc learned from. Oh, and because Ignatieff was possibly the worst Leader the Liberals ever had.

I don;t get what the point of voting Bloc is when Quebec independence isn't going to happen and the current provincial government has said they will not support a referendum on it.

[Czervenika]

It's because Layton was one of those charisma-laden politicians that draws people to them, that and Layton actually made a strong effort to wean Metro Montreal and Hull off the Bloc, which the Bloc learned from. Oh, and because Ignatieff was possibly the worst Leader the Liberals ever had.

I don;t get what the point of voting Bloc is when Quebec independence isn't going to happen and the current provincial government has said they will not support a referendum on it.

The Bloc getting more seats than the NDP despite having fewer votes also shows how absurd our system is.

[Antipatros]

Would it be accurate to characterize this election as a failure on the part of the Liberal Party, since one of their goals in calling the election was to form a majority government?

[Shrillland]

It's because Layton was one of those charisma-laden politicians that draws people to them, that and Layton actually made a strong effort to wean Metro Montreal and Hull off the Bloc, which the Bloc learned from. Oh, and because Ignatieff was possibly the worst Leader the Liberals ever had.

I don;t get what the point of voting Bloc is when Quebec independence isn't going to happen and the current provincial government has said they will not support a referendum on it.

Same reason Scots still vote SNP even though independence isn't realistic there: They still serve as a good regional interests party advocating for unique Quebecois issues that the rest of the nation don't necessarily agree with, Blanchet showed that at the English Debate when he defended Bill 96 even though it was a CAQ Government that approved it.

[Shrillland]

Would it be accurate to characterize this election as a failure on the part of the Liberal Party, since one of their goals in calling the election was to form a majority government?

Quite accurate, indeed.

[San Lumen]

Would it be accurate to characterize this election as a failure on the part of the Liberal Party, since one of their goals in calling the election was to form a majority government?

Yes.

[Dresderstan]

It was an election no one wanted, no one got their goals they wanted, it was 5 weeks of wasted time money and effort for nearly the same result as 2019. All this did was reshuffle the cabinet and waste 600-650 million dollars while doing so and potential leave some parties in debt, all because Justin was ambitious and got the same result he did 2 years ago. No majority, no real movement of the needle one way or the other, just total voter apathy and political stagnation.

[San Lumen]

It was an election no one wanted, no one got their goals they wanted, it was 5 weeks of wasted time money and effort for nearly the same result as 2019. All this did was reshuffle the cabinet and waste 600-650 million dollars while doing so and potential leave some parties in debt, all because Justin was ambitious and got the same result he did 2 years ago. No majority, no real movement of the needle one way or the other, just total voter apathy and political stagnation.

He should have waited till the term was up. I agree it was a waste of money.

[Dresderstan]

It was an election no one wanted, no one got their goals they wanted, it was 5 weeks of wasted time money and effort for nearly the same result as 2019. All this did was reshuffle the cabinet and waste 600-650 million dollars while doing so and potential leave some parties in debt, all because Justin was ambitious and got the same result he did 2 years ago. No majority, no real movement of the needle one way or the other, just total voter apathy and political stagnation.

He should have waited till the term was up. I agree it was a waste of money.

He wasn't going to, he called this simply because at the time he had a decent lead in the polls and then because the people didn't want an election they were like "nah we're not gonna give you a majority, but we aren't going to vote you out... yet" he took a gamble based on his own political arrogance and snide and believed he could win where other premiers have in the pandemic before a majority government. Also, voter turnout was down quite a bit compared to last time round, there is clearly a political lack of an appetite from many Canadians, add onto the growing list of premiers upset at this and the ever increasing divide along regional breakdowns. This election on the surface changed nothing, but it most certainly could be the start of an upcoming change in the near future, it just depends how Parliament and the provinces go about it.

[Outer Sparta]

Kenney just threw his health minister Tyler Shandro under the bus today. Something tells me he got a call from the conservative caucus on how his ineptitude cost the federal conservatives the election.

The liberals also grabbed a seat in Edmonton Centre. Good inroads.

Obviously Kenney threw his health minister under the bus to absolve himself of any responsibility and to make him look less vulnerable. Kenney's going to have to fight to keep his power and position in Alberta's provincial elections coming up.