2018 Canadian Politics Thread—ON, QC, and BC vote

[MERIZoC]

Welcome to the rebooted Canadian Politics thread. We're right off the heels of Doug Ford's surprise win in the Ontario PC leadership race, positioning the controversial Toronto councilor as the possible next Premier, with elections coming up in June. Still, Ford could be toxic to many potential PC voters, who may find themselves now more inclined towards the ONDP, given the abysmal approval ratings of Kathleen Wynn's current Liberal government.

Moving now to Quebec, where we will be holding elections this fall. The right-wing CAQ has been leading consistently in the polls the past couple of months, and may win a majority to unseat the center-right Liberal government, which would be a major shake-up in QC politics. CAQ is ideologically slippery, and it's not always clear where they stand or what they represent, so we may see them lose support as the election grows nearer and they are put under more scrutiny. On the left, the sovereigntist PQ is struggling to stay relevant as the issue of Quebec nationalism grows less and less important, and they may lose their status as one of the two main parties in QC politics. Left-wing QS is looking to pick up some of those votes, as well as any from voters feeling dissatisfied with the high levels of corruption prominent in the other three parties.

And in BC, where the province will be holding a referendum (again) on whether or not to reform their voting system to proportional representation of some form. Details haven't been fleshed out yet, but hopefully it's done better than the last two were. Should it succeed, it would be good news for the Greens and likely bad news for the Liberals.

Somebody from New Brunswick will probably come and yell at me, but I'm sorry, you're the most irrelevant province, nobody will care what happens in your election.


And of course, there's federal politics. Trudeau is coming off a disastrous India trip, which I'm sure he's hoping everyone will forget quickly (I won't). A couple weeks back, most of the BQ MPs split off from the caucus in protest of Martine Ouellet's leadership. Other than that, not too sure what's going on of any note. CBC tells me Canada has "lost a key ally in the Trump administration" with Tillerson's firing, but that seems like fluff to me. Jason Kenney is running his mouth again. Use this thread to discuss all the goings-on in Canadian politics, from the local to the federal level.

[The Liberated Territories]

I do not live in Canada at the moment, but I would support the Libertarian Party, and maybe some ragtag Conservatives/Liberals if not the former.

Of course, I am a huge supporter of Electoral Reform, so that is a Yay from me.

[Collatis]

I’m not Canadian, but I’d most likely support the NDP in Ontario and would obviously vote in favor of electoral reform in BC. Hopefully it will go better than similar past referendums have gone.

I don’t know enough about politics in Quebec to say for sure, but I might support the recently re-formed and mostly irrelevant provincial NDP.

[LimaUniformNovemberAlpha]

Not sure about Ontario, but in BC, holy hell yes electoral reform.

I'm tired of parties getting majority governments with only a minority of the vote.

[Aggicificicerous]

It will be a great day if BC actually passes electoral reform this time. I'm still pissed off from what happened last time.

[Albrenia]

There's a party called the 'Progressive Conservatives'? They must be regretting that name in the current political culture.

[Nation of Quebec]

No way in hell am I voting for a party led by Doug Ford, who pandered to social conservatives to get the nomination. Looks like I'll hold my nose and vote for the Ontario Liberals. Best to stick with the devil you know in cases like these.

The Ontario Conservatives have had a long history of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, but my fear is that the rise of populism around the world will lead to a Ford victory. We'll see what happens there. Anything could happen.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

Might still vote NDP this year sense Ont Libs are incompetent and a ford brother as a premiere sounds stupid.

But then again, libs did give me OHIP+, and made my meds free for 5 years. So, maybe.

[Asinus Canadiensis]

Ideally a victory for either the Liberals or Conservatives in all provinces concerned. They aren't particularly great parties, but the alternatives are astronomically worse.

In regards to electoral reform in BC, instant run-off would be preferable. Proportional representation is utter trash, being rarely lauded by any major political groups other than third parties who believe it will make them somewhat relevant.

[Major-Tom]

Yes on electoral reform in BC, it's absolutely necessary. The Ontario Liberals are fucking moronic, but Ford isn't too great either. Dunno much about the current Ontario NDP, other than that they fucked up way back when. In Quebec, I don't know if one could trust either the Liberals or Bloc, so I may have to see more about the CAQ (which looks like they're sort of wishy washy "conservatives" with few concrete positions).

[The Liberated Territories]

Yes on electoral reform in BC, it's absolutely necessary. The Ontario Liberals are fucking moronic, but Ford isn't too great either. Dunno much about the current Ontario NDP, other than that they fucked up way back when. In Quebec, I don't know if one could trust either the Liberals or Bloc, so I may have to see more about the CAQ (which looks like they're sort of wishy washy "conservatives" with few concrete positions).

Fun fact Major Tom: The debt ratio of Ontario is six times greater than California's. :liberalpartypicardia:

[Major-Tom]

Yes on electoral reform in BC, it's absolutely necessary. The Ontario Liberals are fucking moronic, but Ford isn't too great either. Dunno much about the current Ontario NDP, other than that they fucked up way back when. In Quebec, I don't know if one could trust either the Liberals or Bloc, so I may have to see more about the CAQ (which looks like they're sort of wishy washy "conservatives" with few concrete positions).

Fun fact Major Tom: The debt ratio of Ontario is six times greater than California's. :liberalpartypicardia:

Jesus fucking christ...

[MERIZoC]

There's a party called the 'Progressive Conservatives'? They must be regretting that name in the current political culture.

It was the name of the old federal Tory Party before the merger and has remained the name of many of the provincial aligned parties. Nothing out of the ordinary.

[Geilinor]

Fun fact Major Tom: The debt ratio of Ontario is six times greater than California's. :liberalpartypicardia:

Jesus fucking christ...

But Canada has a different balance of spending between the federal government and the provinces. Debt is overall not as big of an issue.

[LimaUniformNovemberAlpha]

There's a party called the 'Progressive Conservatives'? They must be regretting that name in the current political culture.

It was the name of the old federal Tory Party before the merger and has remained the name of many of the provincial aligned parties. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Where did it come from, though? By what standard do they treat those words as anything other than opposites?

[Geilinor]

It was the name of the old federal Tory Party before the merger and has remained the name of many of the provincial aligned parties. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Where did it come from, though? By what standard do they treat those words as anything other than opposites?

The words aren't opposites though.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

Yes on electoral reform in BC, it's absolutely necessary. The Ontario Liberals are fucking moronic, but Ford isn't too great either. Dunno much about the current Ontario NDP, other than that they fucked up way back when. In Quebec, I don't know if one could trust either the Liberals or Bloc, so I may have to see more about the CAQ (which looks like they're sort of wishy washy "conservatives" with few concrete positions).

Fun fact Major Tom: The debt ratio of Ontario is six times greater than California's. :liberalpartypicardia:

Debt is just one of those things that pops up every now and then every time there's an election.

And then it's gone and no one cares about it.

[Major-Tom]

Jesus fucking christ...

But Canada has a different balance of spending between the federal government and the provinces. Debt is overall not as big of an issue.

It does, however, look as if it has ballooned to a degree, which affects things like credit rating, and it seems to cost the province a lot of extra money.

[MERIZoC]

It was the name of the old federal Tory Party before the merger and has remained the name of many of the provincial aligned parties. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Where did it come from, though? By what standard do they treat those words as anything other than opposites?

It changed it's name several times in history before becoming the Progressive-Conservative Party. Conservative Party, Liberal Conservative Party, National Liberal and Conservative Party, etc. I imagine they changed the name to further distinguish themselves from the Liberals in the 1940s, when the Progressive Party dissolved.

[Napkiraly]

Doesn't really matter who wins in Ontario, the place will still be a dumpster fire out of control.
The only good provinces are Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and perhaps BC minus Vancouver.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

Doesn't really matter who wins in Ontario, the place will still be a dumpster fire out of control.
The only good provinces are Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and perhaps BC minus Vancouver.

What did my Provence do?

[Napkiraly]

Doesn't really matter who wins in Ontario, the place will still be a dumpster fire out of control.
The only good provinces are Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and perhaps BC minus Vancouver.

What did my Provence do?

Give birth to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto, lack of eh's, Toronto, taking all the thunder, Toronto.

[Srianna Gestane]

The only good provinces are Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and perhaps BC minus Vancouver.

Heh. What makes those the good provinces? I'd almost invert that formula, since those are the areas that are most keen on exporting resources without developing a high-tech economy, and the ones most likely to believe that climate change is a hoax, the world was a gift from on high, and that there's no chance at all of mankind accidentally driving ourselves to extinction (or peoplekind, if you prefer).

[Napkiraly]

The only good provinces are Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and perhaps BC minus Vancouver.

Heh. What makes those the good provinces?

Cost of living, space, cost of living, growing economies, young population, fresh culture revitalization from all that sweet dolla dolla. Winnipeg is increasingly becoming a popular destination to shoot movies for instance. More likely to support gun ownership, not being bent out of shape over asking people to conform to a Canadian identity, etc.

[Major-Tom]

Doesn't really matter who wins in Ontario, the place will still be a dumpster fire out of control.
The only good provinces are Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and perhaps BC minus Vancouver.

No love for Quebec?