Official 2015 Canadian general Election

[mseward]

So we are six months out from the election.

I was talking to one of my friends about it, and we think current polls aren't really accurate because they arent accounting at all for the youth vote, even though that seems to be Justin Trudeaus targeted audience. I saw him speak in September and would personally definitely prefer him to Harper, but still somewhat supportive of a coalition.

Take the poll /discuss anything relevant here.

 

[OP_has_Aids]

#Merica

 

[corona]

This thread should just be a massive list of all the pants-on-head retarded things Harper has done over the past years.

I'll start with maybe the worst:

-Selling Alberta's bitumen sands to the Chinese

 

[eheath]

just wanted to post those before anyone else

 

[corona]

also this one before someone else posts it.

 

[eheath]

also this one before someone else posts it.

haha ive never seen that, this is great

 

[mseward]

This thread should just be a massive list of all the pants-on-head retarded things Harper has done over the past years.

I'll start with maybe the worst:

-Selling Alberta's bitumen sands to the Chinese

im just going to leave this here.
http://www.whynotharper.ca/#printablelist

 

[eheath]

 

[proZach]

 

[fresh_prince]

trudeau is an asshole, but he's gonna legalize weed, harper is kind of a tool but seems to get shit done and stay out of the spotlight

 

[corona]

this is just getting hilarious. So the big debate each election has been done for a while by a consortium of broadcasters like CBC and CTV and it would stand to reason they'd do it again this year. All the parties have agreed to this, as is expected, except the Conservatives. They only want to do a debate on their terms through media companies who are very well known to be right wing supporters. Essentially they want the situation to be where Harper gets the questions days in advance while everyone else is hearing them for the first time. He's actually scared to debate on an even playing field. pathetic.

 

[corona]

also another main reason is the Consortium doesn't allow any footage from their debates to be used in attack ads afterwards and the Conservatives hate this. Also doing debates on their terms will incredibly limit viewership, which I'm sure is what they want.

 

[Nikolaus]

trudeau is an asshole, but he's gonna legalize weed, harper is kind of a tool but seems to get shit done and stay out of the spotlight

He may get shit shit done, but not the right shit done.

 

[Nikolaus]

this is just getting hilarious. So the big debate each election has been done for a while by a consortium of broadcasters like CBC and CTV and it would stand to reason they'd do it again this year. All the parties have agreed to this, as is expected, except the Conservatives. They only want to do a debate on their terms through media companies who are very well known to be right wing supporters. Essentially they want the situation to be where Harper gets the questions days in advance while everyone else is hearing them for the first time. He's actually scared to debate on an even playing field. pathetic.

also another main reason is the Consortium doesn't allow any footage from their debates to be used in attack ads afterwards and the Conservatives hate this. Also doing debates on their terms will incredibly limit viewership, which I'm sure is what they want.

I was expecting this, but I'm still shocked at it. its incredible how corrupt the Canadian conservatives are.

 

[J-C]

I was expecting this, but I'm still shocked at it. its incredible how corrupt the Canadian conservatives are.

Yeah it's definitively time for a change. I think the liberals have a good chance of winning this year mostly because of how the NDP just came out of nowhere and got 30% of the votes. I think seeing how the liberals do is going to be interesting with Justin Trudeau leading them and with them putting such a big emphasis on the youth

 

[Nikolaus]

Yeah it's definitively time for a change. I think the liberals have a good chance of winning this year mostly because of how the NDP just came out of nowhere and got 30% of the votes. I think seeing how the liberals do is going to be interesting with Justin Trudeau leading them and with them putting such a big emphasis on the youth

I'm hoping that the liberals will get the extra boost they need from the massive election scandal the conservatives got caught up in. Turns out they've been cheating on elections for years, which is why so many conservatives got elected.

 

[Lé.Skiing]

NDP has my vote, and I know I'm probably going to get flack for this, but hear me out. The main reason I am Voting NDP is I am not a fan of Justin because of the Liberal Conservative silent partnership.

Link: http://rabble.ca/columnists/2015/04/trudeau-says-yes-to-liberal-conservative-silent-partnership

Not going to lie I was thinking I might vote Liberal, but after reading more into the politics I feel like the NDP is the best party.

Tom Mulcair is planning on scrapping the Bill C-51, and not to mention Tom Mulcair also has a fairly good stance on Marijuana in my eyes(I know it's not really that important of an issue to most).

Link to Tom Mulcairs Marijuana stance: http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/cma-opposes-smoking-pot-mulcair-calls-it-a-personal-choice-1.1967587

Maybe I'm wrong in thinking NDP will be the party our country needs. If you think I am wrong do explain I actually like hearing other peoples opinions on politics.

 

[Nikolaus]

NDP has my vote, and I know I'm probably going to get flack for this, but hear me out. The main reason I am Voting NDP is I am not a fan of Justin because of the Liberal Conservative silent partnership.

Link: http://rabble.ca/columnists/2015/04/trudeau-says-yes-to-liberal-conservative-silent-partnership

Not going to lie I was thinking I might vote Liberal, but after reading more into the politics I feel like the NDP is the best party.

Tom Mulcair is planning on scrapping the Bill C-51, and not to mention Tom Mulcair also has a fairly good stance on Marijuana in my eyes(I know it's not really that important of an issue to most).

Link to Tom Mulcairs Marijuana stance: http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/cma-opposes-smoking-pot-mulcair-calls-it-a-personal-choice-1.1967587

Maybe I'm wrong in thinking NDP will be the party our country needs. If you think I am wrong do explain I actually like hearing other peoples opinions on politics.

Finally a political post that is respectful and admits they might be wrong!

The main reason I support the liberals is because they wont destroy the environment as much. There is already too much drilling, mining, and other detriments to the environment. I think the liberals would help lower Canada's carbon footprint. Not to mention they're better on social issues like abortion and gay marriage, the economy, and foreign policy in my opinion.

 

[the.hellion.]

Woah - I moved out of the country and I didn't even know there was going to be an election :/ let alone one in six months. Yikes.

Fuck, I have no idea who I'm going to vote for, but it's definitely going to be ABC - anything but Conservative. I really can't stand Harper or the Conservatives, they have NOTHING in common with my goals or values - and I'm not entirely sold on the Liberals either... They're just as ingrained and corrupt as the Conservatives and I have not seen Justin Trudeau do a single thing that makes him stand apart as a leader or visionary. Nor do I entirely trust the NDP, really... Though they are, I suppose, most aligned with my general values... I am definitely scared that the Liberals and the NDP are going to split the vote again and the Conservatives are not going to get the majority of votes but win anyway - again... But I do have to remember that the NDP did somehow just win the provincial election in Alberta (!) - so maybe they'll have another base of support than Ontario, Quebec and some Maritime provinces... An NDP government in Canada would be different... and I guess in that regard, hopeful.

 

[cobra_commander]

After how entertaining the UK election was, I expect a motherfucking show.

 

[joelski]

threads for later, also i am interested to see how the poll in this thread goes

 

[corona]

regardless of who wins, this election is going to show how absolutely terribly broken our election system is in this country. As it stands now if any party gets a majority they won't have more than about 35% of the popular vote. How one can win a majority with 1/3 of the vote and people are fine with that is beyond me. It's a broken system and needs to be changed.

 

[Rusticles]

Really hope that everyone doesn't vote for who's gonna legalize weed. Not that I don't want it legalized just don't think it's the most important matter on the table. I mean it's damn near legal here already, just need to tax it really haha.

 

[mseward]

Really hope that everyone doesn't vote for who's gonna legalize weed. Not that I don't want it legalized just don't think it's the most important matter on the table. I mean it's damn near legal here already, just need to tax it really haha.

you're right.Environment policy and c-51 are the biggest things for me but honestly I'm just ready for the end of harpers fucking reign.

I cant fucking stand harper. I will vote for whoever has the best chance of taking out harper. He's ruined canadas reputation as a peacekeeping nation and he is willing to destroy the fucking environment for a few more oil dollars. Fear is his only tactic, and unfortunatley it works on so many people who just dont bother to learn the difference.

When was the last time anyone has seen a PC ad that actually campaigns for the PC's instead of trash talking the liberals.

I will leave the latest conservative attack ad here to end my rant.

 

[daannnnieel]

also this one before someone else posts it.

oh fuck i'm not actually supposed to laugh at newschoolers

 

[corona]

I will leave the latest conservative attack ad here to end my rant.

this is a direct result of the fact that the more educated you are the more likely you are to lean left. There are a lot of stupid people in this world and that's the demographic they're pandering to. It's really quite pitiful but unfortunately it works on a lot of people.

 

[Rusticles]

you're right.Environment policy and c-51 are the biggest things for me but honestly I'm just ready for the end of harpers fucking reign.

I cant fucking stand harper. I will vote for whoever has the best chance of taking out harper. He's ruined canadas reputation as a peacekeeping nation and he is willing to destroy the fucking environment for a few more oil dollars. Fear is his only tactic, and unfortunatley it works on so many people who just dont bother to learn the difference.

When was the last time anyone has seen a PC ad that actually campaigns for the PC's instead of trash talking the liberals.

I will leave the latest conservative attack ad here to end my rant.

I know this is bad that I don't know but what the fuck is the deal with bill C51? I have not been paying attention one bit and have no clue.

I think the election could be pretty interesting and a bit of a surprise. Could the PC's have dug themselves their own graves just like the Provincial election here in Alberta?

 

[erikK]

this is a direct result of the fact that the more educated you are the more likely you are to lean left.

Lol, maybe if you're educated in the fucking arts and need handouts from people with a real career to stay afloat.

That being said, I'll probably vote Green Party or just draw a dick on my ballet because I don't like Harper or Trudeau and I'm sure as shit not voting for the NDP

 

[corona]

Lol, maybe if you're educated in the fucking arts and need handouts from people with a real career to stay afloat.

nope. It's been shown time and time again that university/college graduates are more likely to vote left and those with postgraduate degrees are even more likely to vote left.

It's easy to find all this data for the US, couldn't immediately find the data for Canada but I'm sure it's out there.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/154559/US-Presidential-Election-Center.aspx
http://www.mpopost.com/college-education-increases-likelihood-of-independent-voting-1478
http://www.people-press.org/2015/04/07/a-deep-dive-into-party-affiliation/

 

[corona]

Lol, maybe if you're educated in the fucking arts and need handouts from people with a real career to stay afloat.

That being said, I'll probably vote Green Party or just draw a dick on my ballet because I don't like Harper or Trudeau and I'm sure as shit not voting for the NDP

and common, the Conservatives are straight up against science. these days you're pretty hard pressed to find people in a scientific profession or studying sciences who vote Conservative.

 

[mseward]

I know this is bad that I don't know but what the fuck is the deal with bill C51? I have not been paying attention one bit and have no clue.

to put it in very basic terms. harper can say you're a terrorist and detain you if you protest his pipelines/ protest anything.

and yea, NDP in alberta is a sign of good things to come hopefully. fuck harper.

 

[cobra_commander]

this is a direct result of the fact that the more educated you are the more likely you are to lean left. There are a lot of stupid people in this world and that's the demographic they're pandering to. It's really quite pitiful but unfortunately it works on a lot of people.

Funny, in high school I was center left. When I graduated with my BS, I was center right.

Now, folks who live out their lives in the pretentious fog of academia with little exposure to the 'real world' tend to be slightly left of bat shit idealistic idiots.

 

[corona]

Funny, in high school I was center left. When I graduated with my BS, I was center right.

Now, folks who live out their lives in the pretentious fog of academia with little exposure to the 'real world' tend to be slightly left of bat shit idealistic idiots.

well obviously not everybody follows this trend. but you just have to look at the numbers to realize you're a minority in that regard.

 

[erikK]

well obviously not everybody follows this trend. but you just have to look at the numbers to realize you're a minority in that regard.

you're obviously much more knowledgeable and into politics than me but i feel like things might be different in western canada and especially the territories. a very significant amount of people with science/engineering degrees here work in industries like mining, oil and gas, forestry, etc.

i can't say how hard these industries are going to get hit but i imagine i'll be pretty hooped for work in Canada if the ndp win. luckily i have a us work visa

 

[Rusticles]

and yea, NDP in alberta is a sign of good things to come hopefully. fuck harper.

Yeah, hopefully it is a good thing, if anything it was a great sign that democracy still works. hopefully they can provide at least half of their promises without tanking our cushy economy ha-ha. It was kind of funny to look at my facebook newsfeed after the election, there was a clear line drawn in the sand between who makes a mint working in industry versus everyone else.

 

[corona]

i imagine i'll be pretty hooped for work in Canada if the ndp win.

NDP aren't stupid. They know that the energy and natural resources sector makes up something like 1/3 of Canada's exports and a large chunk of Canada's economy as a whole. It's not like they're going to start closing down mines and halting hydro projects. Let's not forget they're a party traditionally for the working class, so anything that looses the working class employment or employment opportunities goes against their values.

What might change is more regulations on future projects and longer wait times for project approvals since they're actually likely to take environmental assessments seriously.

Also they're not likely to sell raw and unextracted resources to foreign interests like the Conservatives have done, which is a terrible thing in the long run for the economy. How pissed will you be if China brings in 30,000 foreign workers making $5 an hour to develop their section of the bitumen sands they bought? Then having it all shipped directly through pipeline to the coast and tanker to China. Yes, there are immediate economic benefits to Canada in building the pipeline and selling the bituminous sands, but in the longrun it's just straight up retarded and does nothing good for the economy. It's moves like that you WON'T have to worry about with the NDP, but yea sure NDP are going loose everybody their jobs in the resource and energy industry.

 

[mseward]

Harpers house of cards is falling down
http://www.pressprogress.ca/twitter_explodes_over_canada_s_atrocious_new_economic_numbers

 

[corona]

Harpers house of cards is falling down
http://www.pressprogress.ca/twitter_explodes_over_canada_s_atrocious_new_economic_numbers

well I dunno how much blame the government can be given for OPEC's doing.

McKay quitting, now that's his house of cards falling down. Another top party member jumping ship.

 

[saskskier]

and yea, NDP in alberta is a sign of good things to come hopefully. fuck harper.

As someone from Saskatchewan, I'm still skeptical of the NDP. Saskatchewan was a crap province under an NDP government with a declining population. Saskatchewan has become one of the strongest economies in North America, let alone Canada, under a Saskatchewan Party (conservative) government. Not to say things are perfect there, but the Brad Wall gov't has done a lot of things really well.

I would agree that there definitely needed to be a change in Alberta and in federal gov't as well, but I'm not sure I'm ready to jump on the NPD wagon yet.

 

[the.hellion.]

McKay quitting, now that's his house of cards falling down. Another top party member jumping ship.

I KNOW! And McKay and Harps were TIGHT. I wonder if there was an argument or a scandal; I don't get the feeling that this was friendly.

 

[swiggy]

I'm not really a fan of it on a federal level but NDP (socialism) is starting to trend upwards due to the Alberta election. I'm also not a big fan of the conservatives and many of the new things they are proposing/just passed. It all just comes down to what people think is "Safe" because people are afraid of change in politics. Personally i'm leaning Liberal because, like the Alberta election, I want change and that's one of the few viable federal party's.

A good source for Federal polls:http://www.threehundredeight.com/

(Canada has three hundred eight ridings)

 

[katie.]

Anybody know how voting works from out of province? I turned 18 just after the last election and have since moved to Quebec. "Permanent" residence on all of my official documents is in Ontario. Do I still vote to elect someone in my riding in Quebec?

In any news, it'll be nice to have the chance to see somebody (HOPEFULLY) other than this guy representing the true north strong and free for a change. It's been a little too long, Steve.

Also this: http://thingsharperdoestoseemhuman.tumblr.com/

 

[the.hellion.]

Anybody know how voting works from out of province? I turned 18 just after the last election and have since moved to Quebec. "Permanent" residence on all of my official documents is in Ontario. Do I still vote to elect someone in my riding in Quebec?

In any news, it'll be nice to have the chance to see somebody (HOPEFULLY) other than this guy representing the true north strong and free for a change. It's been a little too long, Steve.

Also this: http://thingsharperdoestoseemhuman.tumblr.com/

If you bring a couple of pieces of photo id (drivers license, health card, passport) and a letter/lease that has your current (local) address on it, they should be able to register you on that voter roll on the spot. I think that someone can vouch for you as well. I'm going to get an advance ballot to as an out of country voter, I wonder if you can't do the same thing if you're out of province..

 

[corona]

As someone from Saskatchewan, I'm still skeptical of the NDP. Saskatchewan was a crap province under an NDP government with a declining population. Saskatchewan has become one of the strongest economies in North America, let alone Canada, under a Saskatchewan Party (conservative) government. Not to say things are perfect there, but the Brad Wall gov't has done a lot of things really well.

I would agree that there definitely needed to be a change in Alberta and in federal gov't as well, but I'm not sure I'm ready to jump on the NPD wagon yet.

well as someone from Saskatchewan you should know a that a large part of the reason the economy has been doing well in recent years has been really high oil prices and new oil projects as well as new resource developments like MacArthur River. They've really lucked out with a bunch of recent resource finds which have really driven the economy. Saying it's because of whatever government is in power at the time is like saying the low oil prices right now are because of the current federal government. But, yea, how they managed the resources was well done economically for the most part.

Although I don't envy being a wheat farmer in Saskatchewan anymore since just recently the Wheat Board was sold for a paltry sum to Saudi and American interests. So this might be a blow to Sask's economy.

 

[saskskier]

well as someone from Saskatchewan you should know a that a large part of the reason the economy has been doing well in recent years has been really high oil prices and new oil projects as well as new resource developments like MacArthur River. They've really lucked out with a bunch of recent resource finds which have really driven the economy. Saying it's because of whatever government is in power at the time is like saying the low oil prices right now are because of the current federal government. But, yea, how they managed the resources was well done economically for the most part.

Although I don't envy being a wheat farmer in Saskatchewan anymore since just recently the Wheat Board was sold for a paltry sum to Saudi and American interests. So this might be a blow to Sask's economy.

I would agree that is part of it, but SK has always had a hugely diverse economy. Oil and grains are huge, but we are also the biggest potash producer in the world and the second biggest uranium producer. Mix that in with other mining, forestry and whatever else and we've had lots to work with. The conservatives have just managed it significantly better than the NDP.

I won't argue that the conservatives came in at a good time (sort of. There was the whole recession thing that the SK economy managed to grow and thrive in), but I'm not going to let the NDP off the hook after roughly 15 years of mismanagement. I also won't argue that provincial politics aren't going to look the same as federal, so who knows.

 

[kim_jong_ill]

I'm so excited to vote! I make the age buy 4 days. Def voting for anyone other that Harper. he can suck my dick

 

[corona]

New polls out and it's pretty much a 3-way tie. But the way the support is distributed right now the Conservatives could win a minority with fewer votes overall than the Liberals. So fucked.

Although it would be pretty entertaining if there was a 3-way tie seats. Wonder what they'd do then.

 

[the.hellion.]

So Trudeau came out with some of his party's platform recently; some of which included pledging more money for municipalities and stronger connections with cities; and reinstating the long form census.

This is the fucking direction we need to go. Municipalities need way more money, either through control over revenue raising tools; particularly, taxes (excluding the property tax, which is the only thing they have control over right now). Fine if the federal government wants to lower taxes; I'm not even sure that I like a lot of large scale federal taxation; there's a lot of stuff in my own neighbourhood (macro and micro) that need attention and I would definitely prefer those who spend the majority of their time in my cities and towns to be making decisions about how those places work.

And holy jeeze Ontario and specifically Toronto and the GTA need some transportation infrastructure help BAD.

Apparently Harps has some sort of similar concept; providing a fund for urban infrastructure projects that 'will be there when they're needed' or whatever. I don't know; that sounds pretty awesome, but I wonder what the catch is.

Anyone know more ?

 

[corona]

Today Trudeau just made the best pitch for my vote I've yet to see. Electoral reform. Scrapping first past the post. About fucking time this is taken seriously. The system is so incredibly broken. How NDP in Alberta can win a majority with 41%, Liberals in Ontario with 39%, or Conservatives federally with 40% is pretty BS. Starting at the federal level will be excellent and would probably set the stage for the provinces to follow.

 

[Lé.Skiing]

Today Trudeau just made the best pitch for my vote I've yet to see. Electoral reform. Scrapping first past the post. About fucking time this is taken seriously. The system is so incredibly broken. How NDP in Alberta can win a majority with 41%, Liberals in Ontario with 39%, or Conservatives federally with 40% is pretty BS. Starting at the federal level will be excellent and would probably set the stage for the provinces to follow.

I believe NDP has the same sort of ideas for the voting system.

http://petition.ndp.ca/demand-that-your-vote-count

Maybe I'm misinterpreting what was written on the link I just shared.

side note: The main reason I feel like NDP party would be the best for a federal government is that I have heard a lot of people talking about how each party can benefit Canada and in my eyes NDP has the best stance on all of them. A lot of them are similar to what a bunch of people here(in this thread) are even liking the liberal party. If there is something you like about the Liberals seriously look up NDP's stance on the same subject, you might be surprised.

Two things I am stoked on is that NDP will be dealing with Bill C-51 immediately after election, and they have also said that as soon as they are in office they will be decriminalizing Marijuana while they work on the laws to protect Canadians health and safety. I understand it's not as attractive of a stance, but they are going to use science to make the laws instead of opinions. Nothing wrong with them wanting to look at the science before making a full decision. I actually would prefer all governing bodies do the same.

 

[mseward]

Oh yeah. Harper also introduced two tier citizenship into law, which slid under the radar with c51 in the spotlight.

Hooray for institutionalised discrimination!
http://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/canada...t-bill-c-24-the-new-citizenship-law-1.2426968

I respect the right to political freedom, so don't take this the wrong way, but conservatives out there, what good do you possibly see harper doing in another term? Havent seen any conservative opinions in this thread yet and the poll is tied 3 ways.