Canadians will head to the polls on October 14th. The Governor General dissolved parliament today at the request of the Prime Minister. Harper believed that the government was too dysfunctional to continue to function.Harper said, "We believe it's going to be a tough election. We believe it's going to be a tight election."
The Conservatives are ahead in all the polls, the question will be whether Harper has enough support to move to a majority or will be given the mandate for another minority government.
A significant change will be the likely advent of another party debating and competing for seats as the Green Party tries to vault onto the national scene. It is unlikely that they will pull many voters from the Tories, but could pull some voters from the NDP and Liberals.
Dion's Liberals will be running on the carbon tax proposal, one that is fraught with uncertainty, complications, and the difficulty in communicating its specifics to the Canadian people. Harper called it a tax on everything, but Dion says that tax breaks will offset any costs that result from the carbon tax.
Jack Layton will be campaigning on socialism and pacifism, nothing new from the past 30 years.
Duceppe will have a challenge to remain strong in Quebec. The enthusiasm for Quebec sovereignty is at its lowest levels in decades and the Tories will be running strong throughout Quebec. The Liberals have almost fallen off the map in Quebec and will likely only compete for seats in Montreal.
Harper also said, "Between now and October 14th, Canadians will choose a Government to look out for their interests at a time of global economic trouble. They will choose between direction or uncertainty; between common sense or risky experiments; between steadiness or recklessness."
It'll be a fun ride.
Posts
4 comments:
I'm a little pissed off that he's chosen to call the election a full year ahead of the date the new fixed elections law says it was supposed to happen. I hope it doesn't backfire on him.
"Jack Layton will be campaigning on socialism and pacifism, nothing new from the past 30 years."
=======================
Well, the NDP wasn't supporting Islamofascists last time. That's something new. Sorta.
"I'm a little pissed off that he's chosen to call the election a full year ahead of the date the new fixed elections law says it was supposed to happen. I hope it doesn't backfire on him."
Louise - can you honestly tell me you want another full year of the circus we have had over the past year - with all the pseudo scandals; the so called "ethics" committee and all the fun and games of hide and seek the liberals like to play?
AG, no I don't want that, but I'm fairly adept at tuning it out. I want our prime minister to be a man of principle. He introduced the law and should stick to it. I'm afraid the fact that he didn't stick to it might work against the Cons.
Luckily for them, there is no functioning opposition party right now, but by the same token, that very well could mean we end up with more or less the same split that we have now between four parties. If that happens, what part of the circus do you think will actually change?
If the Libs decide to change their leader because they have lost twice in a row, the subsequent election could be very different.
In any case, I think Canada has been crippled for a very long time because of our multi-party system, which allows a party capable of representing only one province to pretty much be the spoiler.
Post a Comment