Aren't your conservatives like our liberals or something or is that just some joke that Americans make.

Either way whoever won, won. The key of Democracy is a non-violent and smooth transition of power. We learned that from France's Reign of Terror.

There is no media coverage of Canadian elections where I live in Pennsylvania so as far as I know, the Liberal parties have no real evidence that the Conservatives have 'lost the confidence of the majority of the House of Commons.'

They seem to be pulling that claim out of thin air, and who says they should be the ones to take over even if the Conservatives lost "the Confidence"


On a side note: The article made me think of this

As for Quebec, maybe we could sell it to Americans or something. Gotta be worth something.

I'd love nothing more than to see this right wing government bugger off. I can't stand Dion but I'm even less fond of Harper. Optimally, Layton should lead the country.

As for who won the election and democracy - if there is a coalition, then the coalition won the election. This is how democracy works. Being ruled by a minority government isn't awfully democratic.

Do you know about the fiscal plan??
It's terrible. It's arrogant and completely biased. And the arguments about it helping the economy?? Every other country in the world is trying to keep the economy going and not have everything collapse, but Stephen Harper, decides it's more important to make sure the other parties no that he is in charge?

He has done wrong.

The conservative party of Canada is closer to the Republican party in the US.

whoops- sorry for the double post.

more or less, yes.

Yes and no. They won, but if opposition can get along then they'll win and rule as a coalition... our Canadian politics are very different from yours.

I liked the fiscal plan. I also like how, thus far, there won't be a handout to any industry, etc. I have a hard time finding any budget to be arrogant - they're just numbers. Yes, it is a bit biased, but so is every budget by any government.

But as you said earlier, it's what you believe in.

I'd be supportive of this proposed coalition, as it does more accurately represent Canadians than the current government, if the balance of power did not rest in the Bloc's hands.

I'm worried about how this portion of Canada will react if the coalition is successful. I will divide the country, and I can't imagine any feelings of hostility and resentment would disappear within a decade.

Who knows, maybe the Alberta Separatists will get together and actually do something :P

I think if you put the US and Canadian parties on the same scale, our Conservative party would be left from your Democratic party. From Canadian (and pretty much the rest of the world's) perspective, US doesn't have a left wing, it just has different shades of right wing.

To those who sat this is "undemocratic": How?

The 3 parties that will form this coalition received 54% of the popular vote. The current ruling party received only 38% of the vote.Allowing something like this is certainly more democratic than our first-past-the-post system. Before you complain about this, bring in proportional representation.

Also, consider that by calling the election, Prime Minister Harper explicitly broke a law that his party set up. The set-election date law was violated by calling this election a year in advance.

First-past-the-post explanation: Under Canada's system, voters vote for an MP in their riding, with a total of 308 ridings nationwide. An MP gives the party a seat in the house of commons. Whichever party has the most MPs "Wins", their leader becoming Prime Minister.

The problem with first-past-the-post is that in regions with very localised votes, such as Alberta and Quebec, a party with a small majority can get almost all of the power. In Alberta, the Conservatives got 65% of the vote and 95% of the MPs. In Quebec, the Bloc Quebecois got 38% of the vote and 65% of the power.

we need the single transferrable vote, I think that was a great idea

If you want to boil this down to the root, the real issue that sparked all of this off in the first place was the Tories' power grab. By denying aid to impoverished industries and trying to limit the power of the opposition, Harper is playing small politics.

Why oh why can't we as Canadians be granted the same bipartisan ideas in our politics as Obama is set to bring to the White House?

Everyone knows that Ontario's auto industry is failing like a dumb kid in Honours Physics. However, what people seem to overlook by saying that we shouldn't be giving handouts is that Ontario is poised to become like Newfoundland when the fisheries collapsed.

The number of people on municipal welfare in the City of London went up by 12% in the last month. THAT'S ONE MONTH. I'm in an adult ed facility to earn my OSSD and I'm going to school with guys that have been laid off after working 20-25 years in a factory.

Is it right for the "government" to sit back and watch this all go down with no real plan of action? No. At least with Dion, Layton and Duceppe, Canadians will be represented by a majority, and not a small faction of oil execs from Alberta.

And if any Albertans are planning on kicking Ontario in the shins, just remember that economically challenged Canadians usually move West. The Newfoundlanders all came to Ontario after the fisheries collapsed, and we Ontarians will be coming for those oil sands jobs soon enough.

Hmmm whats right whats wrong no one really seems to know and like every other argument there are deffinetly two sides. Unfortunately no one in the government, on any side, is willing to meet in the middle.

All this auto industry crap makes me sick, do I want them to fail? Of course not, do I want the government to support a sector that bleads money like a hemophiliac? Of course not. But I do know I dont want to pay more taxes to support some people who arent willing to comprimise, and a bunch of executives that make millions in bonuses because they can get their picture on one of those fail posters.

So next topic...the conservatives are not doing enough to help the economy and the liberals are going to spend their way into an even larger defecit quicker than you can blink an eye. Are there any mathmaticians that can figure this out? I mean how much is it worth spending? Lets look at it on an individual level, if you were losing money month after month and your job was paying less would your banker tell you to go out and give money to charity and buy stocks in failing companies? Probably not. But he may not be opposed to spending it on things that could help increase your income, like say taking a loan to go back to school and gain new skills, or move to an area with more jobs. I think this is the approach we need to take as opposed to the plans of just spending billions of dollars on anything that seems good at the time.

The further we go into debt the more interest we pay on that dept and the quicker it grows. We need to look into the future and build up a stable economy. Im sorry but supporting GM with billions of dollars isnt really going to do anythig but delay the inevitable. Why not invest in new technologies, new companies where the billions of dollars will go further than just the CEO pockets. You can provide just as many jobs and more oppertunity for the future. With every challenge comes great oppertunity.

And to finish off some quotes from despair demotivational posters

Government: If you think the problems we create are bad....just wait until you see our solutions

Corruption: I want either less corruption or more opportunity to participate in it.

and finally for everyone who is going to blast me on this post :P

Compromise: Let's agree to respect each others views, no matter how wrong yours may be.

I do not see this coalition as a good thing.

The Liberals do not even want Dion running the party, yet he may be poised to run the country? And we'll let the balance of power rest with the sovereignists? Why can't we have representation by proportion?? *sigh* This is just politics, it'll all work out.

I'm going to bet that parliament will be prorogued this week and the loss of confidence will be delayed until after Christmas. I don't want a coalition which dances around to appease Quebec running the country? How does this have the best interests of Canadians in mind??

Okay, okay, I'll write a letter, too.

I thought they all moved to Alberta. I've heard many a time that the capital of Newfoundland is Ft. McMurray!

As a former Albertan, I don't think Albertans want to kick Onterrible (sorry, had to!) in the shins, they just don't want to see a repeat of Trudeau's NEP and the subsequent destruction of the province by the federal government. Since it has happened once already, everyone is extra anxious as to how this coalition will work because Albertans know that under Dion their livelihoods will crumble. There of course will be no "relief" for roughnecks or welders once the oil industry dries up, so I can easily sympathize with their frustration at seeing another industry, the one that uses the energy Albertans extract, being given a handout. Westerners are very distrustful of Ottawa, and I hope Dion understands the fragility of this relationship.

Albertans look out for Alberta. Kind of like how Quebecers look out for Quebec. If the two provinces could get over themselves, they'd find they have quite a bit in common.

As a bit of an aside, I remember encountering a few unemployed welders in London, ON a two years ago. I couldn't believe that they couldn't find work. I know I was a bit pompous when I handed one a map of Canada with Alberta circled, but it was worth the laugh we all got at the time. The point is, Alberta is still facing a huge labour shortage, and Ontarians or anyone with a pulse seeking work are still welcomed. The shortage might shrivel with the economy, though.


I want to see these as actual posters. I'm laughing so hard!!