yep. the morning after the big election.
we ended up with exactly what we had before...so basically the last 6 weeks plus, have been nothing but a huge waste of money.
good call stephen.
and it appears 37% of the 50% of eligible voters that actually showed up
voted for the conservatives. lame, i know.
and due to a brutal electoral system, we end up with similar results
to our neighbours in the south.
less than 19% of canadians actually voted for your mr. harper.
how can you say that "they have done so with confidence" ?
if i scored 19% on an exam, i likely would not use confidence in the same sentence when discussing my results.
so now we wait and watch.
hopefully we dont follow a certain other country to the brink of a recession.
hopefully we dont send more soldiers to fight meaningless wars.
hopefully we dont scrap social programs so we can give tax breaks to big business.
deficit here we come?
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16 comments:
But what's the percentage that voted for anyone else? For all of the hype about the Greens how many people actually think they're a viable option for actually governing? Not many. Or how about the percentage that vote for the Bloc?
I actually kind of like a minority - seems to balance out the extremism of all the parties, as long as they work together a little bit - which they will for a few months, then the Liberals will get a new leader and we'll have another election.
i think the greens are a viable option for governing. why wouldn't they be? how will we ever know if people jut keep writing them off as idealists with pipe dreams? where have the conservatives and liberals, the 'legitimate' parties got us lately? right back where we started after wasting 300 million dollars. still in a war, still with an economy going down the tank, still with the poor getting poorer while the rich get richer. the greens may seem far out, but at least they are speaking what they believe, and not catering to the left, right, or center, which is what all the other parties do.
i'm all for the minority too. i like keeping the power of others in check. but to spend 300 million to get next to nowhere is not a show of confidence for stephen harper. yes he won some more seats, but it seems to me like that was more because people didn't want to do an election again in 2 years and were hoping for a majority, not because they are confident in harper. our country is hopelessly split right now.
yeah but none of the other parties claimed that 20% or lower was a confident decision. i think people like the greens cause its the cool thing to do these days. minority is good cause it does balance things out, but we had a minority before, so basically we just wasted 2 months and millions of dollars for the same result.
i posted my comment before i read yours blair.
i agree with you in some ways.
just not sure elizabeth may was the best choice for leader of that party. especially since she was in peter mckays riding.
always looking at the positive aren't you jer?!
I wouldn't say it's exactly what we had before...there were some interesting changes...I think if Harper was looking at the results of his riding he could definitely say with confidence!! It's crazy the support the blue guys have in this province! WHat did you think he was going to say?!! Should have had it three weeks ago and i think they would have gotten a majority
I think May is a little over the top however she does bring some fun to the whole thing!
Heather
what is different? And yeah I'm sure his riding was a blowout. I'd hope so. So was gilles though. And stephane and jack. Doesn't mean he is a good prime minister cause roughly 10,000 calgarians like him..
also I am sure the last federal election harper himself ran promising fixed election dates. I guess things change when you get into power and see a window of opportunity that might give you the majority. Even if it means breaking your own promise and spending millions...
i dont know. i like may. she is well spoken, with lots of energy. shes kind of a dork but tell me which leader isn't? i think they are the future of this country. i wouldn't mind seeing a merger between NDP and the Greens. i think they could work well together.
i think this election was the biggest waste of taxpayers money in my lifetime. stephen harper breaking his promises is becoming the norm, though, so we shouldn't be surprised he broke the fixed election date law.
i don't follow politics nearly as closely as all of you but even i was disappointed to hear the pathetic voter turn out. not to mention even i knew enough not to vote conservative.
if i could drag my ars out of bed and i had to work a night shift later that day, that doesn't say much for the 41% who didn't even bother going to the polls.
i think it also says a lot about where our society is at these days. people are too wrapped up in their own selfish business to look at the big picture (myself included).
i was all for the green party and still am but the closer i looked at the situation i wanted to vote for the party who had a bit more to say about health care and the crisis we are in.
you guys all make good points though and i appreciate being enlightened by your opinions. almost makes me want to start getting the globe and mail or something. ha.
dad told me he votes ABC.....Anything But Conservative.
check this out for a good laugh.
mini layton is the best.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hfGy_b87gI
You should have had this discussion before the vote...it might have helped some people decide how to vote or persuaded some more to get out and vote.
Another point of view...
I hate the green party. That's right. I said it. Every interview I saw with May she spent most of her time bragging about riding on the train and trying to sell her new book. I still don't have any idea how they plan to govern the country in an environmentally friendly way. I think that Tim has a good point. Balance is the most important thing in a government. No matter which party is in power. I think that both the Liberals and the Conservatives have some good policy. I think that the minority government has worked pretty well for the last few years.
Moreover I think that the whole system is flawed. Right now it is nearly impossible to get a majority Government when the Bolq gets 50 or more seats every election- just enough to hold the balance of power. I don't blame Quebec for voting for the Bloq, the Quebecers know that the bloq will give them the best representation. What does that say about the rest of the nation. does anyone feel that the MP that they elected actually represents them in Ottawa. Most MPs simply vote along party lines anyway. I don't know what the answer is but I think the system needs to change. I have a few ideas but too much to type. So call me if you want to go for coffee.
Colby
Oh yea- I agree the election was a waste of money. The only good thing to come of this election is that the Liberals are going to get a new leader.
okay, it might be obvious that they aren't going to govern, tim. i know that. but if you look at their entire platform, i think they are well-balanced. they have great economic & foreign policies. the problem is people hear green and automatically think environment. i don't think the green party ever claimed that fixing the environment is their only goal. maybe some hippies such as myself have said so in the past! the reason the environment is most of what they speak of is because that is the second most important thing on everyone's mind right now! it doesn't mean they don't care about the economy or foreign policy. the economy has certainly taken over the headlines these past couple months, and i'll admit they didn't do a good enough job of addressing it. but i believe they are a well-balanced party and could do a good job of governing.
ha, that's fine colby. i'm not out to convert the world to green party. but i would prefer a leader who actually is acting on her beliefs (riding the train and saving energy) than ones who are full of talk but little action. and i agree. the system is broken. how we fix it is the issue that should be addressed now.
I voted conservative for the last election, I was directly working in the oil industry in Alberta and it seemed obvious that this was the right choice for this industry at the time and in part I felt as thought I was choosing between the lesser of two evils; liberals or conservatives. I think having a minority government is a good thing; every party needs to be kept in line on some level. I never want to get to a point where we have two main choices like our neighbors to the South. People like Presidential Candidate, Ron Paul, with the biggest grassroots campaign in USA history bringing people out of apathy, would never get the attention of the Obama-McCain syndrome. Having a multi party national debate was a great thing, I am glad they brought May on this time. A new view can’t hurt.
This election was a waste of time and $, and showed the country the opportunist nature of our government out weighed their word. I think this will come back to bite them soon.
This year I voted green, not because I thought that they were going to win, but because they represented change. They did have a reasonable platform, comparable to other parties in structure with the obvious emphasis on the environment. May’s choice to run against McKay almost seemed like more of a personal pride over party responsibility focus. I did not expect them to get any seats, one if lucky, but to create awareness of their party.
Caring about the environment is not a ‘hippie’ notion these days but a responsible stance on this world, by avoiding the funding into renewable energy and solid environmental practices we are just falling behind the rest of the world. We are one the highest energy consumer per capita ie the most wasteful country, embarrassing sustainable development movement and know as the first country to develop unconventional oil with almost no concern for the environmental impact. In the short term, yeah security would be nice as times are tight financially…times are even tighter environmentally. That will begin to affect your bank account more than most realize… the cost of gas is barely a tip of the iceberg. By funding new industry we will be creating more jobs and balance out our fossil fuel economy. There had been some great marketing to convince people that environmental incentives with bring doom and gloom. There is evidence that the opposite is true.
I am glad the Liberals are attempting to care about the environment and that the NDP is gaining support. This is a good thing.
I am tired of a government full of false promises and voted in by national apathy. Our system is flawed, but all systems are in this day and age.
We still have not committed to the .07% for the millennium development goals despite our national surplus, we are a resource rich country I believe we have responsibilities. I don’t want a government ignores this issue. Or better yet, be accountable for the funds that are sent as aid.
Denmark and Germany, similar in latitude and weather, have taken over the world’s renewable energy market by storm embracing sustainable technologies and basing their economies around it. The Canadian solar society presented a report showing the job creation, spin off industries, cost saving to residents, reduction in GHG’s for simple solar thermal technologies; limited action to date. Limiting sustainable growth is negative in any field, would then oil, agriculture and nuclear industries develop and survive with out major government incentives and funding. Hard to find time for research for the government with all these elections going on I suppose.
Are we helping anything in Afghanistan? I think peace keeping is important...but so is reality. Our government is failing on the world stage in many ways.
Jeremy, thanks for starting this thread. Sometimes people have low expectations and are happy with any results. Like toddlers and the conservative party. 19% is sad...you need to start a rock the vote campaign like in the states...think a out it.
Tim, it is good to hear your thoughts. The green party is not ready to lead, but I hope they can develop into a force in the future and that is what I was trying to say with my vote. 5 billion people...I say 2 billion gone would be fine as long as they are all from the developed nations.
Blair, I hear you buddy, vote with your conscience and for change. Plus, voting against the majority will make you learn more in order to defend your stance. You the Man.
Heather, You are a true Calgarian and only after a couple of years too. I bet it is a different feel than in Regina...is mono-politics a word... Calgary has one option the home town oil path friendly Harper. And if you don’t vote conservative people get confused and think you a left wing nut.
Jessie, I don't know you but hope you get out there and vote, exactly 2 year from now I am guessing. Our generation has to be the group to bring change to our country. No one is going to do it for us. If you want better health care right your mp with your concerns. Challenge the system.
Colby, I would definitely vote for Duceppe if I lived in Quebec. If the other leaders cared as much about Canada as he does about Quebec, there would be a new fire in politics. Too bad he hates Canada ...next time I see you we will have coffee.
I voted from my small apartment in Sydney while sipping coffee in my undies. The best voting experience I have ever had to date.
kori
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