Harper's Big Win In Canada
Since I have some Canadian family, I've been trying to get up-to-speed on the election results. This Kelly McParland piece "The Liberal legacy of self-destruction" is a fun read. It begins by wondering what in the world, other than arrogance, motivated the Liberals to call for elections:
So what do they get for it? Devastation. The lowest seat total in the history of the party. Fewer than 35 when Mr. Ignatieff made his concession speech. The previous low was John Turner’s 40 in 1984, then Lester Pearson’s 48 in 1957, then way back to 1882, when Edward Blake managed 63 seats, albeit in a House of just 211 members.
Mr. Ignatieff lost his own seat. Ken Dryden lost his. Joe Volpe, an ancient party warhorse who’d held his seat since 1988, lost. The remaining Liberal bastions in Toronto and Montreal were shattered. The government the party couldn’t stand serving under as a minority, now has a big majority. Mr. Ignatieff says he’ll do anything the party asks of him, but without even a seat of his own, the requests may not be quick in arriving.
Julian Fantino won for the Conservatives. Chris Alexander beat Mark Holland. Even Bev Oda won. Tories won across Toronto, driving out Liberals just as the city’s new mayor drove out the city’s left-wing council last year. The Liberal share of the national vote collapsed to around 20%. Bob Rae, one of the few survivors, pointed out that 60% of Canadians still voted against the Conservatives. True, but 80% voted to condemn the liberals to oblivion.
Canadian politics confuse me a bit. Whenever I learn of the "Conservative" position on something, I think, "Does that sound 'conservative' or more like something David Frum might propose?"
This Calgary Herald piece says Stephen Harper’s long-term strategy to break the Liberal brand and drive a stake through the heart of the separatist movement in Quebec:
The win was even bigger than the numbers show, because he now faces an opposition that is almost guaranteed to be unstable and ineffective.
In any case, from my vantage point throwing the bums out is almost always a good idea. So today, let's raise a bottle of Labatt and eat some cod tongues and scrunchions or poutines or whatever and toast our friends up north.
- Comment (20)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (2)
Comments :
Sep '10
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
That's Kelly McParland minus the T. Canadian politics can be thought with the following helpful guide:
Canadian Conservative Party = Democrat Party under a restraining order but without the smug condescension. Just sincere condecescension.
Canadian Liberal Party = American Democratic Party under the steady leadership of Joe Biden, with predictable results.
Canadian NDP = The Greek government but with more sense of entitlement, under age hookers and Taliban negotiating skills. Usually under the adult supervision of a licensed trustee in bankruptcy.
Canadian Green Party = Canadian NDP if run by the Joker under the temporary administration of Arkham Asylum.
Mar '11
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
Sweet, sweet news indeed. I especially enjoyed listening via iPhone from my adopted home in Melbourne to the leftist Canadian national broadcasters report the Con's victory while eating humble pie with a warm crow salad on the side.
Jun '10
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
"Bob Rae, one of the few survivors, pointed out that 60% of Canadians still voted against the Conservatives. True, but 80% voted to condemn the liberals to oblivion."
Isn't that like saying in 1992 that 57% of voters voted against Bill Clinton? But guess who got to be president.
Great news, and may the Libs enjoy some time with their families.
Edited on May 3, 2011 at 7:40amSep '10
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
Peter Mansbridge looked like he swallowed 30 goldfish from the local pet store on a lost bet, Terry Milewski looked like a man on the verge of a thrombosis and Neil McDonald...well, what can you say about Neil McDonald. You just have to read the twerp.
May '10
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
poutines and some Twinings Earl Grey to our friends in the Great White North....
Good day, eh?
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
David Frum is what is called a Conservative in Canada.
Mar '11
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
It is great news for this Canadian. It means restrained government spending, lower taxes, and a drift to more freedom.
Pseudodionysius characterizations of the parties are cute and informative somewhat, but it exaggerates the parties in a caricature. Dunno if the person is Canadian, but our major parties are clustered in the middle of the political spectrum generally and personality of the leader will flavor the party a great deal. Our major three parties are pragmatic for the most part and moderate in a Canadian way. Which is to say our politicians and politics are no better than yours in America. The Green Party is a crazy fringe present in every country, while the Bloc Quebecois want to split the country with Quebec leaving.
The big stories here are that the Conservatives won a strong majority, the Liberals suffered with a bad leader who made John Kerry look like John Kennedy, and the NDP gained at the expense of the BQ who plummeted like a rock in support in Quecbec, the only place they run.
So the NDP are much stronger, but because of the most fickle province in the country. Steady as she goes - good news for Canada.
Mar '11
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
Keith Preston: poutines and some Twinings Earl Grey to our friends in the Great White North....
Good day, eh? · May 3 at 7:54am
Tim Horton's coffee and back bacon!
May '10
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
Johnny LaRue
Keith Preston: poutines and some Twinings Earl Grey to our friends in the Great White North....
Good day, eh? · May 3 at 7:54am
Tim Horton's coffee and back bacon! · May 3 at 8:19am
save me some, you hoser. Love the SCTV persona. I miss the great John Candy...he was my favorite Canadian.
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
Pseudodionysius: That's Kelly McParland minus the T. Canadian politics can be thought with the following helpful guide:
Canadian Conservative Party = Democrat Party under a restraining order but without the smug condescension. Just sincere condecescension.
Canadian Liberal Party = American Democratic Party under the steady leadership of Joe Biden, with predictable results.
Canadian NDP = The Greek government but with more sense of entitlement, under age hookers and Taliban negotiating skills. Usually under the adult supervision of a licensed trustee in bankruptcy.
Canadian Green Party = Canadian NDP if run by the Joker under the temporary administration of Arkham Asylum. · May 3 at 7:31am
Brilliant key to understanding Canadian politics. Thanks!
Aug '10
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
Before you write off Canadian Conservatives as watered-down equivalents to Democrats in the U.S., you should know that there are two flavors of Conservative in Canada: There are the old 'Red Tories', who are really corporatists who would very much fit in with the Bill Clinton-era Democrats, but then there are two groups that are much further to the 'right' - the Alliance/Reform social conservatives, and the libertarian-oriented free market conservatives. The old Red Tories are generally eastern Conservatives, made up of lawyers and Toronto/Ottawa wheeler-dealers.
The new Conservatives have their center of gravity in Alberta, which is one of the most conservative places in North America. Harper is from this wing of the party, and made his bones in the West. He was educated in economics in the free-market wing of the University of Calgary economics department. If he stays true to his roots and now has the freedom to govern with a majority, we can hope that he takes Canada even further down the road to being a low-tax, low regulation country - a path we actually started under the Paul Martin liberals in the 1990's.
Aug '10
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
A few other notes about the electoral shift in Canada yesterday:
- The Bloc Quebecois, a left-wing separatist party based in Quebec, was wiped out. Pretty much all of their seats went to the NDP. The NDP in fact looks much like a regional party with the bulk of its support in Quebec. It will be difficult for them to maintain a platform that appeals to all of Canada, as a big part of its 'base' now is made up of ex-Bloc voters who are not representative of Canada at all.
- A large number of the new NDP members are way out on the fringe - labor activists and community organizers with spotty backgrounds and no experience. This will make it even harder for them to appeal to mainstream Canada.
- The Liberals are now an eastern regional party. They picked up only three seats west of Ontario.
- That leaves the Conservatives as the only truly national party with significant representation in all the provinces (other than Quebec, where they have only a handful of seats).
Overall, these are seismic shifts in the Canadian political landscape. It will be fascinating to watch how it plays out.
Mar '11
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
Dan Hanson: Before you write off Canadian Conservatives as watered-down equivalents to Democrats in the U.S., you should know that there are two flavors of Conservative in Canada:...
The new Conservatives have their center of gravity in Alberta, which is one of the most conservative places in North America.... If he stays true to his roots and now has the freedom to govern with a majority, we can hope that he takes Canada even further down the road to being a low-tax, low regulation country - a path we actually started under the Paul Martin liberals in the 1990's. · May 3 at 9:23am
Dan I completely agree - both Mulroney and Martin did a lot right that set us up to be where we are today - better off than most in the developed world. We were lucky to hit the debt wall before the rest of the world. Mulroney could have prevented that but he kicked the can down the road and it fell to Paul Martin. Give him credit - he did it and he we are. All three of our parties can be stupid or semi-smart. NDP can be scary in their rhetoric.
Mar '11
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
Dan Hanson: A few other notes about the electoral shift in Canada yesterday:
...
Overall, these are seismic shifts in the Canadian political landscape. It will be fascinating to watch how it plays out. · May 3 at 9:31am
Dan, again I completely agree - we are in for interesting times and hopefully good ones. I wouldn't write off the Liberals quite yet, but there is a good chance they are a spent force. In my province of Manitoba, the Liberals are a spoiler party - they can tip races either way, between the Conservatives and the NDP.
We are governed by the NDP and they are a tolerable bunch who are pragmatic. My politics are such that none of the mainstream parties come close to my ideal, but the NDP are hardly wide-eyed radicals when they are in power. The potential is there to be sure - they say scary stuff and only do a bit of it.
You are right that many of the NDP winners will be detrimental to their party's success with most voters. And for now the BQ and separatism are dormant. The NDP have reaped the rewards. Quebec votes capriciously - always will.
Aug '10
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
Yeah. The good news is that, while the NDP came out of the election much larger, they also came out of it as a party very much beholden to Quebec and with a lot of new MPs who are downright loopy. They're going to have a very hard time appealing to the rest of Canada.
Perhaps the biggest worry those of us on the right should have is that the NDP and Liberals merge and stop splitting the vote on the left. But we've got at least four years now to make our case and prove that our way is best. Let's hope the Conservatives don't screw it up. I'm a bit worried about that - governments with large majority power often lose discipline and lose their principles.
Mulroney's government turned into a huge spending government, as did Bush's Republicans. Even Alberta has had governments than ran amok wth spending - it took Ralph Klein years to undo the fiscal damage the Getty and Lougheed governments wreaked on Alberta, and our current Conservative government is screwing up the legacy he left us.
Mar '11
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
Dan I share your concerns. The saving grace will be that the general global financial turbulence we are in for should dampen enthusiasm for big spending and big debts - I hope.
My biggest concern is that the Conservatives become intoxicated with their "mandate" starting expensive legacy programs and making enemies of many of their supporters (including me) with social conservatism. The Conservatives can do a great deal to improve the lives of every Canadian if they do not over-reach. As I have counseled before - baby steps. In Canada we have the luxury of that. In most parts of the world, governments are going to be forced into draconian measures.
My only words to Mr Harper are "don't screw things up!" I am all for change in many areas, but slow and steady will win the race. Lead, but gently and intelligently. Canada is in a wonderful position and can build on that if we are virtuous and wise.
Aug '10
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
My thoughts exactly. Harper's 'mandate' with me is to A) convince the rest of Canada that Conservatives are not scary monsters waiting to impose their social conservatism on everyone else, and B) to be a modest, fiscally-responsible government that eschews big plans and big programs and just stays out of the way and lets the Canadian people run their own lives without constant interference.
If they keep government growth at or below the rate of inflation and get us back to a balanced budget before their term is up without doing anything to enrage non-Conservative Canadians, it will be a big win for them - and for Canada.
About the only major change I'm hoping to see is a speedy end to the long gun registry - a useless program that infringes on our rights and which has cost us billions of dollars for no benefit.
Mar '11
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
Ok Dan, this is officially a lovefest. Long gun registry should absolutely go for the reasons you say and your earlier thoughts are spot on. I could not and would not say it any better.
So if you are willing, if Harper screws up, you can be Prime Minister and I can be deputy. I'll have more time to sit around and smoke my pipe. Maybe we can both get invites to a Royal wedding or something. I won't ask for a lot of perks.
But here's hoping that we can both stay on the sidelines.
Sep '10
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
Ok Dan, this is officially a lovefest.
I liked you better when you smoked cigarettes while running for office.
Mar '11
Re: Harper's Big Win In Canada
Pseudodionysius: Ok Dan, this is officially a lovefest.
I liked you better when you smoked cigarettes while running for office. · May 3 at 11:56am
Hey I miss me too.