# Canadian politics



## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

I thought someone would have mentioned it by now, but maybe no one noticed. Have you heard on the news that the Canadian government has moved right. Conservatives are making strides in Canada also. Western Canada is much like us, but it appears the east may have had it's fill of liberalism also. Go Canadian conservatives.


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## goldhunter470 (Feb 25, 2005)

Are you sure this is a vote for conservativism? Or is it like 1992 and 2000 in the US when the electorate said "we hate the last bunch of people we had in here. Its time for a change"? I know most of western Canada is pretty conservative, but I have a hard time believing the eastern part would change their attitudes.



> Have you heard on the news that the Canadian government has moved right.


I do believe the conservatives are still a minority in the government.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

Actually just like the U. S. the conservatives are now in control in Canada. At least it sounded that way on ABC tv Thursday morning. I am sure a great part of that is as you suggested, they are sick of those that are in.


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## goldhunter470 (Feb 25, 2005)

From what I read they have more people in power but not enough for a majority.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canadavotes2006 ... 60124.html


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## Squeeker (Apr 1, 2004)

Plainsman said:


> Actually just like the U. S. the conservatives are now in control in Canada. At least it sounded that way on ABC tv Thursday morning. I am sure a great part of that is as you suggested, they are sick of those that are in.


The Conservatives are hardly in control of Canada, although they have a chance to prove themselves now and be able to lead themselves into control for the next election, which will probably be 2-3 years from now. It is definitely true that Canadians were out to punish the Liberal party...The Conservatives AND NDP (far left) gained seats at the expense of the Liberals.

I do not envy the Conservatives for a minute. They have a monumental task at hand, having to please EVERYONE without pissing anyone off. Almost impossible to do these days.

Why will it be so tough for the Conservatives?

1. They were shut out almost completely from Canada's 3 biggest cities - Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal where the vast majority of seats lie. If they want any shot at a majority government next time around, they will have to appease the big cities with things like crime reduction, etc. - not easy to do, especially considering that they are wanting to repeal the gun registry which is supported by these very people

2. The west wants everything it SHOULD have been entitled to for the last 15 years...NOW! That means get rid of the gun registry NOW, NOW, NOW!...I, myself in the west, would love to see that come quickly, but realize that it will take TIME for the Conservatives to prove to the big cities that the gun registry does not equate to less crime. The west expects to get A LOT from this government, but I think will be disappointed to a large extent. Not the fault of the Harper government though, it just takes time for the east to warm up to the idea of a new government and the west has to realize this.

3. Equal representation from ALL provinces...When choosing the cabinet, Stephen Harper has to be very careful as to who he chooses for his front people. Too many westerners will alienate Eastern Canada and too many Easterners will make the west feel like they really don't have the voice they were hoping for.

4. Senate Woes. For the last 15 years, the liberals have stacked the non-elected senate with liberal supporters, so it will be difficult to get anything done.

Granted, nobody will be the grinch and pull the plug on this government for at least a couple of years since we've just had 2 elections in 2 years and nobody wants to be responsible for a 3rd just yet. They will have some time but they are on a VERY short leash...


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## zogman (Mar 20, 2002)

From the NRA......Make sure to read paragraph two and three.........

ANTI-GUNNERS DEFEATED IN CANADIAN ELECTIONS

On Monday, Canada's anti-gun Prime Minister Paul Martin and the ruling Liberal Party were ousted in the country's federal elections, bringing an end to the Liberal Party's 12-year reign. The Conservative Party, under the leadership of Stephen Harper, will now take over the government's control.

Outgoing Prime Minister Martin's scandal- plagued administration gained notoriety for its ill-advised gun registration program that has cost the country more than two billion dollars and, of course, did nothing to reduce Canada's escalating crime rate. This registration fiasco, combined with Martin's recent call for an all-out ban on all legally-owned handguns, rallied Canada's lawful gun owners who helped turn the tide for the Conservative party.

As we've seen time and again in our own country, gun bans do nothing to reduce violent crime. Internationally, Australia's and Great Britain's gun bans and confiscations have proven to be miserable failures, with violent crime rates escalating in the wake of their flawed programs. Hopefully the Canadian election results (coming fast on the heels of Brazil's recent rejection of a national gun ban), will serve as a wake-up call to politicians who think they can build careers by dismantling gun owners' rights.


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## Squeeker (Apr 1, 2004)

This is a ridiculous article cooked up by the people who would like to believe that the gun registry was defeated in Canada because of the voters. I am all for abolishing this stupid gun registry, but to say that is what defeated the Liberals is absolutely absurd.

The NRA would love to believe that it all came down to gunowner rights, but the reality of it is, it was only one of MANY issues.

If you don't believe me, try actually examining the provinces that were opposed to the gun registry right from the beginning: Saskatchewan and Alberta. Examining these 2 provinces combined shows that there was NO net change in government from the last election. The liberals end up with 2 seats in '04 and 2 seats in '06 (combining Alberta's and Sask.'s seats).

As much as I hate to say, this was NOT an election won by the Conservative west opposed to the gun registry. The Conservatives already had us at "hello"  It was the flopping in Ontario and Quebec that ultimately cost the Liberals the election. I believe (some may argue this point) that the switch in Ontario and Quebec had more to do with wanting a change in government than the actual gun registry issues. Issues such as corruption from a 10 year plus old government had probably more to do with the Liberal's defeat than the actual gun registry issues.

As much as the NRA would like to believe that it was the gun registry that cost them the election, that is only one piece of the pie...But to truly understand that point of view, the NRA would actually have to invest time into learning all facets of our political system, and well, that's just not the style of the NRA.


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## zogman (Mar 20, 2002)

Lighten up Skeekie :lol:

Short question.
What did the Liberals do or better yet not do to the Quebecers and Ontario folks that upset them so much??????
Just curious.


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## Squeeker (Apr 1, 2004)

Sorry, just the mention of the NRA makes me go :******:

I think the defeat of the Liberals in Ontario and Quebec (not in the big cities) probably had to do with corruption issues. In Quebec, I can say with a lot of confidence that it was corruption.

A quick history lesson:
1995 - Quebec seperatists were itching to break free of Canada. Their party, the Bloc Quebecois pushed for a referendum to allow the people of Quebec to vote on whether they should stay a part of Canada or not. Jean Chretien, the prime minister of the day (Liberal) sets up a program called the "Sponsorship Program" in Quebec. It was essentially a marketing campaign specifically designed to combat the seperatist push by making national unity a top priority in Quebec. This included Canada flags, red banners, etc., etc...Anything to promote Canadian unity in Quebec.

The problem was that this program turned into a program that was more aimed at buying a "no" vote in the referendum. Upwards of $100 million ended up being wasted in this program because it turned into a cash giveaway to Quebec company owners who would then in turn put pressure on their employees to vote "no" to seperating from Canada. Liberal friendly advertising and marketing companies in Quebec essentially got all the benefit out of this program. If you actually read some of the testimony offered, the scams that were run are more something that would come right out of Goodfellas...

So, essentially the Liberals were trying to buy off Quebec to stay in Canada...****** an entire nation off, especially those in Quebec.

Too bad we didn't find out about this until just in the last few years...Suppose if people knew then what they know now, we wouldn't even have this thing called a gun registry.


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## zogman (Mar 20, 2002)

And the west is better off with Quebec, why?
What do they contribute?
Manitoba, Saskatewan, Alberta and BC have oil, gas, minerals, forests. Include the westerian part of Ontario Join the US we'll give Quebec New York, Massecusetts and throw in a couple more left wing wacko east coast states and let them live on what?
Oh and by the way the NRA is my favorite organization next to my church of course


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## zogman (Mar 20, 2002)

Sorry,
I forgot the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nanuvet


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## Gohon (Feb 14, 2005)

Seems to me I once read that the conservative party of Canada would align closer to the beliefs of the Democrat party in the USA rather than the Republican party. Don't know if that is true or not but I do recall reading that somewhere.


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## sevendogs (Sep 19, 2003)

Plainsman said:


> I thought someone would have mentioned it by now, but maybe no one noticed. Have you heard on the news that the Canadian government has moved right. Conservatives are making strides in Canada also. Western Canada is much like us, but it appears the east may have had it's fill of liberalism also. Go Canadian conservatives.


  Canadians are just mimicking us, one step behind. We are going to move left next time and they will follow.


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## Squeeker (Apr 1, 2004)

sevendogs said:


> Canadians are just mimicking us, one step behind. We are going to move left next time and they will follow.


If we do move, yes it will have to be to the left. That is the only other option, considering all 3 of our big political parties fall to the left of your Republican party. We cannot get anymore to the right than what we are right now, so if there is a change, it will have to be to the left.

Perhaps you are the ones following, considering all 3 of our parties are left of yours to begin with, so a move by you guys towards the left is ALWAYS a direction towards us.   

If you want to see a real left-wing party, come see our NDP (New Democratic Party). Very popular party here in Saskatchewan, even though they were shut out of Sask. entirely. In provincial elections, the provincial NDP party has been in power for the last 10+ years...


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## nickle ditch (Aug 26, 2002)

The NDP are EXTREMELY socialist. They barely fall short of the communist party. They believe in big government and the government doing your thinking for you. They believe profit is a dirty word, hate free enterprise and believe big bussiness is only out to screw the working man. If you're looking for a party to drive investment and young people out of the province, they're the ones. :eyeroll:


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## seabass (Sep 26, 2002)

Gohon said:


> Seems to me I once read that the conservative party of Canada would align closer to the beliefs of the Democrat party in the USA rather than the Republican party. Don't know if that is true or not but I do recall reading that somewhere.


That's what I heard too. This so-called conservative take over is something akin to our democrat party.


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