Canada votes 2011

[vitaminG]

Originally Posted by TheNewGirl

Yeah but in BC we have 125K people per seat while in OT it's 124.

Alberta's actually the worst off of all the provinces with 132K per seat while Quebec is about 105K

Nova scotia has 11 MPs for 945k people or 86k per seat

New brunswick has 10 seats for 750k people or 75k per seat

Quebec and the Maritimes get way more than they should

[TouringTeg]

Ruth is hot. Week long vacation in Vegas during the campaign, poor understanding of French, and doesn't even live in the riding she won.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cana...gefighter.html

[MindBomber]

If you recognize the distinctive culture of the maritime provinces and quebec, and recognize that they have unique regional issues and concerns, I think that a slightly higher number of seats per capita is justified.

Originally Posted by vitaminG

Nova scotia has 11 MPs for 945k people or 86k per seat

New brunswick has 10 seats for 750k people or 75k per seat

Quebec and the Maritimes get way more than they should

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[SFUguy]

In BC, we have heavy Asian population and we need to satiate our political lust

[InvisibleSoul]

The NDP sweep in Quebec also saw three current McGill University students and a recent graduate elected as Members of Parliament in the federal election.

Two of them are co-presidents of the NDP McGill: Charmaine Borg, who won the southern Quebec riding of Terrebonne-Blainville with 49 per cent of the vote and reportedly does not own a cell phone, and Matthew Dubé, who won Chambly-Borduas.

But the McGill students weren't the youngest in the bunch of newly elected.

That title goes to NDP candidate Pierre-Luc Dusseault, 19-year-old Universite de Sherbrooke student, who will forego a summer job at a golf course to represent the Quebec riding of Sherbrooke in Ottawa. He breaks a nearly four-decade old record held by a Liberal MP, Claude-Andre Lachance, who was elected at the age of 20.

Wow.

[TheNewGirl]

Originally Posted by SFUguy

In BC, we have heavy Asian population and we need to satiate our political lust

I would argue, having lived in many different provinces that yes, here in BC we have both distinctive culture and distinctive issues. If OT gets more seats, BC and Alberta should too.

Province		Seats		Population 		Pop Per Seat 
						
Alberta		          28		3,720,946.00	132,891
BC	                36		4,530,960.00	125,860
Manitoba 		14		1,235,412.00	88,244
New Brunswick 	     10		751,755.00		75,176
Newfoundland 	     7		509,739.00		72,820
Northwest 		1		43,759.00		43,759
Nova Scotia	       11		942,506.00		85,682
Nunavut		       1		33,220.00		33,220
Ontario 		106		13,210,667.00	124,629
PEI 		        4		142,266.00		35,567
Quebec		       75		7,907,375.00	105,432
Saskatchewan	       14		1,045,622.00	74,687
Yukon 		       1		34,525.00		34,525
						
Total		    308		34,108,752.00

Excell is hard to paste to a forum but here's the break down

[Tim Budong]

[carisear]

^ lol! that map is actualy pretty damn accurate ...

[carisear]

Originally Posted by TheNewGirl

I would argue, having lived in many different provinces that yes, here in BC we have both distinctive culture and distinctive issues. If OT gets more seats, BC and Alberta should too.

There was a good line on CTV's election coverage last night -- one i didn't think of/remember at all. They were talking about Preston Manning, and how he sensed there was a growing western seperatist movement -- and he nipped that in the bud by saying 'no, we don't want out, we want IN'

I am a BIG preston manning supporter. Reform was the party i supported. the current conservatives are a mere shadow of them.

I also wondered aloud why BC shouldn't seperate. If Manning w as more like lucien bouchard, and had a platform of seperation, i would most likely still be saying we should seperate. Now that the west has a real voice, it seems kinda silly i ever thought that way.

[drunkrussian]

Originally Posted by darthchilli

hahahah awesome! lol @ moose
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[TheNewGirl]

Originally Posted by carisear

There was a good line on CTV's election coverage last night -- one i didn't think of/remember at all. They were talking about Preston Manning, and how he sensed there was a growing western seperatist movement -- and he nipped that in the bud by saying 'no, we don't want out, we want IN'

I am a BIG preston manning supporter. Reform was the party i supported. the current conservatives are a mere shadow of them.

I also wondered aloud why BC shouldn't seperate. If Manning w as more like lucien bouchard, and had a platform of seperation, i would most likely still be saying we should seperate. Now that the west has a real voice, it seems kinda silly i ever thought that way.

I think this is kind of amusing because I HATE Preston Manning but on this point I have to agree. I've lived east of here and always felt that when I was in in the East the government actually gave a shit about me. Out here in the West I really don't, and I feel very resentful. We provide a lot of the resources with which the rest of of the country thrives.

And I don't think Harper is any voice for the west. He runs in Alberta but he was born in Toronto and his family is tied firmly to Ottawa. While he went to Uni in Alberta, I have never felt he gave a shit about us out here beyond that we're the edge of his voting block.

Fun Stephen Harper facts - he actually started his career as a Liberal (member but not candidate) but left the party because of Trudeau's policies but after joining the PCs he found he didn't like Mulroney's policies either. That's how he met Manning in the Reform party. Also, Harper's the only Reform MP who supported the Firearms registry (which is ironic given his efforts to dismantle it now).

If Harper was running on the Reform platform, I'd probably give him a lot more support. The whole notion of decentralizing the government appeals to me heavily. Though I really disagree with his more socially conservative beliefs (since they come from a religious foundation and I think they're way discriminating) the core idea of reforming the government to actually represent the country better... those are good ones. It's a shame they've been lost.

[carisear]

Originally Posted by TheNewGirl

If Harper was running on the Reform platform, I'd probably give him a lot more support. The whole notion of decentralizing the government appeals to me heavily. Though I really disagree with his more socially conservative beliefs (since they come from a religious foundation and I think they're way discriminating) the core idea of reforming the government to actually represent the country better... those are good ones. It's a shame they've been lost.

o.m.g. hell hath frozen over. i am in complete agreement with you on something. are there pigs flying too??

i agree with everything you just said there.

[Bouncing Bettys]

I was a Reformer, attended a Reform rally in town and met Preston Manning. I felt the west was neglected and wanted to give it a voice. Then they started getting more and more outspoken about social conservatism and I was willing to turn a blind eye for a time. They completely lost me when the replaced Manning with Stockwell Day. Merging with the Progressive Conservatives was just an attempt to gain power at any cost. The notions of reforming government and attaining proportional representation have disappeared.

[TheNewGirl]

Originally Posted by Blaupunkt69

I was a Reformer, attended a Reform rally in town and met Preston Manning. I felt the west was neglected and wanted to give it a voice. Then they started getting more and more outspoken about social conservatism and I was willing to turn a blind eye for a time. They completely lost me when the replaced Manning with Stockwell Day. Merging with the Progressive Conservatives was just an attempt to gain power at any cost. The notions of reforming government and attaining proportional representation have disappeared.

^ I agree. This is the root of my distrust of the Conservative party. More over the fact that they've not only abandoned the notion of reform, they've really become over the years almost everything that the Reform party initially stood against and seem to time and time reaffirm that power is more important to them than principle.

Over the next 4 years we'll see how it goes. Maybe at least we can get the Senate reforms that Harper promised before he elected a dozen and a half of them.

[GabAlmighty]

Planes!!

[MindBomber]

If only proportional representation were still a focus for the major political parties, the face of government would completely change. The disillustionment among young voters who have indoctrinated themselves with the belief that their vote does not matter would end, because every single vote in this country would have a measurable effect on the make up of parliament and I firmly believe that would make a dramatic increase in voter turn out. Locked ridings would be a thing of the past, the greens would gain official party status, minority governments would be indefinite forcing co-operation among parties rather allowing agendas to be pushed through.

I still can't belive it didn't pass during the provincial referendum, my only assumption is that a large percentage of voters didn't understand exactly what it is and sadly voted no, instead of educating themselves.

Originally Posted by Blaupunkt69

I was a Reformer, attended a Reform rally in town and met Preston Manning. I felt the west was neglected and wanted to give it a voice. Then they started getting more and more outspoken about social conservatism and I was willing to turn a blind eye for a time. They completely lost me when the replaced Manning with Stockwell Day. Merging with the Progressive Conservatives was just an attempt to gain power at any cost. The notions of reforming government and attaining proportional representation have disappeared.

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[carisear]

^ that is a typical vancouver statement -- since people didn't vote the way i wanted, they are less educated than me.

I don't believe low voter turnout has anything to do with the voting system. I think that it has everything to do with the track record of the people that DO get elected. No matter who gets in, they will screw you somehow. Talking to people who didn't vote this last election, a lot of them said that.

[bcrdukes]

Just curious - how many of you actually DO write to your MPs?

[cliffhanger33]

Media is the one that angers me the most. Faults of Harper were virtual, created by media that were advancing an agenda and ignoring the brilliant campaign being executed by the CPC. The left media wore countless and endless narratives about the the issues that were ignored by Canadians - the kangaroo court contempt of parliament issue- , G20, etc. while pimping Ignatieff or making him look good to create the illusion of a close race.

Harper no doubt ran a monotone campaign void of excitement, given his attitude is very boring and dull, and the media tried to punish him for it by trying to make us fall in love with Ignatieff's intellect. When that didn't work they tried to sell us Jack's smile and moxy. As CTV said, Ignatieff is a great man, but he did not CONNECT to voters, and without connection, you are done. Finished. I've personally met and talked to Ignatieff when he came to my school to open question and answer discussions , and I realized how much of a smart man he is and a nice person, but I just never felt the complete trust in him, hence no real connection.

Meanwhile grassroots campaigns were being won on the ground at the local riding level and the strategy was brilliant.
Ask yourself this. How many leaders have governed through a punishing recession and come through it higher in popularity and with more representation in parliament.

I think Harper needs to start getting credit for what he has done although he DOES HAVE HIS FAULTS, it was more than vote splitting and blind luck that created this result. It's been a decade of building up and work his way up to this moment. If he was so terrible, we Canadians had 5 chances to kick him out.

And of course, congratulations to Jack Layton for breaking history in being the official opposition. Lots to expect though.

[Meowjin]

Originally Posted by bcrdukes

Just curious - how many of you actually DO write to your MPs?

I annoyed the shit out of cummins.

[cliffhanger33]

Raymond Chan came into my house and drank my juice when he was doing his door to door campaign.

[MindBomber]

Originally Posted by bcrdukes

Just curious - how many of you actually DO write to your MPs?

I live in a conservative riding, so I write to MPs from other ridings who share similar values.
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[gars]

Originally Posted by cliffhanger33

Harper no doubt ran a monotone campaign void of excitement, given his attitude is very boring and dull, and the media tried to punish him for it by trying to make us fall in love with Ignatieff's intellect. When that didn't work they tried to sell us Jack's smile and moxy. As CTV said, Ignatieff is a great man, but he did not CONNECT to voters, and without connection, you are done. Finished. I've personally met and talked to Ignatieff when he came to my school to open question and answer discussions , and I realized how much of a smart man he is and a nice person, but I just never felt the complete trust in him, hence no real connection.

My friend met him and said that he basically organized a big event and invited a lot of people - to have a great kodak moment, be seen in the public with a lot of diverse people. But when my buddy actually went up to him and asked him questions, he would seem very disconnected and give very vague answers - almost like he just wanted to get out of there.

I'm sure he's a very smart man, but like you said, he didn't connect. He also came off as an opportunist - which of course, all politicians are - but Jack Layton was the one who actually seemed sincere.

[cliffhanger33]

Originally Posted by gars

My friend met him and said that he basically organized a big event and invited a lot of people - to have a great kodak moment, be seen in the public with a lot of diverse people. But when my buddy actually went up to him and asked him questions, he would seem very disconnected and give very vague answers - almost like he just wanted to get out of there.

I'm sure he's a very smart man, but like you said, he didn't connect. He also came off as an opportunist - which of course, all politicians are - but Jack Layton was the one who actually seemed sincere.

Exactly what I felt man. When we asked him questions, he wud answer in extreme length but very vaguely which totally did not answer our original question at all. I have a video recording and people could see how he changes the topic or avoids question.

[Meowjin]

Originally Posted by gars

My friend met him and said that he basically organized a big event and invited a lot of people - to have a great kodak moment, be seen in the public with a lot of diverse people. But when my buddy actually went up to him and asked him questions, he would seem very disconnected and give very vague answers - almost like he just wanted to get out of there.

I'm sure he's a very smart man, but like you said, he didn't connect. He also came off as an opportunist - which of course, all politicians are - but Jack Layton was the one who actually seemed sincere.

Harper did a stint at my buddies business in richmond. Brother went for dimsum while harper went there to promote his campeign to the chinese community in richmond.

Danforth (laytons) riding is the Greek area of toronto. No idea why greek's like NDP policies so much.

had a pretty painful conversation with my brother today who happens to be super religious.

He mentioned that NDP supports abortions, and they are godless people, then he went about supporting welfare. I just facepalmed and left.