Without Jack

Photo from the CBC

    Jack Layton carried the NDP a long way. It used to be that Canada's democratic socialist party was relatively weak and powerless in the big scene of Canadian federal politics - I used to laugh at Jack when he said he was running for Prime Minister. But in this year's federal election he launched his party into their greatest success ever, winning over a hundred seats and the Official Opposition status. It wasn't because of the NDP's policies - their campaign practically stated, "Forget our party's policies - vote for Jack Layton, our wonderful leader!" It wasn't because their individual candidates were politically savvy or even particularly qualified to be MPs. It was all because of Jack Layton that they did so well. Canadians greatly admired him, saw his sincerity, and just plain liked him.
    And now the NDP's saviour is gone. Perhaps in the short term Canadians will want to support the party Jack left behind, sort of as a way of keeping his legacy alive. But in the long run - for example, four years from now, when Canada goes back to the polls - Jack won't be able to help them. It'll be tough, unforgiving Canadian politics as usual. When the NDP's inexperienced MPs make mistakes, Canadians won't simply ignore the errors because, "Oh, Jack used to be part of their party." When Canadians compare the parties' platforms, they'll still vote for the party they agree with the most. When the leaders debates rage and voters look for the best leaders, deceased leaders won't come into play.
    So how well will the NDP fare without Jack? He was the main reason Canadians voted orange, so the NDP better find a new reason, and fast. The obvious solution seems to be finding another good leader. Having many inexperienced MPs also makes strong leadership essential. But Jack Laytons don't grow on trees. Perhaps their best bet would be to turn all of Jack's big fans into big fans of socialism. That's also easier said than done.
    There's no doubt about it - the NDP is heading into rough times. But with strong leadership, sound policies, and effective campaigning, they may be able to hold on to their position as "one of Canada's three major parties".

    I've written a lot about the NDP on my blog recently, because they became they broke into the predictable pattern of Liberals 1st, Conservatives 2nd, then Conservatives 1st, Liberals 2nd. They made history, made politics more interesting and dynamic, and are now an great subject of speculation. But how are all these other parties doing? Let's take a look...
    Ok, the Conservatives are really pushing their arctic thing. Harper must really like it up there or something. Well, my advice to him is this: "Keep away from the US. We really have to distance ourselves from their crazy recession-causing economy!" Actually, maybe that's why he likes it up in the arctic... it must be so peaceful thousands of kilometers away from the States.
    The Liberals have been trying to remind Canadians of everything they've done for our country in the past. I say, "Bring me a good leader, here in the present, and then we'll talk." I personally haven't heard much about their search for a new leader, but there's no need to rush - they've got years until the next campaign, and I'm guessing that Bob Rae is enjoying his little chance to finally be in charge of his party.
    The Bloc Québécois has been rather silent of late. Their grand total of 4 MPs must still be in shock over their party's major crash in support. In my opinion, four separatist MPs is still four too many.
    Elizabeth May doesn't seem to realize she's a caucus of only one, throwing her proverbial weight around like a major party leader. Good strategy. But fortunately she's still only got the practical power of a mere independent MP in the House of Commons.
    Things will be interesting in politics these next couple of years - three major leadership races, parties soul searching and trying to determine their new directions, new MPs in office... Good thing the Conservatives have a majority - they can run Canada without interference while all the other parties rebuild.

R.I.P. Jack Layton

Photo credit

Jack Layton is dead... Jack Layton is dead... those words still don't sound right, even though they've been true for two days now. During the recent election he was bursting with energy and inspiring the nation. Only a month a ago I wrote about the NDP's "temporary loss" and talked about Layton retiring some time "a long way down the road". Then one morning I woke up and he was dead.

He sure had me fooled. Now his energy and determination during the election seems doubly admirable. I didn't agree with everything he stood for, but I respected him because he had vision, he had tenacity, and he had honour, even while he was dying.

This may not be theologically correct, and this may be cliché, but Rest In Peace, Jack Layton.

Bad News For the NDP

Picture from the CBC

    Nycole Turmel, the NDP's new rookie interim leader, is taking a lot of heat over her recent support of two separatist parties - both the Bloc Québécois and the provincial party Québec Solidaire. She was a member of the Bloc until last January, and only this week gave up her party membership in the Solidaire.

"I am a strong federalist, working for Canadians all over Canada," - Turmel

    She stated that she never agreed with her parties' separatist views, only their social policies. However, I don't think a "strong federalist" would have joined the Bloc, an anti-Canadian party who's number one goal is to break up our great country. It's clear that the NDP is now catering strongly to Quebec, and having a leader who has supported separatist parties recently is very bad for the NDP's image across Canada. It may even put their belief in Canadian federalism in doubt.

    What can I say? The NDP will be in rough shape until they can get their beloved Jack Layton back.

Layton

Picture from www.facebook.com/JackLayton

    The NDP's temporary loss of Jack Layton has led to much contemplation and speculation. Where would the party be without him? When he eventually has to step down as their leader permanently, will the NDP even be able to survive? When will that be - within a year or not for another ten years?

    First of all, Canadians on the most part didn't vote for the NDP candidates themselves. A good example of that is Ruth Brosseau, who was obviously only elected because she was the NDP candidate in her riding. She had never been to her riding before, didn't speak her constituents' language, and was in Vegas during the election.
    So were Canadians voting for the New Democratic Party and their socialist principles, or just the guy with the cool mustache leading the party? Personally, I think Canadians wanted the man with the 'stache.  The NDP campaign was very good, and focussed almost completely on Jack Layton instead of the party itself. The ironic thing was that he got a lot of support from young Canadians, even though he's in his 60s and was even walking with the help of a cane for a while.
    Anyways, I think that when Layton steps down permanently, the party will really need to find another charismatic and likable leader if they want to maintain their current success. That's going to be a tough job. But I think it's also going to be a long way down the road.
    In the short term, the NDP should find and develop new leaders from their rookie staff, to both help Jack and prepare for his inevitable departure. They also need to start indoctrinating Layton-fans in democratic socialism, or else people may start leaving the party as quickly as they jumped on the smiling and charismatic 'stache-bandwagon.

The Pros and Cons of our Canadian Political Parties (Post-Election)

   Conservatives   - Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Pros:

 - Harper is a good leader.

 - They have finally brought Canada a stable majority government, representing Canadians across the country.
 - During the 2011 election, the Conservatives showed that they were proud to be Canadian.
 - I really like their promise to forgive a portion of student loans for doctors and nurses in under-served rural communities.
 - They have brought our country out of a recession and strengthened the Canadian dollar (It's hard to do both).
 - They have withdrawn from our combat role in Afghanistan and emphasized the defence of our own country instead.

Cons:

 - They want to get rid of the per-vote party subsidy, which helps gives individual votes more impact.
 - They want to abolish the useful long gun registry, which keeps gun owners accountable for their weapons. (For more information, see my post The Long Gun Registry)
 - Update: I am worried by the extensive spending cuts introduced in the 2012 federal budget, which will inevitably result in less effective government services. Less government is not always better!

   New Democratic Party (NDP)   - Thomas Mulcair

Pros:

 - During the 2011 election, they made a special effort to show they were proud to be Canadian.
 - They want to keep the long gun registry and per-vote subsidies.

Cons:
 - With over half of their MPs now from Quebec, they are stuck having to serve that province's interests. 

 - They are anti-oilsands, even though the oilsands are a very important part of Canada's economy.

 - They support the flawed "Proportional Representation" electoral reform.

 - They would increase funding for abortion. The party also vigorously opposes any debate related to the criminalization of abortion.

   Liberals   - Bob Rae (interim leader)

Pros: 

 - They also promised loan forgiveness and benefits for doctors and nurses going to rural communities.
 - The party wants to keep the long gun registry and per-vote subsidies.
 - Update: They recently decided to endorse the legalization of marijuana (probably in an attempt to regain support from young Canadians). Of course, this move could be a "pro" or "con" depending on your view of marijuana.

Cons:

 - Their leadership problem is very serious. The party has been plagued with unpopular leadership lately, and it appears that they still are unable to find a good leader. They need someone who can re-establish the identity of the party and inspire people to support them after Canada rejected them in the 2011 election.

   Bloc Québécois   - Daniel Paillé

Pros: Um... I can't think of any.

Cons:

 - They are anti-Canadian and want Quebec to separate.

 - They only run in the province of Quebec and only support that province's interests.

 - They seem to be against multiculturalism.
 - The Bloc was decimated in the 2011 election and lost their strong leader Duceppe. Their future looks bleak.

   Green Party   - Elizabeth May

Pros:

 - Elizabeth May claims she wants to make Canadian politics less partisan and more respectful.
 - The party wants to legalise marijuana (again, this could be a good or bad thing depending on whether or not you think the drug should be legal).

Cons:

 - They are strongly anti-oilsands.

 - They want a carbon tax, which is highly impractical. 

 - They promote global warming alarmism. I quote from their website:

"It is estimated that climate change now claims the lives of over 315,000 people annually and is expected to create 700 million environmental refugees by mid-century."

"It’s important that we all pitch in to avert a climate catastrophe."

(Note: The average global temperature has changed less than one degree in the last hundred years. The estimates quoted are mere speculation on what would happen if the temperature changed dramatically, which is why I call it alarmism.)

Brosseau

Photo from CBC article

   Before the election, she was employed as a bartender in Ottawa. But on May 2nd, Ruth Ellen Brosseau was elected to Parliament! Needless to say, her salary has increased significantly. Unfortunately, she was in Las Vegas during the election, partying for her birthday, which got her lots of bad publicity. Later she admitted that she didn't expect to win, and had never even been to her riding (Berthier-Maskinongé) before! Obviously she was elected simply because she was the NDP candidate in her Quebec riding and the province was rapidly turning orange.

   Then the NDP got even more bad publicity because they said that she had a diploma in "Advertising and Integrated Marketing Communications" from St. Lawrence College in Kingston, but she didn't actually graduate!

   The media also jumped on her because she doesn't speak French. I don't think that every MP has to be able to speak French, but it is pretty important if you're representing a mainly Francophone riding in Quebec! To be fair though, she's currently taking intensive French lessons so she can actually understand what her constituents are saying.

   It's good to have young, new MPs in Parliament, but so far she seems very unprofessional. All the same, I think we need give her a chance. New MPs can bring freshness, change, and hopefully respect to our Parliament, and we shouldn't judge people before they've started! In her case, though, cross your fingers... this is going to be interesting!

The 2011 Canadian Election!

   Well, my predictions were right about the NDP becoming the opposition party, the Liberals coming in 3rd, and the decimation of the Bloc Québécois! However, I was expecting a minority government for the Conservatives. It was a pleasant surprise to hear that the Conservatives finally have a strong majority government!

   It was also good to hear about Ignatieff's resignation, following the worst election for the Liberal party in Canadian history. I'm sure the Liberals will be able to recover in time for the next election - they've been around since Confederation and aren't about to be snuffed out now. But the big question now is: Who will be the new leader of the Liberal party?

   The New Democratic Party started a new era in Canadian politics with Jack Layton's outstanding victory! I'm sure they will at least make Canadian elections more interesting. Unfortunately, in the meantime they will have to bow down to Quebec's demands, since they won most of their seats in that province.

   What does the decline of the Bloc Québécois mean for Canada? Well, hopefully it will severely and permanently weaken the Quebec sovereignty movement. The Bloc has lost almost all of its power in Parliament, which can only mean that Canada as a nation will be stronger and more unified.
   Elizabeth May made history and became the first Green Party candidate to be elected into Canada's Parliament. Despite making history, she is only a caucus of one, and I don't expect her to have much influence in our government. The Bloc Québécois, which lost most of its power, still has four times more seats than the Green Party!
   Last but definitely not least, I think the Conservative Party will be able to make Canada a better nation now that they are freed from the quibbling, appeasement, and instability of a minority government.

Seats:

Conservatives - 167   (up 21)
NDP - 102                 (up 66!)
Liberals - 34              (down 43)
Bloc Québécois - 4    (down 44)
Green - 1                   (up 1)
Other - 0                    (down 1)

For further information see the Elections Canada results.

My Predictions for the Election

Here's what I think will happen in this year's federal election:

The Conservatives will get another minority government. Despite Harper's calls for a strong majority government, the party doesn't seem to have increased in support since the last election. The NDP will probably snag enough seats to keep the Conservatives with a minority.

The NDP will form the official opposition! They're on a roll - especially in Quebec - because of Jack Layton. I've always said that Layton was a good leader (and he has a cool mustache).

The Liberals will be reduced to a mere 3rd place. It's time for a new party leader!

The Bloc Quebecois has lost support in the polls and will hopefully lose lots of seats in Parliament.

The Green Party will again not get into Parliament... well, Elizabeth May might be able to win her riding. But probably not.

The Pros and Cons of our Canadian Political Parties

This blog post was written before the 2011 Canadian federal election. To see my post-election Pros and Cons, please click HERE.

Canadian Political Parties

This blog post was written before the 2011 election. To see the post-election Pros and Cons of the parties, click HERE.


Today I'm going to briefly talk about the political parties of Canada, for all you non-pundits out there ;)

Conservatives - The Conservative Party of Canada was formed in 2003 when the Progressive Conservatives (PCs) and the Canadian Alliance united to form one party. The Conservatives currently form a minority government, which means they have the most seats in Parliament out of all the parties but still don't have the majority of the seats. Their leader, Stephen Harper, is Prime Minister.

Liberals - The Conservatives and Liberals are long-time rivals. If one party says one thing, the other party will say the opposite. The Liberals are currently the official opposition, which means they have the second most seats in Parliament. They are led by Michael Ignatieff.

Bloc Québécois - No one outside of Quebec likes the Bloc Québécois, because they are separatists. Their main policy is to split Quebec from the rest of Canada. Apparently no one has told them that since they only run in Quebec, they'll never be able to get enough seats to form a government and split Canada in two. In my opinion, they shouldn't even be called a national political party since they only run in one province and their main purpose is to weaken the nation. Their leader is Gilles Duceppe.

New Democratic Party (NDP) - Their first leader was Tommy Douglas, the premier of Saskatchewan from 1944-61. The NDP is Canada's social democratic party, leading some people to label them communists or even terrorists. But they're not extremists, don't worry ;) They are led by Jack Layton. He has a cool mustache.

Green Party - The Green Party does not have any seats in Parliament, thank goodness. However, last election they did get about 10% of the popular vote, leading many to believe Canada's elections need to be reformed to reflect the percentage of votes a party has gotten nationwide. The Green Party's platform revolves around "green" policy. Their head tree-hugger is Elizabeth May.

Other Registered Canadian Parties

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