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Election Day!

rustypouch

Philosopher
rustypouch
Joined
Mar 1, 2003
Messages
6,745
So today is the big day!

Personally, I am still undecided between voting NDP or for some flaky independant.
 
rustypouch said:
So today is the big day!

Personally, I am still undecided between voting NDP or for some flaky independant.
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Because you like the NDP or flaky independent or because you don't like either the Conservative or Liberal options?

I don't particularly like any of the candidates in my riding. Last election, the Liberals won my riding by about 10,000 votes. So they parachuted in a guy that they hope will be high profile in the future. But, I am not sure it will do much good - he may lose to the Conservative candidate (same guy as last time) based on my completely unscientific lawn sign observations. I might just hold my nose, spin around three times and jab my finger at the ballot.
 
Wholly unrelated to the politics of the thing, I just want to say that I think Mondays are a better day to have elections than Tuesdays, the way we do here. I don't have any concrete reason for that, it just feels better. So yay Canada for Monday balloting.
 
Thanz said:
Because you like the NDP or flaky independent or because you don't like either the Conservative or Liberal options?

I don't particularly like any of the candidates in my riding. Last election, the Liberals won my riding by about 10,000 votes. So they parachuted in a guy that they hope will be high profile in the future. But, I am not sure it will do much good - he may lose to the Conservative candidate (same guy as last time) based on my completely unscientific lawn sign observations. I might just hold my nose, spin around three times and jab my finger at the ballot.
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Kind of both. I do not like the Conservatives or Liberals, and there are many about the NDP platform I do like, mainly their stance on labour and the environment. But then my riding is hopelessly Conservative, so if I make a protest vote, I may as well go all out.
 
I think it depends on your riding. I vote Conservative (I did like Green party, but disagree strongly with them funding complementary and alternative treatments), especially like my MP. Jim Prentice is awesome, and has impressed a lot of his riding with his performance. I think voting for your individual MP is more important.

There are some Conservative MP's I woudln't vote for,but on the whole,it's the party I support.
 
I truly wish we had better choices. It's so bad, I'll probably vote Liberal simply because it's the only party that even comes close to my ideology. Yes, they have done really really stupid things, but since I don't expect any other party to do any better... :(

And, as a mini-rant, I really hate how, in Quebec, you're expected to vote for the Bloc if you are francophone (like me). :mad: At one point, I'm sure my familly members will ask why I didn't vote Bloc, "cause you know, they watch out for our interests."
("Oh, sorry for not being a hypocrite and for voting for a party which will (hopefully) watch for the interests of the whole f***ing country.")
 
manny said:
Wholly unrelated to the politics of the thing, I just want to say that I think Mondays are a better day to have elections than Tuesdays, the way we do here. I don't have any concrete reason for that, it just feels better. So yay Canada for Monday balloting.
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We vote on Tuesdays because otherwise too many voters would be voting with hangovers.

Although I suspect the founders wanted to let Sunday's sermon wear off a bit before people voted. Sneaky deists!
 
I was at the poll at 7:30 (vote early, vote often!!) and there were already people lined up, waiting for it to open!

Based on this, I wonder if we'll see a surprisingly large turnout this time around.
 
Well, work is winding down for the day, so I'll be heading to vote for the evil I don't know. The theory is that if you always vote against the evil you do know (the incumbent government), eventually these evil politicians will come up with a plan to keep them in power for more than 4 years. To do this will require a plan so insidious, so malign that I hate to explain it; the party will trick us into voting for them by being honest and upright people.

OK, maybe not the best way to decide your local candidate, but that is what I am going with. I am split right now between voting conservative, or NDP. The NDP will most likely win my riding. Here are my possible choices:

John Andrew Akpata (Marijuana Party)
David Chernushenko (Green Party of Canada)
Paul Dewar (New Democratic Party)
Keith Fountain (Conservative Party of Canada)
Christian Legeais (Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada)
Richard Mahoney (Liberal Party of Canada)
Stuart Ryan (Communist Party of Canada)
Anwar Syed (Independent)

Sadly the only one I know anything about is Akpata of the Mary Jane Party, and that only for his column in the Xpress. He doesn't impress me much, which leaves me voting more for party than person, but I may have time to research the people if I can spend the last 45 minutes of my work day not working.

Walt

P.S. Here are some of the registered parties not running in my district. Look at what I am missing.

Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada
Bloc Québécois
Canadian Action Party
Christian Heritage Party of Canada
First Peoples National Party of Canada
Libertarian Party of Canada
Progressive Canadian Party
Western Block Party
 
Segnosaur said:
What, no Natural Law Party? (You know, the ones with the Yogic flyers)
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According to www.elections.ca, their campaign didn't taken off this year.
Deregistered Political Parties
(voluntary deregistration, section 388)

Natural Law Party of Canada


Political Parties That Lost Their Eligibility to Become Registered

National Alternative Party of Canada (section 369(2))

The Ontario Party of Canada (section 369(2))

Absolutely Absurd Party (section 367, withdrawal of application)
Click to expand...
 
Watching CBC simulcast on CSPAN. Someone care to explain what a "riding" is - other than an exertive sexual encounter, I mean.
 
Electoral district.

Each province is composed of a number of ridings, each riding elects one person.
 
I voted for Svend Robinson of the NDP in the Vancouver Centre riding. Sure, he's an admitted shoplifter, but it was either him or Hedy Fry of the Liberals (who I can't stand) or Tony Fogarassy of the Conservatives (and I'd never vote Conservative).
 
Goodbye Liberals!

The Conservatives won the election!

(or, are going to win the election, but same thing)
 
That's a weak minority. The Bloc gets the balance of power technically. I think they should expand to be a national party, they'd make a killing as a fiscally conservative decentralist party that is socially liberal...
 
The seats so far look to be going:

Conservative: 121
Liberal: 105
Block: 50
NDP: 30
Other: 1


Each seat is one person elected to the house of commons. Whatever party has the most seats is named the government and their leader becomes the PM. The PM has to win a seat just like anyone else, by running in a riding.

Each seat is voted on by a region representing a population of 100,000 people -- and that's called a riding. You vote for one of the individuals, 1 from each party + independants, who are trying to win the seat for the riding you live in.

The NDP are the party that wants to spend the most on social programs (healthcare, welfare, low rent housing, daycare, etc..).

The Block is a party that only runs candidates in ridings in the province of Quebec. They originated as a seperatist party, saying they would have a referendum for Quebec seperation if they were to become the government. Lately they focus more on Quebec rights rather than seperation. Polls don't show support for seperation as being as high as it once was in Quebec.
 
Of the part leaders, Giles is the least offensive of the bunch. You could vote for him without holding your nose.

Not a bad result in the end. Looks like the Conservatives can with the aid of the Bloc get some fiscal conservatism going, maybe some decentralizing as well. My fear is that many of the people are, as some people put it, "giving the Liberals a break" as punishment. Which means they may get back in without any real change to the party in four years.

Walt
 
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