Monday, December 1, 2008
Politics Canada's Conservative Party Doesn't Hold a Majority in Parliament
Posted by Dan Savage on Mon, Dec 1, 2008 at 3:54 PM
So how come Canada has a conservative Prime Minister? Because Canada's two big liberal/left parties couldn't agree to work together to topple the conservatives—until now.
Canadian opposition party leaders agreed to try and oust Prime Minister Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s minority Conservative government, signing an accord to work as an alliance until June 30, 2011.
Harper is a little George Bush wannabe—socially conservative, fiscally reckless. It would be good to see him go too.
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1
Point of Parlimentary Order, Dan. Canada's barely left of centre and far left of centre parties don't have a majority either. They'll only be able to hold onto their own minority coalition as long as they agree to bend us over the Bloc Quebecois' separatist barrel.
Harper's a jackass, but he's no Bush and Dion & Co aren't Obama. They're just left leaning jackasses.
Harper's a jackass, but he's no Bush and Dion & Co aren't Obama. They're just left leaning jackasses.
3
Maybe they should have fixed election dates? I think that would put more confidence into the government. Harper would definitely respect those, I'm sure!
4
The last time Canada's Conservative party - actually the Progressive Conservative party, they're to the LEFT of the US Democratic Party - had a majority, they lost it within 90 days and were almost vaporized.
5
@1- I for one am So Relieved that this may happen, because the Con's were talking about selling off more public institutions because of our "Financial crisis". Oh, they would like that, I'm sure.
And Frankly, I trust the bloc to look out for Canada far more than I trust Harper. Given that they're separatists, that's saying something.
25% of cabinet positions going to the NDP would be sweet. And our prime minister would be Dion!
And Frankly, I trust the bloc to look out for Canada far more than I trust Harper. Given that they're separatists, that's saying something.
25% of cabinet positions going to the NDP would be sweet. And our prime minister would be Dion!
6
Ha Ha Al @ 3.
ha
ha
and Will you're wrong.
The PCs had back to back majority governments with Brian Mulroney as PM from 1984 to 1993, when they went from an undefeatable majority down to two seats.
We got the Free Trade Agreement (pre-NAFTA agreement), a huge deficit and the GST out of them.
I thought we would've learned our lessons then, but hopefully we can undo that in time to not starve in the dark.
ha
ha
and Will you're wrong.
The PCs had back to back majority governments with Brian Mulroney as PM from 1984 to 1993, when they went from an undefeatable majority down to two seats.
We got the Free Trade Agreement (pre-NAFTA agreement), a huge deficit and the GST out of them.
I thought we would've learned our lessons then, but hopefully we can undo that in time to not starve in the dark.
7
@5 The Liberal leadership race is still on, so Dion would only be PM until May. After that we're stuck with Ignatieff or Rae.
8
Dan, your comments are presumptuous. The fact is little George Bush doesn't measure up to Stephen Harper. Canada fiscally has a budget surplus, and a current account surplus (it exports more than it imports). While Canada doesn't have the same responsibilities in the world as the USA, it is doing its part in Afghanistan.
@4 The Conservative Party of Canada is not the Progressive Conservative Party anymore. The last time the conversatives (PC) won a majority was in 1988, and they held it for just under five years, as one would expect a majority would. You're referring to the PC minority government of 1979-1980, which lasted less than nine months.
@4 The Conservative Party of Canada is not the Progressive Conservative Party anymore. The last time the conversatives (PC) won a majority was in 1988, and they held it for just under five years, as one would expect a majority would. You're referring to the PC minority government of 1979-1980, which lasted less than nine months.
9
@5, if you think the BQ is good for Canada then you don't understand Canadian politics. The BQ existst solely to look out for the interests of Quebec at the expense of Canada. It's members don't consider themselves Canadain, only Quebecers.
What cabinet positions do you think the NDP will get? What kind of respect do you think they'll get from the Grits?
And Dion as PM? Just what we need, a PM who wouldn't give up his French citizenship (not Quebec, the man holds citizenship in France). That says a lot about his commitment to Canada.
What cabinet positions do you think the NDP will get? What kind of respect do you think they'll get from the Grits?
And Dion as PM? Just what we need, a PM who wouldn't give up his French citizenship (not Quebec, the man holds citizenship in France). That says a lot about his commitment to Canada.
10
This is good news for Republicans, if you view the American system as
1/3 Republicans
1/3 Independents
1/3 Libs
Barack Obama conned the Libs into thinking he was rad; and the Independents into thinking he was a Moderate. In the end, he seems to have adopted all the Bush policies making him a Republican.
I give the Mod-Lib US coalition about 6 months before they chicken peck each other to death.
1/3 Republicans
1/3 Independents
1/3 Libs
Barack Obama conned the Libs into thinking he was rad; and the Independents into thinking he was a Moderate. In the end, he seems to have adopted all the Bush policies making him a Republican.
I give the Mod-Lib US coalition about 6 months before they chicken peck each other to death.
12
Just another in a line of pronouncements from Sir Dan on Canadian politics (last we heard from Dan was that same-sex marriage in Canada was about to be over-turned. not. even. close.) Per #8, keep it stateside if you please.
Now as for Dion, limp noodle that he is - no loss that he's leaving. An Obama-Rae summit on the other hand would be one of the best most thoughtful Canada-US summits, probably ever. Go Bob!
à propose de BQ, alors chantez ensemble!
gens de pays
c'est à ton tour
de faire chier
à tout le monde!
See Dan, this is how it's done.
Now as for Dion, limp noodle that he is - no loss that he's leaving. An Obama-Rae summit on the other hand would be one of the best most thoughtful Canada-US summits, probably ever. Go Bob!
à propose de BQ, alors chantez ensemble!
gens de pays
c'est à ton tour
de faire chier
à tout le monde!
See Dan, this is how it's done.
13
At the end of the day, I applaud Jack Layton (NDP Leader) for being the first to put his job on the line and ask for this coalition, and for Chretien, Broadbent, Dion, Duceppe, Rae and Ignatieff to rise to the occasion and say "Hey, trying to exploit an economic crisis to undermine democracy is unacceptable behavior. You have crossed a line and we will not tolerate it." It's certainly one for the history books, and for those of us who have been watching Harper manipulate the system with no vision for our nation beyond realizing his fantasy of being PM, it's a huge relief.
14
I for one am thrilled about this. And while I wouldn't characterize Harper as "fiscally reckless", he definitely has tried to strengthen the hold of Bush-style Christian conservative ideology in Canada (and he's careful about this only because he doesn't have a majority).
@1: Good try using the Bloc as a scare tactic. Give me a break. They have zero chance of seriously influencing the leadership of this country as a member of this coalition. And fuck your anti-French bullshit re: Dion. He's a proven federalist. Try reading something other than Conrad Black and the National Post once in a while.
@1: Good try using the Bloc as a scare tactic. Give me a break. They have zero chance of seriously influencing the leadership of this country as a member of this coalition. And fuck your anti-French bullshit re: Dion. He's a proven federalist. Try reading something other than Conrad Black and the National Post once in a while.
15
@ 13 Jack Layton is hardly putting his job on the line. The man has just managed to manoeuvre his way into a governing coalition, which (and I say this as a long-time NDP supporter) I never expected to see. Jack Layton is a clever operator--much underestimated, in my opinion--and he's got himself right where he wants to be: in a position to exert actual influence on government policy.
But I agree with everything else you say.
But I agree with everything else you say.
16
I like the Mercer Report. Is it held in as high esteem in Canada as the Colbert Report is here, in America?
18
Yes, heaven forbid Canadians should be spared from the Dan Savage peanut gallery. He can't vote there, but hey, he skies BC twice a year, so listen up, Canada!
19
Tricky territory here for the Grits, a lot of voters won't like this (then again, many of them didn't vote in the last election anyways).
20
Dan, Dan, Dan.
We have reproductive choice. We have same-sex marriage. We have medicare - and shut up any Canadian who disagrees or I'll break your nose just so that you will find out that in Canada you won't have to pay to have it fixed. We have a supreme court where half of the justices are women, including the Chief Justice and ALL OF THEM were appointed by the liberals!!!. How much damage is Harper, leader of a minority govt. going to do? We are hopelessly, reflexively, constitutionally liberal up here.
We have reproductive choice. We have same-sex marriage. We have medicare - and shut up any Canadian who disagrees or I'll break your nose just so that you will find out that in Canada you won't have to pay to have it fixed. We have a supreme court where half of the justices are women, including the Chief Justice and ALL OF THEM were appointed by the liberals!!!. How much damage is Harper, leader of a minority govt. going to do? We are hopelessly, reflexively, constitutionally liberal up here.
21
Dan and Rick Mercer should find a way to have smart and funny trans-border babies together.
Dan, make that happen for me. You can reach Rick at the CBC.
Dan, make that happen for me. You can reach Rick at the CBC.
22
I thought that Harper would be the last Bush standing, (with luck not for long). Maybe he and Dubya will leave at the same time...one can only hope. I hope this parliamentary democracy actually works the way it's supposed to.
23
The comments got it pretty straight up.
Although any Rae supporters here must not have lived in Ontario the last time someone elected him to executive office.
Although any Rae supporters here must not have lived in Ontario the last time someone elected him to executive office.
25
@9- I have dual citizenship with Britain, so that doesn't scare me, nor does it scare the vast amount of people in our country who understand that you can maintain ties with your parent's birth-countries and it doesn't make you any less Canadian. We are a multicultural country, remember, and we don't need our politicians to all be Alberta ranchers.
Having EU citizenship is sweet, I can tell you that. I wouldn't give it up.
Having EU citizenship is sweet, I can tell you that. I wouldn't give it up.
26
Thanks for bringing up Canada, Dan. I'm not sure why these people who profess to know more about Canada are griping about you bringing it up, esp since so few others do. It is good for me to be reminded to pay a little attention to the northern neighbors.
27
I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the news last night. Such a coup! When Dion lost badly at the elections, he hid inside of his house for like 4 days. Such a loser! And everyone in Québec hates Harper more than they (I am an American married to a french canadian) hate Anglophone Canadians. So I guess the tripartite union is a good match to quell Harper, but really, Dion as premier? Really (imitating my best Rachel Maddow)?
28
Don't underestimate Dion. He's an intelligent man and hard-headed too. Who's the leader now!? *big grin*
Bye Bye Steve, it's been a slice.
Bye Bye Steve, it's been a slice.
29
"Canada fiscally has a budget surplus, and a current account surplus (it exports more than it imports). While Canada doesn't have the same responsibilities in the world as the USA, it is doing its part in Afghanistan."
Though once true, this is not Harper's doing. He's only been running things a few years. These are deeds accomplished by the previous long term Liberal government.
The Liberals ran the Canadian government for years, fixing the previous conservative government's legacy of massive debt. For something like seven years in a row, the Liberals ran surpluses. Harper got in, and has in two years run our finances into the ground with ineffective tax cuts. He even got rid of the contingency fund. After being told by Harper in October's election that we would not be running a deficit, he then delivered an economic update last week saying that all kinds of things had to be cut, and all kinds of federal assets sold in order to balance the budget. That's not running a surplus. That's selling the furniture to pay the mortgage.
So it's the same old story. Conservatives get in, screw up the finances, and then use that as an excuse to slash programs and policies in order to "balance the books." These are measures they did not campaign on, despite knowing full well that the economy was in trouble -- something they denied during the election, stating "The fundamentals of the economy are sound."
Yes, Harper actually used that line. These guys aren't even creative enough to write their own propaganda.
This entire economic upheaval is being used as an excuse by the Conservatives to gut programs. Harper promised the other week in Peru to deliver an economic stimulus package. Instead, we got nothing.
Factories are closing. People are losing their jobs. The real estate market is crashing. And what does Canada have for a leader? A PM who advocates tax cuts and program slashing as a cure all.
Harper enjoys only a minority of the seats in the House. It is perfectly democratic and legal to remove him with a majority vote of confidence and to replace that government with another one without an election, given that we just had one six weeks ago.
More...
Though once true, this is not Harper's doing. He's only been running things a few years. These are deeds accomplished by the previous long term Liberal government.
The Liberals ran the Canadian government for years, fixing the previous conservative government's legacy of massive debt. For something like seven years in a row, the Liberals ran surpluses. Harper got in, and has in two years run our finances into the ground with ineffective tax cuts. He even got rid of the contingency fund. After being told by Harper in October's election that we would not be running a deficit, he then delivered an economic update last week saying that all kinds of things had to be cut, and all kinds of federal assets sold in order to balance the budget. That's not running a surplus. That's selling the furniture to pay the mortgage.
So it's the same old story. Conservatives get in, screw up the finances, and then use that as an excuse to slash programs and policies in order to "balance the books." These are measures they did not campaign on, despite knowing full well that the economy was in trouble -- something they denied during the election, stating "The fundamentals of the economy are sound."
Yes, Harper actually used that line. These guys aren't even creative enough to write their own propaganda.
This entire economic upheaval is being used as an excuse by the Conservatives to gut programs. Harper promised the other week in Peru to deliver an economic stimulus package. Instead, we got nothing.
Factories are closing. People are losing their jobs. The real estate market is crashing. And what does Canada have for a leader? A PM who advocates tax cuts and program slashing as a cure all.
Harper enjoys only a minority of the seats in the House. It is perfectly democratic and legal to remove him with a majority vote of confidence and to replace that government with another one without an election, given that we just had one six weeks ago.
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