Canada General Discussion (2019-)

[Хahar 🤔]

Genuine question - how is Singh still there?

The NDP's result last time was underwhelming on any reasonably objective criteria.

The simple answer is that he has never stopped successfully doing what he was selected to do, which is to make NDP members feel good about themselves for having a leader like him.

[Хahar 🤔]

Pierre Poilievre definitely wasn't bullied enough as a child.

[Хahar 🤔]

Doesn’t seem to have been mentioned on forum, but a couple weeks ago the BC Liberals finalised their renaming and new identity.

Very curious to see whether Wayne Rooney can turn them around!

[Хahar 🤔]

LPC and their godawful immigration platform

The last few weeks Canadian posters here have been saying this all the time and it just doesn't make any sense to me. Considering Canada's macroeconomic position I think it's essential.

Rich large anglophone countries should be in a strong position in a services-based economy, but they all have to complete with the United States, where wages and purchasing power are much higher. It is not within the power of any government to change this, so they have to find ways to compensate. Britain has an attractive world city and cultural power; Ireland has European Union membership; Australia has a favorable location relative to Asia and apparent freedom from the vagaries of the business cycle.

Canada will always have the issue of brain drain because American wages are so much higher and life in America is basically the same. At work I sit next to a Canadian citizen and I work closely with someone else who will move from Canada to the United States as soon as his work authorization comes through. Canada's only comparative advantage is loose immigration policy: the United States will always get the best talent, but Canada can compensate by drawing from a wider pool.

If I were a Canadian voter I would not vote Liberal at the next election under any circumstances, but immigration policy is something this government has gotten right.

[Хahar 🤔]

Notley did associate herself more with the federal NDP campaign in 2021 than she did in previous elections, but everyone knows that she's generally kept her distance and it's not hard to see why: there's clearly a fundamental philosophical difference between her and the federal NDP. If she were to become leader of the federal party, that would mean turning away from the current NDP policy of effectively unconditional support for the Liberal Party. My sense is that NDP members are generally pleased with this policy and with Jagmeet Singh, the symbol of the policy. If Rachel Notley really were to attempt to take the party leadership, it would be very easy for NDP members to rationalize it away as her being too right-wing for them, when in reality they would be frightened by the idea of actually trying to win elections instead of just fielding no-hope candidates to show how great democracy is.

[Хahar 🤔]

But honestly, has Singh's "youthful urban Canada" approach done anything for the NDP?

The answer, of course, is no. One would think that, at very least, having a Punjabi leader would help in that so many Canadians are Punjabi and they tend to be very concentrated, but in fact in 2021 the NDP did not even come close to winning any seats in Surrey or Brampton. At the provincial level, the BCNDP won a sweeping victory in Surrey in 2020, while the ONDP won most of the Brampton seats in 2018 before losing them all in 2022. It is not that these voters are totally unwilling to vote NDP; it is just that they have no interest in this NDP, which is a party for the already converted.

[Хahar 🤔]

I note that a recent poll had Bieber miles behind the Tory leader in the "best PM" ratings - and maybe even worse, was nearly caught by the useless Singh

Is it now a real possibility he doesn't even stay around until the next GE?

I think it's always been a possibility: it is a time-honored tradition in Canada to quit right before a certain defeat and leave some other schmuck holding the bag. The problem is that for a long time the obvious successor was Freeland, but she now seems so discredited that it's hard for me to imagine that she could actually win a leadership contest. I'm unsure whom that leaves as an option.

[Хahar 🤔]

I note that a recent poll had Bieber miles behind the Tory leader in the "best PM" ratings - and maybe even worse, was nearly caught by the useless Singh

Is it now a real possibility he doesn't even stay around until the next GE?

I think it's always been a possibility: it is a time-honored tradition in Canada to quit right before a certain defeat and leave some other schmuck holding the bag. The problem is that for a long time the obvious successor was Freeland, but she now seems so discredited that it's hard for me to imagine that she could actually win a leadership contest. I'm unsure whom that leaves as an option.

Well being the Liberals, from history we know their only options are an Ontarian or a Quebecer that is fluent in English and French. Last leader the Liberal Party had from a riding not in either province was Mac King representing Prince Albert. The party with a couple exceptions does not exist west of Thunder Bay and I don't see them picking anyone from the Atlantic provinces. Francois-Philippe Champagne seems a competent politician actually worth ten cents, but he also seems the type that would get destroyed by Pierre Poilievre in a general election campaign, and then all the guys that really want to run the party would bury him afterward so he could take the blame and not Trudeau. But maybe it's what you do to become Prime Minister for 5 months.

Well, Turner was not really from anywhere: he represented an Ottawa constituency for a while and worked in Toronto for a while as an adult, but he was born in England and grew up in both Vancouver and Ottawa and entered the House of Commons for a Montreal constituency and represented a Vancouver constituency as Liberal Party leader. It is sort of a stretch to describe Turner as an Ontarian and it would be silly to say that his Ontarianness mattered in the way that it has mattered that nearly every other Liberal Party leader has been from Quebec. The most relevant thing to say would be that the Liberal Party has been led by a Quebecker at 14 of the last 17 general elections.

I agree that Champagne obviously wants to be prime minister and he could be a convenient fall guy when he loses the election and his seat. Maybe that will be the way things go just because nobody else wants it.