Map of Canadian Provinces under a U.S. political system

[Gabu]

Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the Yukon Territory would likely go Republican -all other provinces, i think, would vote Democratic. 

The Yukon (along with the rest of the north) is actually very liberal; that appears to be a common misconception.

[Gabu]

interesting, so what's the partisan breakdown in Canadian politics from province to province? and by partisan, i am referring to Liberals, Conservatives, and New Democrats (the Bloc Quebecois is in a league of its own, though it actually is pretty liberal outside of its obsession with secession). 

We don't actually have partisan breakdowns as registered voters don't declare affiliation when registering to vote.  However, the following is a map of the June 2004 election results in Canada:



Southern BC enlarged:



Southern Ontario enlarged:



Maritime provinces enlarged:



Key:

Red - Liberal Party of Canada
Blue - Conservative Party of Canada
Orange - New Democratic Party of Canada
Cyan - Bloq Quebecois

[Gabu]

I heard something about a poll stating that President Bush was actually more popular in the Atlantic Provinces than in Alberta or any place else in Canada. I don't know if its true so if somebody could confirm or deny this that would be great.

I've spent twenty minutes looking and I still cannot find that poll, but I have seen it and it does exist, and its results were as you say.

"Popular" is a bad word to use, though.  He still lost by something like a 30- to 40-point margin.

[Gabu]

nice -i'm wondering if there is also a map showing population density.  I see British Columbia is mostly all Conservative, with what i think the urban centers of Vancouver and Victoria being Liberal strongholds.  Would that make British Columbia a Liberal province?

No, the Conservative ridings outnumber the other ridings; BC is lightly Conservative.

and i see that Manitoba is split equally between Conservatives and New Democrats -am i correct in assuming it is a 'swing' province? Or are the rules different in Canada than it is here in the United States?

The NDP riding is one single riding, compared to something like 10 Conservative ones; Manitoba is mostly conservative.

[Gabu]

forgive me for asking the obvious, but is it safe to assume then, that if Canada were operating according to American rules, that the Democratic Party would have a lock on the Yukon and Northwest territories, Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic Maritime provinces, with the Republican Party controlling Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, with British Columbia being a swing province?   

If the Republican Party was exactly the same as the Conservative Party of Canada, then yes, although BC would probably be more solid GOP due to vote splitting.  However, the GOP is further to the right than the Conservative Party.  Alberta would probably be the only province it could potentially win.

[Gabu]

Proud Liberal: I'm not sure if it extends to the Republican Party, but Bush is not popular. I think it's clear from above that other than a shot at the central provinces (maybe) and a shot at perhaps one of the Atlantic provinces if one of them is much closer (maybe), it would be a 100% Democratic country in every single province.

If it was a moderate Republican, he could probably win.  A Bush-like Republican, however, is not likely.  We already had one of those; his name was Stockwell Day.  He went down in flames.

[Gabu]

Proud Liberal: I'm not sure if it extends to the Republican Party, but Bush is not popular. I think it's clear from above that other than a shot at the central provinces (maybe) and a shot at perhaps one of the Atlantic provinces if one of them is much closer (maybe), it would be a 100% Democratic country in every single province.

If it was a moderate Republican, he could probably win.  A Bush-like Republican, however, is not likely.  We already had one of those; his name was Stockwell Day.  He went down in flames.

yes, but so did Barry Goldwater in '64......

Well, yes, but Stockwell Day went down in flames in 2000, so I don't think much has changed since then.

[Gabu]

granted no two situations are exactly alike (aka Iraq and Vietnam), but one must remember that the (conservative) Republican majority we see today was decades in the making, since Goldwater's debacle in 1964.  how can you be so sure that the Conservative Party won't follow a similar course?

Our current leader of the Conservative Party is actually quite moderate; I actually considered the Conservatives when voting.  Trust me, it's extremely unlikely that someone like Bush could get elected here.

[Gabu]

who draws these ridings?  here in the United States, for the most part, it is done by state legislators with the approval of the governor -essentially, the entire process is controlled by the two major parties: Republican and Democratic, and gerrymandering to favor one party over the other is rife.  how is it done in Canada?  and, for that matter, Australia and Britain?

I'm not sure, but I'm fairly sure it's not done in a partisan manner as it is in America; we don't have any cries of gerrymandering here that I know of.

[Gabu]

Republicans win Alberta, Sascatchewan, Manitoba, rural parts of BC and Ontario, and the more conservative atlantic provinces.

That would be none of them.