Canada 2011 Official Thread

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Who's the guy on the far left in your current sig? I'm semi-fascinated with the way he looks.

You mean on the far left as the viewer looks at the photo - the man with the folded arms?

Goronwy Roberts

[Insula Dei]

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He actually seems to exude, if that's the correct term, some form of tranquillity.

[Hash]

Ha. I can see why you hate him so much now (apart from the horrible party affiliation).

My friend and his folks love him though.

"He's the only one that cares about the community."

Yeah, he really does. So much that the community has lost jobs and he doesn't live in the community. But I digress.

[redcommander]

In other NDP news.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/05/04/pol-mulcair-osama.html

[Foucaulf]

In other NDP news.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/05/04/pol-mulcair-osama.html

Mulcair makes regular appearances on Power & Politics, the show in question. Before the NDP surge he had some colourful debates on there: one was with journalist Andrew Coyne on whether Quebec is the most corrupt province (topic for an article Coyne wrote).

He's very nationalistic in the Quebec sense; I'm sure he parroted the Quebec politicians in saying Sikhs must not bring their Kirpans into their Legislative Assembly. Maybe he's trying to sell his rationality with remarks like this, and being the godfather of a majority of the caucus means the party won't stop him. NDP supporters out in the West will bawk at this, but we bawked at a Tory majority too.

[Lief 🗽]

With the Welsh elections tomorrow, tis time to change signatures. But I do like that picture of Lewis; not only an admirable man, but also a style icon:

That's what David Lewis looked like in the 70s? Wikipedia should probably change the picture of him on their Canadian election pages:

[Хahar 🤔]

Oftentimes the pictures that Wikipedia has are amusingly dated. I believe the picture of Lester Pearson is from the early '40s.

[Teddy (IDS Legislator)]

http://goo.gl/maps/Ms7D I need help with this

[MaxQue]

http://goo.gl/maps/Ms7D I need help with this

That doesn't exist.

That is Eastern Montérégie, Western Eastern Townships and Drummondville area.

Even if someone manages to find a name for Granby-Stanstead-Magog-Bromont area (I suppose it perhaps exists), it has nothing to do with Drummondville, so no common name.

EDIT: Can I ask why?

[Teddy (IDS Legislator)]

It voted NDP comparatively heavily, while the Blue area voted Bloc comparatively heavily. To the point that they are now the most NDP and the most BQ areas of the province (even though the NDP won most of the seats in this "solid BQ" area)

[minionofmidas]

Nova Scotia and Manitoba were disappointing.

And what do those two provinces have in common? The NDP is in power provincially in both.

Kssh.

[Foucaulf]

Robert Silver, ex-Liberal strategist turned columnist, has two more posts up. One is on think tanks and another is on interim leadership.

The first one reeks of entitlement. The title is "Can Preston Manning Save the Liberals," which evoked Rovian character assaults, i.e. "Preston Manning will privatize everything". But that has clearly failed. Then he mentions:

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I think he's referring to grassroots squadrons like Media Matters and MoveOn. But he actually means a think tank. What a massive waste of money!

I still remember the Liberals' Canada at 150 conference, where they invited a bunch of academics to talk about potential national issues in 2017. It was not a success, but it expounded on issues that lied below the radar. If the party put in its platform only the ideas proposed on the welfare state, people might have cared about their policy. The Liberals could have talked about establishing Canada's palliative care as one of the world's best, or starting a mandatory "low-interest pension account". They didn't.

The Liberals assembled intellectuals who exude knowledge for a living to reverse the stereotype of the clueless politician. When election time came, they disregarded everything, as if consulting for a dying party were a privilege. Now they want to establish an in-house think tank to gather the smart people forever and ever?

If they are to be respectable, think tanks have to produce quality research. The Manning Centre does not do that, and nobody knows. Britain's Fabian Society chugs along, but they do not seek fame. BC's Fraser Institute is not respectable, but famous because they provide services such as their annual ranking of the province's schools. The latter is obviously the construct Silver wants:

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"Pick and choose from." The Liberals are not the Democrats - nobody will let them "pick and choose". At a time when the C. D. Howe Institute should walk the party like a dog, strategists think their party is always entitled to slim pickings; no one else will feed these starving academics.

Now that the Conservatives have four years, politically active academics will try to influence them. Certainly none will waste time for the Liberals. Party bigwigs must collectively read Locke, Burke and Rawls：they can make an appeal after.

[Frodo]

Worth noting that at least part of the great victory won by Conservatives has been their apparently successful outreach to the immigrant community -wonder if Republicans here will be able to replicate that:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How courting the immigrant vote paid off for the Tories

JOE FRIESEN AND JULIAN SHER
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, May. 03, 2011 10:40PM EDT
Last updated Wednesday, May. 04, 2011 10:49AM EDT

Fifteen cups of tea. That’s how the election was won.

In one day during the 2011 election campaign, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney attended 15 different chai parties hosted by Indo-Canadian voters in Brampton West, Ont. That’s just a snapshot of his epic cross-Canada campaigning, but it’s indicative of the stamina and persistence of the Conservative point man for ethnic communities.

He and Prime Minister Stephen Harper have transformed their party from one that was perceived as hostile to new Canadians to one that is now home to a great many immigrant voters and Members of Parliament.

The Conservative majority was won primarily in the suburban ridings of the 905 area code and in the City of Toronto. Of the 18 seats they gained in that region, 14 are more than 45 per cent immigrant, and most would not long ago have been considered un-winnable for the Conservatives.

[ottermax]

Worth noting that at least part of the great victory won by Conservatives has been their apparently successful outreach to the immigrant community -wonder if Republicans here will be able to replicate that:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How courting the immigrant vote paid off for the Tories

JOE FRIESEN AND JULIAN SHER
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, May. 03, 2011 10:40PM EDT
Last updated Wednesday, May. 04, 2011 10:49AM EDT

Fifteen cups of tea. That’s how the election was won.

In one day during the 2011 election campaign, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney attended 15 different chai parties hosted by Indo-Canadian voters in Brampton West, Ont. That’s just a snapshot of his epic cross-Canada campaigning, but it’s indicative of the stamina and persistence of the Conservative point man for ethnic communities.

He and Prime Minister Stephen Harper have transformed their party from one that was perceived as hostile to new Canadians to one that is now home to a great many immigrant voters and Members of Parliament.

The Conservative majority was won primarily in the suburban ridings of the 905 area code and in the City of Toronto. Of the 18 seats they gained in that region, 14 are more than 45 per cent immigrant, and most would not long ago have been considered un-winnable for the Conservatives.

Canada is far less xenophobic in nature than the US. Left-wing parties in Canada are very supportive of more open immigration and even the Tories take a rather neutral stance. Canada's population has far more immigrants than the US in proportion, and by far more immigrants who actually participate in the political process, giving them power. It's actually funny how much immigrants can actually steer elections in Canada considering that the ridings cram so many immigrants into overpopulated ridings, while the vast majority of ridings are rural are underpopulated.

[Holmes]

Ruth Ellen Brousseau speaks to the media.

http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110507/mtl_brosseau_110507/20110507/?hub=MontrealHome

This guy also seems like a gem, working for the city for 26 years, head of the blue collar union, and shows up for work the day after winning in a landslide.

http://lavalnews.ca/article/Fran%C3%A7ois-Pilon-sweeps-Laval-les-iles-190910

[Hash]

"leader of blue collar union" in Quebec is never a good thing. If said person has an Italian name, then it's even worse.

[Hatman 🍁]

Worth noting that at least part of the great victory won by Conservatives has been their apparently successful outreach to the immigrant community -wonder if Republicans here will be able to replicate that:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How courting the immigrant vote paid off for the Tories

JOE FRIESEN AND JULIAN SHER
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, May. 03, 2011 10:40PM EDT
Last updated Wednesday, May. 04, 2011 10:49AM EDT

Fifteen cups of tea. That’s how the election was won.

In one day during the 2011 election campaign, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney attended 15 different chai parties hosted by Indo-Canadian voters in Brampton West, Ont. That’s just a snapshot of his epic cross-Canada campaigning, but it’s indicative of the stamina and persistence of the Conservative point man for ethnic communities.

He and Prime Minister Stephen Harper have transformed their party from one that was perceived as hostile to new Canadians to one that is now home to a great many immigrant voters and Members of Parliament.

The Conservative majority was won primarily in the suburban ridings of the 905 area code and in the City of Toronto. Of the 18 seats they gained in that region, 14 are more than 45 per cent immigrant, and most would not long ago have been considered un-winnable for the Conservatives.

Canada is far less xenophobic in nature than the US. Left-wing parties in Canada are very supportive of more open immigration and even the Tories take a rather neutral stance. Canada's population has far more immigrants than the US in proportion, and by far more immigrants who actually participate in the political process, giving them power. It's actually funny how much immigrants can actually steer elections in Canada considering that the ridings cram so many immigrants into overpopulated ridings, while the vast majority of ridings are rural are underpopulated.

Also, immigrants tend to be very anti-immigrant in Canada. Hence why Rob Ford won in Toronto.

[Frodo]

Worth noting that at least part of the great victory won by Conservatives has been their apparently successful outreach to the immigrant community -wonder if Republicans here will be able to replicate that:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How courting the immigrant vote paid off for the Tories

JOE FRIESEN AND JULIAN SHER
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, May. 03, 2011 10:40PM EDT
Last updated Wednesday, May. 04, 2011 10:49AM EDT

Fifteen cups of tea. That’s how the election was won.

In one day during the 2011 election campaign, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney attended 15 different chai parties hosted by Indo-Canadian voters in Brampton West, Ont. That’s just a snapshot of his epic cross-Canada campaigning, but it’s indicative of the stamina and persistence of the Conservative point man for ethnic communities.

He and Prime Minister Stephen Harper have transformed their party from one that was perceived as hostile to new Canadians to one that is now home to a great many immigrant voters and Members of Parliament.

The Conservative majority was won primarily in the suburban ridings of the 905 area code and in the City of Toronto. Of the 18 seats they gained in that region, 14 are more than 45 per cent immigrant, and most would not long ago have been considered un-winnable for the Conservatives.

Canada is far less xenophobic in nature than the US. Left-wing parties in Canada are very supportive of more open immigration and even the Tories take a rather neutral stance. Canada's population has far more immigrants than the US in proportion, and by far more immigrants who actually participate in the political process, giving them power. It's actually funny how much immigrants can actually steer elections in Canada considering that the ridings cram so many immigrants into overpopulated ridings, while the vast majority of ridings are rural are underpopulated.

Also, immigrants tend to be very anti-immigrant in Canada. Hence why Rob Ford won in Toronto.

Explain?  

[Holmes]

Yeah, I know a lot of immigrants and they're not like that... then again, they're all friends from school and are about my age, so that might not be a representative sample.

[Hatman 🍁]

Worth noting that at least part of the great victory won by Conservatives has been their apparently successful outreach to the immigrant community -wonder if Republicans here will be able to replicate that:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How courting the immigrant vote paid off for the Tories

JOE FRIESEN AND JULIAN SHER
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, May. 03, 2011 10:40PM EDT
Last updated Wednesday, May. 04, 2011 10:49AM EDT

Fifteen cups of tea. That’s how the election was won.

In one day during the 2011 election campaign, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney attended 15 different chai parties hosted by Indo-Canadian voters in Brampton West, Ont. That’s just a snapshot of his epic cross-Canada campaigning, but it’s indicative of the stamina and persistence of the Conservative point man for ethnic communities.

He and Prime Minister Stephen Harper have transformed their party from one that was perceived as hostile to new Canadians to one that is now home to a great many immigrant voters and Members of Parliament.

The Conservative majority was won primarily in the suburban ridings of the 905 area code and in the City of Toronto. Of the 18 seats they gained in that region, 14 are more than 45 per cent immigrant, and most would not long ago have been considered un-winnable for the Conservatives.

Canada is far less xenophobic in nature than the US. Left-wing parties in Canada are very supportive of more open immigration and even the Tories take a rather neutral stance. Canada's population has far more immigrants than the US in proportion, and by far more immigrants who actually participate in the political process, giving them power. It's actually funny how much immigrants can actually steer elections in Canada considering that the ridings cram so many immigrants into overpopulated ridings, while the vast majority of ridings are rural are underpopulated.

Also, immigrants tend to be very anti-immigrant in Canada. Hence why Rob Ford won in Toronto.

Explain?  

It's really weird, and hypocritical, but they are anti-immigration.

[Linus Van Pelt]

What evidence is there for this claim?

[Hatman 🍁]

What evidence is there for this claim?

Something I've heard. I thought this came up when Rob Ford was elected?

[Foucaulf]

Worth noting that at least part of the great victory won by Conservatives has been their apparently successful outreach to the immigrant community -wonder if Republicans here will be able to replicate that:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How courting the immigrant vote paid off for the Tories

The Tories used two methods in this election: Surgical strikes and cluster bombing.

They "surgically struck" the more integrated immigrant groups, like the Italian immigrants in Toronto (with Julian Fantino and Harper playing bocce).

They "cluster bombed" Asian immigrants, making sure all their candidates targeting Chinese voters are Chinese and that government officials interact with the immigrants when the candidates are white as bread. For the latter, apathetic immigrants and those who didn't know for whom they were voting saw the Conservative strike and decided to support them. Quite a few immigrant ridings taken by the Tories in this election and the last had Liberals elected in 1993, but they have survived not because of support, but because they were the only ethnically similar candidate. Not anymore.

It's really weird, and hypocritical, but they are anti-immigration.

That is a bit of a generalization. From anecdotal experience, immigrants of a certain ethnicity support more of them in Canada, and less of everyone else. European immigrants have assimilated enough into the Canadian ethos and therefore are not special cases. But talk to the Asians, and you'll see they are casually racist about most other ethnicities. Talk to a rich, non-Tamil immigrant and they'll unilaterally support Harper cracking down on that Tamil refugee boat. To them, their struggle into Canada is unique, and they've suffered the most hardship. Other ethnicities aren't even close.

It's not like the States, where the immigrants seem to vote en bloc. That is a byproduct of your "melting pot" policy.

The only immigration policy new immigrants would agree on is expanding family reunification efforts, but Harper has no inclination to deal with that.

Something I've heard. I thought this came up when Rob Ford was elected?

Not sure if this is it, but...

[Linus Van Pelt]

What evidence is there for this claim?

Something I've heard. I thought this came up when Rob Ford was elected?

What is true is that many middle-class suburban immigrants (like many middle-class suburban non-immigrants) are not particularly keen on, and certainly don't feel solidarity with, the poorer and darker-skinned immigrants who live in social housing and other dismal tower blocks in the more troubled pockets of the 416, so Rob Ford making anti-refugee comments in the midst of the Tamil human smuggling controversy didn't hurt him much. But that's different from being anti-immigrant generally - if the Conservatives were hostile to standard economic immigration from Asia they'd never win all those GTA seats.

[Frodo]

Just read an interesting analysis of the recent election -to summarize, it is stating that because of westward population shifts, growth of suburban riders, and the changes in the economy from one based on manufacturing to the service sector, the Conservative Party is set to become the natural governing party of Canada in the 21st century -just as the Liberals were the natural governing party of the 20th century.