Canada General Discussion 1.5: The Countdown Begins

[Hatman 🍁]

Toronto votes in October. 

Ahem. All of Ontario's municipalities vote in October. >(

EKOS year-end poll is out. Greatest Canadian of 2013 is Hatfield by a wide margin, Ford Biggest Villain, Trudeau Preferred Drinking Companion, most Canadians expect either the Tories or Grits to win next year.

Again, no one has an ipolitics account! Here is the EKOS link: http://www.ekospolitics.com/index.php/2013/12/looking-backward-and-looking-forward-part-1/

[Hatman 🍁]

FTR, I mentioned they should include Justin Bieber in that poll. They were having none of that.

[Hatman 🍁]

So there are more people who feel that Rob Ford (or basically any politician) is a greater Canadian than Carly Rae Jepsen? Please end the world.

(and apparently the idiots spelled her name wrong. Please prepare the drones)

I'll let the guy who made the mistake know that you personally think he's an idiot

Luckily, it was spelled correctly on the survey itself.

[Hatman 🍁]

Ford has filed for reelection "Ford More Years." Chow and Tory won't declare for another month or 2, if they do.

I really don't understand the people who would still vote for Ford.

This is a good analysis: http://torontoist.com/2014/01/the-teflon-mayor-reading-rob-fords-poll-numbers/

[Hatman 🍁]

Of note, Ford supporters tend to be lower educated, often lower income, non-white (non WASP, especially; Ford is a Catholic), suburban, car drivers.  Basically the kind of people who think they're on the "outside" of power.

[Hatman 🍁]

Most successful Canadian comedians go south in their "economic best interests" and thus wouldn't be eligible to vote.

I don't think very many Toronto comedians are voting for Ford. Do you honestly think Rick Mercer is a member of Ford Nation?

[Hatman 🍁]

Anders needs to go. It's theoretically possible. After all, Nenshi won the area in the Fall.

[Hatman 🍁]

I know the Ontario Tories have had sitting MPPs get primaried. I know Norm Sterling was primaried by a tea bagger in the last election.

[Hatman 🍁]

I know the Ontario Tories have had sitting MPPs get primaried. I know Norm Sterling was primaried by a tea bagger in the last election.

No, he may have gotten primaried by a more conservative candidate, but no true Canadian, no true Empire Loyalist would consider himself a tea bagger.  Never forget that the Boston Tea Party was done by a bunch of radical rebel scum, not by conservatives.

Libertarianish suburban/rural politicians are often referred to as Tea Partiers up here. People affiliated with the Ontario Landowners Union are considered as such.  Another example is a certain mayor of a large metropolis in this country.

[Hatman 🍁]

Maybe by orange and red avatars.

Yes, and I doubt actual Tea Partiers would approve of our loyalty to the Crown.

You're not exactly the Canadian tea bagger type. You're very socially conservative, and economically moderate. Canadian tea baggers are the opposite. Socially moderate, economically very right wing.

[Hatman 🍁]

I forget whether this has been discussed here, but: what is the status of Ontario provincial redistribution? Is there legislation addressing the question whether a provincial election after the passage of the federal representation order would be held with the new federal boundaries?

Not that I know of; it will probably be addressed after the next election.

I am hoping for a complete overhaul, including adding new ridings (20-40 more, at least), but that is rather unlikely.

[Hatman 🍁]

Another idea is to equalize Northern Ontario's ridings, but create a sub-provincial parliament (a devolved legislature if you will) for the region, like Scotland.

[Hatman 🍁]

I forget whether this has been discussed here, but: what is the status of Ontario provincial redistribution? Is there legislation addressing the question whether a provincial election after the passage of the federal representation order would be held with the new federal boundaries?

Not that I know of; it will probably be addressed after the next election.

Hmm. That will make for some seriously imbalanced ridings, if an election is still to be contested with the old map.

Yep, but an election could happen this Spring.

[Hatman 🍁]

So, are the Liberals governing to the left of the NDP?

[Hatman 🍁]

An election during the Olympics? F**king Marois.

[Hatman 🍁]

Not a good time for the NL NDP, they're in shambles at the moment.

[Hatman 🍁]

Why does the election have to be this year? Isn't it scheduled for Fall 2015? What does the law say?

[Hatman 🍁]

Thanks for that, Hash. Technically, the election could be held in Jan 2015, no? Most likely it will be in the Fall.

An interesting law; I've never heard of anything similar to that, but I like the idea of it.

[Hatman 🍁]

We're doing a poll as well, results should be out tomorrow, I'd say.

[Hatman 🍁]

Not only absurd, but a stone faced lie.

[Hatman 🍁]

Not only absurd, but a stone faced lie.

Oops, I hadn't heard the news- didn't realize he was doing this now.

It is kind of absurd, it's hard to keep the institution apolitical, especially if there are still Conservatives there. The Senate's not the Supreme Court, after all. In Canada though, it's possible to make the Senate somewhat apolitical, because the Supreme Court is appointed in a similar matter, and it is fairly apolitical. Canada is not the U.S. But what's to stop either institution from becoming political in the future, though?

[Hatman 🍁]

Also, I'm disappointed in Trudeau's lack of vision - he says he doesn't want to re-open the constitution? What's wrong with that? The system's broken, let's fix it. At least Harper wants to fix it.

Easy solution: Let's have a referendum. Give Canadians 3 choices: Abolish, reform or maintain. Use AV to ensure one of the options gets a majority. Winning option gets a mandate for constitutional reform (or lackthereof).

[Hatman 🍁]

Speaking of Bieber, he's been arraigned on assault charges in Toronto.

New EKOS out: 33.2/29.7/24.3

Told you we'd have a poll out

This is one I worked on. (Not the analysis though, so Hash- don't complain about spelling mistakes!)

Poll details: http://www.ekospolitics.com/index.php/2014/01/closer-race-as-parliament-begins-january-30-2014/

[Hatman 🍁]

Official transposition of the 2011 results on the new ridings now available by Elections Canada: http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=cir/trans2013&document=index&lang=e

[Hatman 🍁]

Conrad Black has been stripped of his Order of Canada and PC by the government.