Canadian 2015 elections? A decade of change under Harper!

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SouthoftheAndes

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http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/08/08/election-2015-a-decade-of-change-under-harper.html

What say you Canadians? Harper in our out?

I'm not Canadian but have been paying a wee bit of attention to this. Aye so what has it? Does Trudeau or Mulcair have what it takes? Tories take it or are they out?

Personally I think Harper has been amazing for Canada and think he is great all around. He just proposed to make travel illegal to countries like Syria were terror is going on (I agree). Anyways what is the major issue to you Canadians?


So what it be?

Mulcair? Trudeau? or more of Harper? Also what are your top 5 major concerns going into this election?
 
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Harper is get a little too comfortable sliding further and further to the right.

As someone who works in the STEM sector, I'm conflicted. His manipulation / censoring of research initiatives is scary but PC funding of SR&ED really encourages innovation within the science and tech industries.

No way am I voting for the liberals - Justin is a puppet PR stunt trying to image himself as the prodigal son. Obvious damage control ploy by the reds to make up for the beating they took in the last election.

Muclair is intelligent - but how much more socialist does Canada have to be? That being said, Muclairs NDP has made efforts to rid the party of its socialism image but changing its charter - and they really do only intend on targeting big corporations. The caveat being, why would corporations stay in or come to Canada if they know they are going be taxed higher? However, is the 1-3% Tax hikes for them going to be a major issue or a palatable cost to operate with one of the most educated work forces on the planet?

Right now I'm voting PC but taking a strong look at NDP.
 
Things that bother me about Harper:

-He's a corporate shill who has rolled back environmental protection protocols in order to lube the way for energy projects.
-Muzzling scientists.
-Using CSIS to spy on activist.

-His complete and utter thralldom to isreal (His "measured response" comment during the pogrom isreal inflicted on Lebanon in 2006.)

-Bill C-51

-His lies about the Federal Accountability Act.

-Proroguing Parliament...four times.

-Bullshit omnibus bills that shortdicks the Parliament's power.

-Electoral fraud during the 2011 contest.

The worse thing is, he's probably parsecs better than Trudeau.

For the first time in my life, and with a heavy heart, i'm going to vote NDP.

-
 
Harper has only ever won with a minority of the vote and has only won or held government because the more left leaning votes are split.

He may pull it off again for all of the same reasons.

But most Canadians don't like him.

That's simply the truth.
 
JudoThrowFiasco said:
Harper is get a little too comfortable sliding further and further to the right.

As someone who works in the STEM sector, I'm conflicted. His manipulation / censoring of research initiatives is scary but PC funding of SR&ED really encourages innovation within the science and tech industries.

No way am I voting for the liberals - Justin is a puppet PR stunt trying to image himself as the prodigal son. Obvious damage control ploy by the reds to make up for the beating they took in the last election.

Muclair is intelligent - but how much more socialist does Canada have to be? That being said, Muclairs NDP has made efforts to rid the party of its socialism image but changing its charter - and they really do only intend on targeting big corporations. The caveat being, why would corporations stay in or come to Canada if they know they are going be taxed higher? However, is the 1-3% Tax hikes for them going to be a major issue or a palatable cost to operate with one of the most educated work forces on the planet?

Right now I'm voting PC but taking a strong look at NDP.
Click to expand...

The tax hike is nothing compared to what they save in medical expenses vs the US.
 
I was a Liberal member/volunteer for years, but I'm flipping NDP this year. The Liberals and Conservatives are both too entitled, if you ask the average Canadian on the street they probably identify closest with the NDP or Green platforms. It's time to see what they can do nationally, the specter of Rae in Ontario needs to be exorcised and replaced with solid evidence of performance.
 
jeremyemilio said:
Harper has only ever won with a minority of the vote and has only won or held government because the more left leaning votes are split.

He may pull it off again for all of the same reasons.

But most Canadians don't like him.

That's simply the truth.
Click to expand...

9/10 time most Canadians do not like the PM in a FPTP election system...
 
JudoThrowFiasco said:
9/10 time most Canadians do not like the PM in a FPTP election system...
Click to expand...

True.

But when, say, Chretien was winning elections with around 40% of the popular vote, he was losing 15% to separatists, 10% to the left, and the remaining 35% to the right. Remove any of those groups and Chretien's popular vote margin gets larger.

Harper has been winning with 40% of the vote with about 10% going to separatists and the remaining 50% going to the left. Remove any other player and Harper's popular vote margin gets smaller.
 
jeremyemilio said:
True.

But when, say, Chretien was winning elections with around 40% of the popular vote, he was losing 15% to separatists, 10% to the left, and the remaining 35% to the right. Remove any of those groups and Chretien's popular vote margin gets larger.

Harper has been winning with 40% of the vote with about 10% going to separatists and the remaining 50% going to the left. Remove any other player and Harper's popular vote margin gets smaller.
Click to expand...

He was also a rock star to many people - so, yeah...those numbers makes sense...
 
If your country has more than two parties, FPTP is a disgrace. If your country only has two parties...
 
i don't know shit about canadian politics. hasn't harper been in power for like forever? is there a limit on how long someone can be in power?
 
SouthoftheAndes said:
How would you prefer it be?



Why is this?
Click to expand...

Because, candidates can win a seat with depressingly small %s of the popular vote. The Liberal gets 35%, the NDP gets 25%, and the Conservative gets 40%, the Conservative wins with 40% of, say, 60% voter turnout. This means that if I suspect the Liberal will come close to winning, as in this example, but I support the NDP platform, I am punished for voting my preference, because I would never vote Conservative, but my vote for the NDP helps them, or is at the least neutral. Runoff voting, where people rank their choices and candidates are eliminated until one has 50%+, would be far superior, or some form or proportional representation. However, we need 60% to amend the voting system, and fucking geezers voted it down last time because they thought it was too complicated.

FPTP is a serious compounding factor of voter apathy.
 
IIIIIIII said:
i don't know shit about canadian politics. hasn't harper been in power for like forever? is there a limit on how long someone can be in power?
Click to expand...

Nah, Mackenzie King was PM for over 20 (non-consecutive) years. It will take some push to oust Harper, but it's very possible, the split vote between the Liberals and NDP I mentioned has been kind to him. I should admit that for a long time the split between the Progressive Conservatives and the Reform Party served the Liberals majorities on a platter, but I think they are both undemocratic.
 
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