Canadian Election 2006

Election Junkie

2006-01-23T14:33:00.000-05:00

So it's all over except for the counting. How are you going to get your results? Will you sit in front of the television watching one of the network feeds and wait patiently as they decide when and/or whether to present the results you're interested in?

How 20th century.

Avoid the frustration. There's a great interactive tool available that gives you access to all the election results in almost any format you could possibly want.

The Globe and Mail has outdone itself this time. Take a look at these Election Night Goodies.

You'll find a wealth of live interactive tools that provide you with the same information the networks are getting only you'll be able to access what you want when you want.

There's an overall Vote Count for each of the parties. You can even look at results from the last election to see how things are developing. Browse by Province, select a few ridings to Monitor, view all results in one easy to interpret Layout of the Ridings.

For some ideas of interesting ridings to follow take a look at the previous entry on this site entitled "Tuesday's Headlines".

Check out the Election Result Site. You won't be disappointed (providing there are no technical glitches and the site works as designed). Comment on the election like a true professional pundit. Analyze results like a pollster. Get that election fix now.

Even if we get a minority government it may be a while before we have another election. Do any of the leaders look like they want to go through this any time soon?

Be aware that the Globe and Mail Site only goes live at 10:00 PM.

Enjoy the show.

Election Tracker

Tuesday's Headlines

2006-01-22T22:46:00.000-05:00

Wow! It certainly has been a far more interesting election than anyone would have predicted in November. At that time it looked like we would get the status quo again and probably be bracing ourselves for yet another minority government.

What happened to the weather? Remember when everyone was worried about a winter election? Hasn't really come up as an issue has it.

Apart from the overall election results what else is there to look for while watching Monday night's election returns? Here are some possible developments that would merit a headline on Tuesday.

Third Time Lucky For Olivia

Olivia Chow, Jack Layton's wife, is trying for a third time to get elected at the Federal level. She's running in Toronto's Trinity-Spadina riding. Last time her Liberal opponent beat her by just 800 votes.

In this campaign a Liberal Party blogger compared her to a dog. Between personal attacks and Liberal voter fatigue she should be able to bleed off 800 votes. That's all she needs to win.

Sticky Fingers

Another riding to look at is Vancouver-Centre. That's where Svend Robinson is running for the NDP. Remember Svend? He came clean and confessed to a little shoplifting once it became clear that his actions were captured on videotape. Exactly how forgiving are Canadians? Or is it that we believe politicians will be politicians?

Belinda's Folly

Then of course there's the riding of Newmarket-Aurora where Belinda Stronach is running as a Liberal. As was already discussed in Belinda Bolts it will be interesting to see how forgiving the voters are in her riding.

BC Decides Election

It must be terribly frustrating to be a voter in BC. Some people are predicting that the race could be close or at least close enough that ridings in British Columbia could actually affect the overall election results. If Ontario splits three ways no party will have enough seats to form a government. If that happens it could be a long night for the die-hard political junkies. You know. The one or two million of you that absolutely must be the first to know the election results.

Green Party Doubles Votes

Even with petitions and public outcries the Green Party still couldn't get a spot in the debates or a real voice in the campaign. Is their popularity stalled at 4%. Are Canadians series about environmental issues or not? It's a perfect time for disgruntled or undecided voters to park their vote in a green space. Huge news would be if they actually get a candidate elected. BC is the only place where this is remotely possible.

Bloc Fails to Capture 40%

Wasn't this supposed to be a cakewalk for the Bloc? The Liberals were going to crumble in Quebec (which they have) and everyone would rush to the Bloc giving them the psychological 50% of the vote. Now Gilles Duceppe must be kicking himself for listening to the press and his wife and taking a break in campaigning during the holidays.

Riding in from nowhere came Stephen Harper with a cowboy hat in one hand and a warm welcome to Quebecers in the other. Off they went to the Conservative Party leaving the Bloc scrambling to regroup. Any vote total below their last showing (47%) would be disappointing and 40% would be a crushing defeat. That would mean at least 10 Tories elected in Quebec.

A Shocker in LaSalle-Emard

Paul Martin is the Liberal candidate in LaSalle-Emard. As angry as voters are with the Liberals could he really lose in his own riding. In the last election he won by over 14,000 votes. Stranger things have happened.

Ontario Embraces Liberals Again

Although most polls say this is unlikely, if the Liberals pull it off once again and form a minority government they'll have Ontario to thank. The other headline that would be just around the corner: "Alberta and Quebec Decide to Leave Canada"

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What's Your Sign?

2006-01-18T21:03:00.000-05:00

Late last year (December 22, 2005) the Globe and Mail ran an article that predicted the fortunes of the party leaders based on their Horoscopes. Now that we're in the final stretch of the campaign let's see how the predictions fared.

Before continuing, here's some background information on each leader.

Paul Martin, born August 28th, 1938 is a Virgo. Virgos need a lot of attention and adoration. They are accurate, rational and like order. Is it any wonder Paul Martin was an effective finance minister? Virgos will attack back when confronted which is definitely a useful trait in the cutthroat world of politics.

Jack Layton was born on July 18th, 1950 and Gilles Duceppe on July 22, 1947. Both of them are Cancers. Someone born under the sign of Cancer is considered emotional, romantic and shy. They can swing between joyfulness and melancholy in a short period and don't like being criticized. One interesting characteristic: they like to give things away. What party is Layton from again?

Stephen Harper was born April 30th, 1959 putting him squarely under the sign of Taurus. People born under this sign are patient, reliable and determined but if insulted they remember it forever. They can be stubborn and persistent which can be useful if your campaigning for the Prime Minister's Office.

Now, back to the forecast. Paul Martin was told to prepare for a successful year and breathe easier. He could "pretty much count on his career progressing as smoothly as one could reasonably expect". This is news Martin could probably use at this point in the campaign.

For Layton and Duceppe, "the year would start out with unexpected career breaks. Goals that may have long been given up on may finally show signs of manifesting". Does this mean a 50% vote in Quebec for the Bloc or 30 plus seats for the NDP? Maybe.

In Harper's case, ambitions will be flying high. Determination to succeed will be strong. Goals should be kept at a realistic level. Maybe this means a minority government is in his future but not a majority? We'll see in a few days.

So what can be made of these predictions? They seem so non-specific. What we need to do is take this whole thing to a higher level.

Let's look at their Chinese Horoscope. If you're not familiar with Chinese Horoscope Signs you can go to the Chinese Astrology site and find your sign.

Tigers and Pigs

As it turns out, both Martin and Layton are Tigers while Duceppe and Harper are Pigs. Tigers are born leaders and their main interest is in following their ambitions and maintaining control.

In Chinese Astrology Pigs are the most honorable signs of the Zodiac. Their perfectionist nature make them appear to be snobbish but nothing could be further from the truth. Once you get to know them you appreciate their work ethic and the care they show their family and friends.

Chinese Signs have their own Compatibility Grid. Looking at the grid you see that Tigers and Pigs get along reasonably well with each other. If it wasn't for the election, the leaders would probably get along quite well with each other.

However, what interests us all is not their relationship with each other but their relationship with the Canadian people.

Canada, with a birth date of July 1st, 1867 turns out to be a Rabbit. Read the general description of the Rabbit sign and think about the nation of Canada. Be honest. Makes you think twice about this Chinese Horoscope stuff.

The Compatibility Chart shows that Rabbits get along well with almost everyone except Roosters. They get along particularly well with Goats and Pigs. What Party Leader, currently ahead in the polls, is a Pig? Maybe it's a good sign for our future? Or maybe Duceppe should lead this country? That's this country not a country!

A Search for Meaning

The deeper you search for meaning in astrology the more confusing the future predictions become. It's not like I wasn't warned. Both my Palm Reader and Numerologist told me that I would be wasting my time trying to determine the election results using Astrology. Of course I didn't listen to them because my Horoscope said that I should explore something new today.

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A Modern Shakespearean Tragedy

2006-01-16T00:09:00.000-05:00

The reason Shakespeare's plays continue to be popular is because they deal with the human condition and universal themes that resonate with audiences.

They are generally divided into three categories: comedy, history and tragedy. A tragedy is when a great person is brought down by hubris or fate. They experience a fall in fortune as a result of their actions or in-actions. What we are witnessing is the final acts in a tragedy that has been developing over the last few years: Paul Martin's rise and fall as leader of the Liberal Party.

A Fall From Grace

Martin has worked for years towards his goal of becoming Prime Minister of Canada. He assumed the responsibilities of Finance Minister under Chretien's government and by all measures did a fantastic job. But, as with all tragic figures, actions taken have unexpected consequences.

People in the Liberal Party started to work towards undermining Chretien's leadership in order to advance Martin's goal of assuming the leadership of the party. Eventually they were successful but completely unaware of the seeds of destruction that they had already planted.

By accelerating Chretien's departure Martin was put at the center of the sponsorship scandal. Perhaps if things had taken their natural course the burden would have fallen more on Chretien and his supporters. Instead, Martin as leader was forced to deal with the issue. The untimely removal of Chretien also served to fragment the Liberal Party, something which would eventually come back to haunt Martin during the election. A team divided can't possibly succeed.

Be Careful What You Wish For

It's not important who was responsible for creating the rift in the Liberal Party between the Chretien and Martin camps. What is important is that this action created the foundation for the fall we are all witnessing.

What remains to be seen is how Martin will react on election night. There is already talk in the media about who will succeed him and whether he would resign on election night. Martin must by now have some magic number or what-if scenarios that he will use to guide him on election night.

Martin To Resign?

Several things would most likely seal his fate. If the Conservatives get a majority and the Liberals get less than 100 seats or if the overall Liberal vote is less than 25% or perhaps if Martin loses his seat in LaSalle then what's left for Martin to do?

The Liberals would be quick to look for a new leader to start rebuilding the party. Why prolong the agony by sticking around? In the event of a catastrophic Liberal loss the weeks following the election wouldn't be pleasant for sure.

Although the election is still a week away and in politics that's a lifetime, the final act of this tragedy seems unavoidable. Such great success early on only to be brought to this. Instead of assuming a place of honor in Canadian history it looks like Martin may be forced to take a seat at the kiddy table with the likes of John Turner, Kim Campbell, and Joe Clark. Shakespeare would have enjoyed this.

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Effective Time Management

2006-01-12T17:00:00.000-05:00

You have to wonder how effectively the Liberals are managing their time these days. It seems like they need to take a look at Stephen Covey's "First Things First" or "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". Even in an election campaign that is as long as this one, who has the time to create ads that they don't intend to use?

That's the problem with the explanation the Liberals are giving for the recent "military in Canadian cities attack ad". It wasn't just outlined or story-boarded. They recorded it, did the necessary post production work on it and included it on tapes released to the media. Why else would you do this if you weren't planning to use them?

Perhaps that's why their campaign is in such disarray. Lack of effective time management and proper prioritization of tasks. They spend their time creating ads they won't air, posters they won't display, brochures they won't distribute and policies and promises they won't keep.

Google It

If you enter "Attack Ad" in Google, the first item that comes up is a link to the US Republican Party, specifically www.GOP.com a hub for all information related to the Republican Party. It's no wonder the Liberals continue to rely on this tried and true method of gaining power. It worked for Bush against Kerry in 2004, it worked in the last Canadian election so why not try it again. Unless of course everyone sees you coming and prepares appropriately. Speaking of attack ads, here's a link to a spoof attack ad that illustrates how silly things can get to: Bush vs Jesus Attack Ad .

Cartoon humor

Sticking with the theme of humor in politics, the most effective attack ads are really some of the political cartoons dealing with the federal election. In the US they say that once the late night talk shows start making fun of your campaign you may as well hang things up and go home 'cause it's pretty much over. In Canada it's the editorial cartoonists that wield this power.

Here's a sample of some of them:

Federal Party Leaders by Chapleau
A Sampling of Aislin Cartoons
The Passion of Paul Martin by Chapleau

Finally, here is a link to a directory of editorial cartoonists with samples of their work. Not all of them relate to the election but are interesting to look at just the same.

Directory of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists

With the election seeming to go on and on sometimes you have to take a step back and laugh a little at the whole thing.

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Belinda Bolts To Bloc

2006-01-10T08:37:00.000-05:00

Imagine how Belinda Stronach must feel at this point. She was a star candidate for the Conservatives in the last election. Even with the money and power of her father's manufacturing empire (Magna International) she was only able to squeak out a win by fewer than 700 votes.

After less than a year in opposition she realizes the Conservatives aren't in line with her beliefs. Coincidently, Paul Martin is looking for a new up and coming go-getter to add to his party. In fact he's so taken by her potential that he gives her a cabinet position.

Fast forward 7 months and everyone's fighting for their jobs. On election night it will be interesting to see whether the voters of Newmarket Ontario appreciated the change of heart their candidate had. In a recent rally attended by both Martin and Stronach she didn't look too happy. Paraphrasing from "The Godfather", just when she thinks she's out (of opposition) they drag her back in. Or worse.

Running on the Record

Normally the party in power runs on its record reminding voters of their great accomplishments and promising goodies to come if they get re-elected. Not in this election.

It's almost funny to watch. The Liberals outline in great detail what they plan to implement if elected then watch the opposition parties simply remind voters that they had 12 years to do it and they didn't.

The only exception to this is the economy. The Liberals mention it often and so they should. Give credit where credit is due. Progress has been made on that front. Many Canadians don't realize that we were spending $40 billion more per year than we were bringing in. Year over year that adds up. At one point the country as a whole was in debt by more than $600 billion.

Credit Card Debt

Imagine your weekly salary is $1000 but you put $1100 on your credit card every week. That's a deficit of $100. In a year you have credit card debt of $5200 (not considering interest). Continue at this rate and your credit rating goes down, your monthly credit payments are unmanageable and eventually you face the business end of bankruptcy.

That's pretty much where Canada was headed before Martin pulled in the reigns and curbed excessive spending. Whether you agree with how the cuts were made or not, making them was the right decision for us all.

It's Hari-Kari Time

Less than two weeks to go in the campaign. It's just about the time that the Conservatives traditionally start to self-destruct. Remember the last election. Harper begins talking about the West finally taking power and starts thinking about changing the drapes and carpeting at 24 Sussex. The crazies in the Conservative party come out of the woodwork and give interviews on what's in store for Canada. Voters in Ontario switch back to the Liberals.

So far in this election we've only seen a few incidents of this. Just after the holidays Harper started to talk about Conservatives having momentum but that was quickly quieted down. Maybe this time things will be different. Guess which party will be most surprised if that happens?

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Leaders Neck & Neck in Poll

2006-01-06T08:51:00.000-05:00

In a recent survey of Canadian voters 36% of them when polled felt that Paul Martin was the tallest politician. Close behind at 34% was Jack Layton, and well back was Stephen Harper at just 15%. 7% of voters were undecided at the time the poll was taken.

Accounting for the statistical margin of error, Layton and Martin are dead even at this time. The results are particularly interesting in light of the surge in Layton's number from the last time this question was asked. It represents an increase of almost 25%. This poll is deemed accurate 19 times out of 20. The 20th time, all bets are off.

In another recent poll, more voters would choose to have a beer with Layton than with any of the other major party leaders. When you dig deeper into the numbers, the results get murkier as you account for voters that prefer wine and factor in those that don't drink alcohol at all. Never the less, the poll does provide interesting results for all the parties to analyze. Eagerly anticipated are the results of the next poll which will take a major look at lasagna.

Embracing Surveys

Canadians sure do love their polls. So far in this election about 75 of them have been released. That's two polls a day and that doesn't include all the private polls that are being conducted by each of the political parties.

The media helps fuel this frenzy by commissioning many of them. It seems to help Canadians figure out what everyone else is thinking and ensure that they jump on the right bandwagon. That's part of the problem. How many people are affected by poll results and like sheep go with the crowd?

Influencing Democracy

The problem with polls and statistics is that the results could be subtly or not so subtly manipulated depending on how you phrase the questions and present the results. If you want to influence the election you could conceivably commission enough polls and massage the results to put forth whatever agenda you favor.

Another problem with polls, particularly how they are reported by the media, is that only the national results are presented. The devil is in the details but who has the time for that?

If you do then take a look at these sites:

Election Polling Results Table

Detailed Polling Results by Region

Chronological Polling Results for Canada's Election

One final poll result. Canadian voters were asked whether they responded to questions asked by pollsters. 63% of them said they did, 29% said under no circumstance do they ever respond to pollsters, and 8% were undecided.

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Boo!

2006-01-04T21:16:00.000-05:00

If you want to give someone a scare it helps to have the element of surprise on your side. However, if you want to keep someone scared you need a strategy that relies on creating fear of the unknown. Spielberg used this strategy effectively in "Jaws". For the longest time viewers never saw the shark, they developed a sense of fear from imagining what it might be like. Most fears are like that. It's the element of the unknown coupled with your imagination that heightens the sense of fear in us all.

A Hidden Agenda

This is the same strategy used by the Liberals to create a fear of Harper, the Conservatives, and their "hidden agenda". They continue to try to scare the electorate with this unknown, unseen, monster under the bed approach.

How can anyone possibly vote for the Conservatives? They have a hidden agenda. What is it? We don't know. It's hidden. What we can be certain of is that it couldn't possibly be good. Why? It's hidden. That's why. Why would you hide it if it wasn't bad therefore it must be bad. Really bad. Scary Harper must be stopped or he'll bring out his "hidden agenda".

Let's take a step back and try to look at things objectively. Maybe there's a hidden agenda and maybe there isn't. How about examining what we know about the Conservative platform so far?

With healthcare they want to reduce waiting times for medical services. Not so scary. On the Economy they want to cut the GST and strengthen internal audit procedures in government so that there is more accountability and hopefully less waste. Sounds OK.

On Defense, they would increase the funding to DART (Disaster Assistance Response Team). It's a little embarrassing, and maybe scary, when the Canadian quick response team takes weeks to get to where they are needed. If the Conservatives want to improve that, great.

Another thing they want to do is increase our military capabilities in the Arctic. We do have a border there and should be able to provide some level of defense when needed. Otherwise, Denmark, that's Denmark, will continue to push us around up there. Now that's scary. Or is it embarrassing?

The Non-Hidden Agenda

The non-hidden part of his agenda goes on and on. They would guarantee access to both parents and grandparents of children involved in a divorce. They would create a Ministry responsible for senior citizens. They would make scholarships and bursaries tax free. They're against the criminalization of marijuana. They're for mandatory minimum sentences for criminals that use a firearm in the commission of a crime. They're against the Kyoto Accord. Now this doesn't mean they're against preserving the environment, just this particular agreement on the environment.

Same-Sex Marriage

What about the big issue everyone talks about: Same-Sex Marriage? Harper has publicly stated that he would call for a free vote in parliament on the issue. This means every MP is free to vote their conscience or at least vote in a way that doesn't upset the majority of the voters in their riding. Sounds pretty democratic. What's so scary about that? A free vote could go in favor of same-sex marriage, couldn't it?

You could look at these positions on the various issues and decide that they're not what you stand for and vote for someone else. No problem with that. There is enough of a publicly outlined plan on most issues to consider without even taking the hidden part of the agenda into account.

Fear Not Canada

Here's the reason why most Canadians won't, or shouldn't be swayed by the Scary Harper argument this time around. Most likely we're looking at a minority government. The opposition parties probably will find it difficult to bring down a minority Conservative government without a damn good reason. A good reason might be if Harper trots out his hidden agenda.

What if Canadians are more fed up with the Liberals then they're letting on to the pollsters and we get a majority Conservative government? Could happen. Once they get a taste of power do you think they'll throw it away so easily by bringing out this hidden agenda everyone is so scared of? In the next election, the Liberals would make the Kim Campbell defeat something the Conservatives would reminisce about.

Whether the Conservatives win a majority, minority, or not at all, this often discussed hidden agenda will probably remain hidden.

Thank goodness. Publicly I say I'd like to have a peak at it, but just between you and me, I'm a little scared.

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An Alternate Dimension

2006-01-02T14:02:00.000-05:00

Doesn't it seem like we are living in an alternate dimension? Remember elections where the Liberals were disciplined, held ranks and stayed on message? The Tories could always be relied on to have someone come out with an idiotic comment that would help convince voters that they were all crazy.

Not this election. Something very strange is going on. Harper is coming out with one well targeted policy after another, making few mistakes, and deflecting loaded questions like a Jedi Master. Take for example the Income Trust Scandal. Rather than get involved, Harper, like a seasoned politician, told the press that he'd let the Liberals go ahead and explain that one. Beautiful!

Martin, on the other hand, seems to be working from an old Tory playbook. He had to deal with the Beer and Popcorn slip-up. Then some Liberal genius forgets that anyone can read a blog and proceeds to trash both Layton and his wife. Granted, it's not Martin's fault directly, but it does point to a certain lack of control of the troops.

And what about the Goodale income trust scandal? You would think that after the sponsorship debacle and voter perception of rot in the government that the Liberals would do whatever they could to appear ethical and squeaky clean.

At first it seemed that the Liberals were just trying to keep their powder dry and get through the first half of the election without too much damage. The heavy artillery would come out in the New Year. Polls are showing that it may be too late for that. Will they really be able to convince enough people that Scary Harper shouldn't be trusted?

The worst thing a general can do is fight the last war.

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Election Promises

2005-12-25T00:22:00.000-05:00

So we made it to the half-way point in the election and it's too close to call. Liberals and Conservatives are within striking distance of each other. What does it mean if you feel you must campaign between Christmas and New Year's? Desparation or a strong push to a win?

Even though it seems that not everyone will take the complete week between Christmas and New Year's off, at least there won't be any campaigning on December 25th. Whatever will the politicians do without an audience? Perhaps they can look through some historical election promises to generate ideas for the next half of the election.

My personal favorite source is the Rhino Party. Now those were promises. Not everyone may be familiar with them since they disbanded in 1993, but not before they left us with some gems; promises that had some meaning.

There was the ever popular promise, if elected, to repeal the law of gravity. No fence sitting or free votes, just unadulterated straight to the point electioneering.

They had promises for every aspect of voter concern. For education, they promised to provide access to higher education for everyone by building taller schools. They wanted to abolish the environment because it was too hard to keep clean.

What about make work programs? Well, if elected, they would count the Thousand Islands to make sure they were all there. They would move the Rocky Mountains one meter west and bring Montreal and Toronto closer together, one hundred kilometers closer to be precise.

Their popularity peaked in the 1980 election when they received one percent of the popular vote. For more of their election promises check out this site.

Happy Holidays to all and Best Wishes for the New Year. Even though the politicians won't take a break we will. Back in 2006.

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Earning Your Keep

2005-12-23T09:58:00.000-05:00

Are you one of those people that believe politicians don't accomplish much? Have you ever wondered what your MPs are doing to earn the salaries they do (at least $144,000)? Well wonder no longer. There's a website called "How'd They Vote?: A Resource For Political Accountability" where you can see all sorts of information on the activities of every MP.

If you don't know who your MP was from the last election, they provide an interactive map of Canada where you can click on your province and get a list of everyone that was elected from that province. The only drawback is that it does require that you know at least what electoral district you belong to. If you don't know that, fear not. Most people probably don't. Elections Canada has conveniently provided a site where you can find your electoral district simply by entering your postal code.

On the "How'd They Vote?" site you'll find a convenient compilation of all the quotes, number of words spoken and voting history of each MP as well as all the Bills that were debated. If you go to the "MP Statistics" site, just click on the arrows for the column that interests you to have the data sorted in ascending or descending order.

For example, Paul Martin is listed as having spoken only 44,551 words in the last Parliament as opposed to the chattiest MP in the House, Paul Szobo of the Liberals, who is credited with 154,683 words. Check out how much your MP had to say, what they said, and how they voted on each Bill.

It's interesting to see that the Conservatives as a group are a relatively quiet bunch. Only one member appears in the top ten list of words spoken in the House of Parliament and he's at number eight.

Sometimes it's not how much you have to say that matters. Perhaps they're just succinct and to the point? Politicians succinct and to the point? What kind of politicians are they anyway?

Another question that may be keeping you up at night is how tech savvy is your party anyway? Well you can get that answered as well. Click on "MP Websites" to get statistics on website usage by each party, province, and MP. Who new that 60% of BLOC MPs didn't have a website? Conservatives have the greatest presence on the internet with 97% of their MPs having a website.

For more MP and political party trivia go see for yourself at "How'd They Vote?"

Earn More Money!

Have you spent too much money for the holidays? Feeling just a little short? What to do? What to do? Thank goodness it's an election year and they're hiring.

The last election cost us over $260 million and this one won't be much cheaper. Why not get a piece of the action? You can work for either a political party, one of the electoral district associations, or directly for Elections Canada.

Start your search by going to this site and clicking on the options shown. You can fill out the online form provided by Elections Canada if you want to work for them directly or find the contact information for the party of your choice.

Good luck in your search.

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The Dating Game

2005-12-19T09:29:00.000-05:00

Doesn't the new debate format remind you of "The Dating Game"?

"Leader #1, how would you describe yourself?"

"Leader #2, same question. "

"Leader #3, given the chance, what would you do to convince me that you're the man for me?"

Forget about discussing the content of the debates since not much happened and none of it will matter when phase two of the campaign begins in January. Let's address what everyone is eager to examine in detail - the format.

Debate: (n) is defined by Oxford as "a formal discussion in a public meeting or legislature, in which opposing arguments are presented".

Technically, the new format fits within the definition. A selection of voters were asked to videotape their questions. The tape was played for the leaders and they were given an opportunity to answer. A moderator could add to the question if they wished. Hardly a traditional debate format but it worked in a certain sense.

Viewers at least got to clearly hear each leader recite what's available on their website, contrary to the debates of the last election where we were essentially treated to a shout-off. The best part of this year's debates was the time limits which were strictly enforced. Speaker's microphones were cut off in mid-sentence although if you listened carefully you could still hear the last part of their explanations presumably picked up by the moderator's microphone.

Not So Easy

Debate organizers are faced with a tricky problem. Here are just some of the issues:

Make the debates relevant to voters (ie. Shorter)

Prevent a live audience from turning the debate into a circus (This isn't a rally.)

Design pretty podiums (See whether the candidates could think on their feet)

Avoid shouting matches between candidates (That's only appropriate in the House of Commons)

Ensure that candidates can get their message across (Why waste money on commercials?)

Get all parties to agree to a format (that each party thinks is best for their candidate)

Appease the media (with at least the hope that a candidate makes a potentially fatal mistake or lands a knockout punch against another candidate.)

Interviewed later, many of the questioners were dissatisfied with the leader's answers. Here's a typical example to illustrate their frustration:

"Thank you for that very interesting question. Before answering it I would like to briefly mention that "insert candidates favorite issue or other redirection trick here" ...

Journalists were luke warm on the format and viewership was down by half from the previous election.

Tweaking the Format

What's a voter to do? Let's see if the gameshow model of debate organization has any further solutions to offer us.

First of all, during the debate, have the questioner decide whether a leader answered the question or not. This may not prevent a leader from skating around an issue but at least the viewers would be aware in real time that it was happening. Perhaps installing one of those gameshow counters in front of every podium and awarding a point for a question answered appropriately would help.

Why not go one step further? Instead of giving all the power to the questioner, equip the studio audience with a real-time voting device and have the results instantly appear like they do in "Who wants to be a millionaire?" Audience, its time to vote.

How about introducing a lightning round where more questions are asked and less time is provided for answers. Let's see how well they think on their feet. Give voters at least a glimpse of the real character of the next prime minister.

Remember the movie "Quiz Show"? It told the story of the scandal surrounding the game show "Twenty One". It provides the genesis for another debate format improvement.

What about putting each candidate in a sound-proof booth. They would only hear whatever question was directed at them and that would be the only time they could answer. They wouldn't hear what the other candidates had to say and would be faced with a classic "prisoner's dilemma". Are the other candidates skating or answering? Are they attacking someone or sticking to the issues? Wouldn't that make for an interesting debate?

Will it ever happen? Probably not. But at least it's worth debating it.

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Democracy At Work

2005-12-16T09:05:00.000-05:00

As we predicted, the first debate, or should we say "gang press conference", was essentially a non-event. No controversy, no knockout punches, though it is nice to see that all the major party leaders are functionally bilingual. Trudeau would be proud.

One leader that didn't get his own podium was Jim Harris. The Green Party has been trying to rally support and is hosting a petition on their site to get as many voters as possible to register their displeasure with the current state of affairs.

If you feel that four leaders "debating" simply aren't enough, and would like to see at least five, then you can voice your concerns by signing the Green Party Petition. There may still be time for a change concerning the last two debate formats - but forget about Vancouver. Five debaters really is manageable. Remember the US Democratic Primaries? They had a dozen.

More Petitions

These days, casting a vote isn't enough of a statement. You can answer polling questions but who has the time? What this election campaign needs is more petitions.

Remember the Liberal's slip of the tongue on beer and popcorn? Stephen Janke certainly does. He launched a petition calling for Paul Martin to clarify his position on beer, popcorn, and the spending habits of Canadian families. Voters responded. Over three thousand people, and counting, are mad as hell and are not going to take it any more.

If you also demand clarification on the Liberal position then consider signing the Kids Not Beer petition. Coming at the issue from a different perspective, Rick Mercer launched his own Beer Not Kids petition. You'll be pleased to know that both petitions are doing well. Democracy at work.

A Petition For Us All

Not to be outdone, CanadaElection2006 has launched its own petition. This one potentially affects everyone. If you were hoping that the election would only be called in the New Year or if you just need a little break from the campaign rhetoric then this petition is for you. It calls for a Pause in the Federal Election, so that everyone can relax during the holidays, take a break, and get back into the election process after New Year's. Send the leaders a strong message by signing our Pause the Federal Election petition.

Show the world that Canadian style democracy works and that "The People" will be heard.

Election Tracker

The NOTA Party

2005-12-15T09:18:00.000-05:00

Many voters, when asked who they prefer, are quick to respond with "none of the above". Ultimately, when they do cast their vote, it's for the least offensive option rather than someone they really believe in.

The actual turnout by eligible voters was only 61% in the last election. That means nearly four out of every ten voters couldn't even be bothered to go vote. Add to these voters the people who aren't happy with their choices and you start to see that a hell of a lot of people aren't pleased. Given the number of options voters do have, something is missing.

Why not have a "none of the above" (NOTA) option on the ballot? The demand is clearly there. What would it mean to the electoral process? If 155 ridings or more chose "none of the above" as their majority option we'd have a ruling party of empty seats. Wouldn't that be silly? Would it? At least it would save money. What about the people who are always calling for less government? Well there you go. You asked for it you got it.

Implementing the NOTA Option

Here are some suggestions for a more practical approach to the NOTA option. Taxpayers already give $1.75 to a party annually for every vote that party receives. If a NOTA option was included on the ballot we could mandate that the same money be allocated to that option and earmarked for charity, medical research, etc. This would potentially "incentivize" citizens to get involved and vote.

Additionally, other incentives could be adopted. Perhaps, any candidate that receives fewer votes than the NOTA option would not get their registration fees and expenses covered. But, what happens in the case where the NOTA option receives the majority of the votes in an electoral district? Who represents the district then?

Clearly, the voters can make a statement with the NOTA option. How else do you convince the parties that their choice for the district is perhaps not a suitable one? Can you prevent the same candidates from running again in a bi-election? Why should we let them continue to torment the voters?

The Green Party

Speaking about "none of the above" options, the Green Party is recieving some much needed publicity as a result of being left out of the debates. Media outlets, perhaps feeling a little guilty, are devoting time to them during this quiet pre-debate period.

Although it is clear that they are getting increased voter acceptance, one has to wonder where this will lead. The criticism is that they are a one issue party. True, the environment is important and many people are concerned but what is a voter saying by casting their ballot for the Green Party? They are dissatisfied with the treatment of this one issue and want some attention paid to it?

Imagine waking up the morning after the election and seeing that the Green Party has formed the next government. Can everything be run through the perspective of the environment? Long before that happens, the major parties will adopt a stronger environmental platform in an opportunistic attempt to grab these voters.

Don't get us wrong. We are not against the environment or the Green Party at all. It just seems that it's more of a lobby group than a potential candidate for running this country. With the increasing fragmentation of the electoral process in Canada, we'll probably be seeing a Red Party (Forcefully Supporting Health Care Issues), a Khaki Party (Increased Defense For a Stronger Canada), and the Book Party (Education is Our Future).

In this age of infinite choice, can you think of any other Parties we're missing?

Election Tracker

The Lull Before the Lull

2005-12-13T12:52:00.000-05:00

We're officially in the lull before the lull before the storm period of the election. The leaders are preparing themselves for the debates on Thursday and Friday and slowly heading towards Vancouver. Already election activity isn't a top news item as things wind down for the holidays. For you die-hard political junkies, or if you're just bored at work, grab a beer, make some pop-corn and get your election fix here.

Where's the Party?

How many Parties are officially running in this election? If you said three your probably not from Quebec and forgot about the Bloc. Four you say? Just like the debate participants and broadcasters you forgot the Green Party.

Actually, believe it or not, there are thirteen Parties registered for this election. Here's where you can find the tried and true options as well as some more exotic selections if you're desparately searching for a change. Just click on the name.

Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada

Bloc Québécois

Canadian Action Party

Christian Heritage Party

Marxist-Leninist Party

New Democratic Party

Progressive Canadian Party

If that's not enough for you, here are a few links to some sites that provide tables of key election issues and where the major parties stand on them.

CTV Election Issues Table

Globe and Mail Elections Issue Table

CBC Election Issues List

Still need more? Review our archives and reminisce.

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Vote Getting

2005-12-11T09:15:00.000-05:00

Buy My Vote

Last week a Sherbrooke man put his vote up for sale on eBay. The man reasoned that if the Liberals could try to buy votes in Quebec then why couldn't he sell his? He had a bid of over $7.00 before Elections Canada got wind of it and asked eBay to withdraw the auction. It's illegal to buy and sell votes in Canada. Actually, I think you can only rent them.

Your Vote Counts

Think you've never made a contribution to a political party? Think again. A few years ago Canada implemented a system whereby political parties get $1.75/year for every vote they receive provided that they exceed 2% of the cast ballots. Assuming an election is held every 4 years your vote is worth $7.00. More like $3.50 given the recent fondness we've developed for minority governments.

To give you an idea of what that means, here are the amounts the parties received last year:

Bloc Quebecois $3.1 Million
Conservatives $7.3 Million
Green Party $1.1 Million
Liberals $9.1 Million
NDP $3.9 Million

For the Green Party it was a windfall. With just 4.3% of the vote they were finally able to get some serious funding to run an election campaign.

Money Making Opportunity

That brings us to this idea. Why not start your own political party? Let's look at the numbers. Total votes cast in the last election was 13,564,702. Two percent of that is about 275,000. At $1.75 per vote your party could get $475,000 annually. Even taking out expenses, it is still a decent chunk of change to play with.

How do you get these votes? Start with a popular, although not necessarily practical, platform. Cherry pick the key hot button issues then pander, pander, pander. Unethical you say? Everyone else is doing it? The kicker is that you won't actually be forming a government so you can promise anything you want.

There are 308 ridings in Canada. Running a candidate in less than half of them and getting just 2000 votes in each riding will comfortably put you over 2%.

Think about it. Voters want change. The way things are going, elections may be held every two years in Canada. Sounds like a growth industry.

For the Less Ambitious

If all this sounds too ambitious why not run as an Independent? It costs $1000 to register and Elections Canada reimburses your fee and half your expenses providing you make a serious go of it.

"Why bother?" you ask. An elected MPs salary is $144,000 per year.

Let's all practice. "If elected I promise to ...."

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America Weighs In

2005-12-10T13:25:00.000-05:00

No country wants to be seen as influencing another country's election, at least not publicly. Sometimes, however, it can't be helped.

What's new Bill?

Bill Clinton was in Montreal to give a speech on the environment on Friday. Paul Martin, never one to miss a good photo op, modified his travel plans so that he could meet with him. Perhaps he viewed this as part of his responsibility as Prime Minister? Nothing to do with the election. After all, it's important to keep good relations with our neighbor and closest ally.

Why then would you give a speech on Wednesday where you attack the US for not signing on to the Kyoto Accord and accusing America of having no global conscience. Election or no election, you know the Americans aren't going to sit around and take that. They dragged our ambassador in for a quick tongue lashing and the press jumped all over the incident. Was Martin worried? Depends how it plays out in the heartland. Standing up to America can get you some votes.

Who's in charge?

Even though Parliament was dissolved the Liberals still answer for what happens in the country. Sometimes that helps the incumbents and sometimes it doesn't. The Liberals have a number of time bombs that could go off when they least expect it. The obvious one is Gomery but there are others. Canadian hostages in Iraq. Hopefully they get released.

What about US planes carrying prisoners to unnamed destinations? Rumor has it that they may be refueling on Canadian territory. Wouldn't the opposition parties have a field day with that.

There's also the whole income trust leakage issue. It certainly appears that someone knew about the government's positive announcement on dividend tax policy hours before it was made official. People made a lot of money with that little titbit of information. So far, nobody has been able to connect the dots right to the finance minister but no doubt there are a lot of people trying.

What else is lurking out there? That's the problem with long campaigns. It gives people time to find the skeletons.

Election Tracker

Scandal? What Scandal?

2005-12-09T15:39:00.000-05:00

Remember when the only thing people talked about was the Gomery report? Corruption, kickbacks and fraud. What more could we ask for? The opposition parties couldn't wait to bring down the government.

It turns out, at least for the moment, that voters aren't that concerned. They want to move on to more "substantial" issues like healthcare. Almost 30% of voters think healthcare is THE issue yet none of the parties have really addressed it in a comprehensive way.

As for corruption, talk about a velvet glove treatment. None of the parties want to be the first to go negative, at least in a heavy, obvious way. So far it's all light jabs and gentle sparring. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security, Paul. It's coming.

Little Progress

After two weeks of campaigning, the opposition parties must be starting to question themselves. They've released promise after promise to no effect. The Liberals are even getting a slight bump up in the polls. It's a long campaign and most people won't be taking this seriously until the New Year. But still. You gotta wonder what's it going to take to unseat these guys.

Children Are Our Future

Some issues are clearly being addressed. Take daycare for example. Harper announced a plan that would pay families $1200 a year for every child under the age of six. No strings attached. Martin responded by promising to allocate money for daycare. Actually, he would double the amount he promised last time. Was the money from the first promise ever delivered? Is ten billion dollars that never gets delivered twice as good as five billion dollars that never gets delivered?

In any case, the distinction between the two proposals couldn't be clearer. Martin wants money transferred to governments to build infrastructure while Harper wants families to have the money directly and allocate it as they see fit.

Although both strategies have merit, consider this. Only 13% of children attend institutional daycare. 40% stay with family members, friends, etc. while fully 47% of children stay at home with one of the parents. What do they get? Nothing. Many critics said that $1200 dollars per year wouldn't go very far. If you're a stay at home mom struggling to make ends meet so that your child can get the best care possible maybe you have a different perspective. In the voting booth it's all about me, baby!

I Want To Be In Politics

Sometimes the past comes back to haunt you. Marc Garneau got a quick introduction to the ruthlessness of high stakes Federal politics this week. In 1986 (that's almost twenty years ago) Garneau made a speech in which he spoke about the need to allocate limited educational funds to the people that have the best chance of succeeding. The Bloc jumped all over this comment accusing him of being against assistance for special needs and handicapped students.

A month is an eternity in politics. Twenty years? Not so much. Remember, if you plan to run in an election, even if it's twenty years from now, do what the pros do. Be vocal, speak often, say nothing.

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Must See TV

2005-12-07T00:49:00.000-05:00

Are you fed up with Christmas specials yet? Perhaps you're concerned that your favorite television shows are going into reruns as they break for the holidays. No need to fret. Our politicians will be providing us with some pre-holiday entertainment.

In fact, not only will they entertain us for four hours before Christmas, they're so confident that we'll want more, they'll reprise their performances for another four hours after Christmas.

We're talking about the ever popular leadership debates.

This time around there will be four debates in total, two in French and two in English. Get out your agendas and pencil in these dates:

December 15th French Debate in Vancouver
December 16th English Debate in Vancouver
January 9th English Debate in Quebec
January 10th French Debate in Quebec

Let's all take a break from holiday preparations and watch what promises to be a cautious and carefully scripted presentation of previously announced policies and well established differences of opinion.

This time the moderators will present questions asked by you the voter without a live audience. It's hoped that this will give the candidates more room to outline their ideas and not be shouted down by a vocal audience. If these things get any more scripted we may as well just send them some emails and have their responses posted publicly.

If you're a sports nuts, watch the leaders bob and weave around the questions like NFL running backs. For the fiction enthusiasts, pay attention to all the promises being made. And, for a little drama, let's see if the Green Party succeeds in getting a spot in the debates. After all, they did get 4.3% of the vote last time around.

If you do happen to miss the debates, rest assured. We'll bring you the highlights right here as they happen.

Election Tracker

Tortoise And Hares

2005-12-04T23:27:00.000-05:00

Pacing is everything.

The first week was dominated by the Tories. They reiterated their position on same sex marriage, they proposed a reduction in the GST, and brought out a policy for reduced wait times in the health-care system. Not finished yet, Harper proposed mandatory sentences for drug trafficking and laws to control federal corruption. Can they keep up the pace?

As for the Liberals, well, they have an astronaut running and they're against everything Harper said. It's a long campaign. Given the mood of the country for change as well as the albatross of Gomery around their necks, perhaps keeping their head down for the first half of the race will turn out to be a winning strategy.

First stop Oshawa

The NDP started the week with the same tried and true approach. What's a federal election without a visit to Canada's automotive heartland, Oshawa. A promise for action for an old industry that's in deep trouble. Instead of continueing to support overpaid, heavily unionized laborers maybe they should propose funding for car designers and rely on the trickle down effect. The US auto industry will never get out of the tailspin they're in if they don't offer the public a product they can get behind. Doesn't anyone in the NDP own a Japanese car?

Layton also wants to slap retaliatory duties on oil exports to get back at America's softwood lumber tariff policy. It's not hard enough that we sleep next to the elephant, now Layton wants to poke it with a stick.

Is this for real?

Gilles Duceppe wants you to know that an independent Quebec will take better care of the environment than Ottawa has been able to do. That promise may actually be one he can keep. If Quebec separates, so much industry will flee the country there won't be anyone left to pollute the environment. Now if only the rivers and air currents would play ball and conform to Quebec laws.

One other thing. "A vote for the Bloc isn't a vote for sovereignty" says Gilles Duceppe. "Yes it is!" says Paul. "No it isn't!" insists Gilles. And so it goes.

As for the Green Party, well they're miffed because they won't be included in the debates.

Seven more weeks of this.

Election Tracker

If I'm Elected

2005-12-01T16:12:00.000-05:00

Just three days into the election campaign and promises and platform ideas are flying at voters fast and furious. On Tuesday all parties shot out of the gate ready to campaign.

Some noteworthy highlights:

Stephen Harper assures us that he loves Canada although he's having problems expressing himself. Paul Martin seizes the moment, and shouts "I Love Canada".

Is a country male or female? Perhaps that question causes Harper to be guarded. After all, once he's elected he promises a free vote on same sex marriage. Maybe he'd get more mileage by campaigning against no sex marriages.

What's the first platform item the Bloc trots out for voter consideration? Quebec athletes should play for Team Quebec and not Team Canada on the international stage. Reminds me of the highway sign just before you reach Quebec city; "Welcome to the Nation's Capital".

By the way, whatever happened to the Rhino party? I miss seeing them actually building their party platform.

Space cadet to run for Liberals. Yes ladies and gentlemen, Marc Garneau will try to follow in the footsteps of Ken Dryden, leverage his name recognition, and slide right into a House of Commons seat.

Finally, if elected, Stephen Harper would cut the GST by one percent immediately and another one percent within five years.

More political goodies to come. It's the holiday season after all.

As a voter what holiday gift do you wish for? Let us know.

Election Tracker

School's Out

2005-11-29T09:43:00.000-05:00

What a sight last night. Everyone in the House of Commons, including the Liberals, clapping and cheering like it was the last day of school. The minority Liberal government had finally fallen.

Bravado aside, all these MPs just lost their jobs. Some of them, even though they don't know it, won't be coming back. Where else can you see so much joy and unemployment at the same time?

On to the 56 day job interview!

For the record, when the 38th parliament was dissolved on November 28th, 2005 the Liberals had 135 seats, the Conservatives had 99, the Bloc Quebecois had 54 and the NDP 19.

On the eve of the election call pollsters give the Liberals 35% of the vote, Conservatives get 30%, the NDP breaks 20% and the Bloc is at 14%.

Before any of the political spin reaches hurricane levels and starts to alter voters perceptions, what's your feeling?

Who do you think will take the election? Leave us a comment.

January 23d, 2006. E-day.

Election Tracker

And They're Off !

2005-11-28T19:31:00.000-05:00

I just lost five dollars betting that the opposition parties couldn't get their act together long enough to bring down the government before Christmas. So, I was wrong. Seemed like a good bet at the time.

Looks like it could get nasty. Other than the Bloc's leader, everyone else is essentially fighting for their political lives now that the race is on. If there is no significant improvement in a party's election night results (and we know they can't all improve) the leaders will need to watch their backs. The knives will be out before Valentine's day.

Stick with this site to get up to date election news, poll results, and discussions of the issues.

Election Tracker