Canada got punk'd
Once again, Canadians all over the country have been subjected to the seasonal onslaught of campaigns from candidates and their party platforms who have only one thing in mind: The Prime Minister's Office. In December of last year (2005), the Race to the um...Parliament began as the Liberals, currently in power, were defeated in a non-confidence vote. Thus, another election was called for since the Liberals had only won a minority government in the last federal election.
Who are the main contenders? The top four are the leaders of the Liberals, Conservatives, the New Democrats, and the Bloc Quebecois (Paul Martin - PM, Stephen Harper, Jack Layton, and Gilles Duceppe, respectively).
This time I've really started to take more interest in it this year than any other year. Why? In my riding, our representative, Peter Milliken has been our federal representative for 17 years, representing the Liberal Party. In his duties in Ottawa, he is the Speaker of the House, who helps to manage the House of Commons and supervise the staff, acting as the liaison to the Senate and the Crown (Monarch). In addition, Milliken's position lets him vote on ties when voted in the senate. Because of these duties, many Kingston residents feel that Milliken may not have been representing Kingston's best interests since being elected. And so there is a general air around Kingston that Milliken's position in parliament may be in jeopardy and that he may lose to Conservative rep. Lou Grimshaw. If that were to happen Kingston would become another riding that the Liberals have lost to the Conservatives, who have been gaining ground since the Election Campaign began, blowing the Sponsorship Scandal - trumpet and proclaiming that there is a need for change.
The Liberals are not without their own dirty fights as well. They've released statements and ad campaigns against the Conservatives, pointing out some seemingly negative events in Harper's history and painting him as a rather unappealing character.
The third party in consideration for all of Canada is the New Democratic Party. Headed by Jack Layton, I've gotten the impression that this party represents the Robin Hood of Canada and his merry men. Watching the english language debate last week Layton made it clear that their policies didn't agree with the Conservatives and that the Liberals could no longer be trusted. "But there is a third alternative".
The fourth party is the Bloc Quebecois. Headed by Gilles Duceppe, this party focuses their attention on the province of Quebec, and possibly the surrounding area. In any case, they do not have any reps in my riding, but they do control a good chunk of the votes (10%).
So who would I vote for? I don't know at the moment. Anything that a party promises at this point (or any point in campaign time) is pretty much as good as mud because you can only guess that they're saying it just to get into office. So what do I go on? I guess I'll have to decide which party would be most likely to stick to his guns and make the most informed decision he can rather than simply sitting and twiddling his thumbs and crying foul when another party does something they don't like.
The reason I think Canada got punk'd is because of all the parties, not one is able to show it can lead the country into a Canada everyone wants. THey always have to fight for each and every vote. According to the opinion polls, the strongest party has only 38% of the country's approval. If I got a 38% on anything in school it'd really suck. Moreso if it was the highest mark in the class. True you will ultimately have to choose the lesser of the evils, so what do you do? What DO you do?
61% of registered voters voted in the last election.
Who are the main contenders? The top four are the leaders of the Liberals, Conservatives, the New Democrats, and the Bloc Quebecois (Paul Martin - PM, Stephen Harper, Jack Layton, and Gilles Duceppe, respectively).
This time I've really started to take more interest in it this year than any other year. Why? In my riding, our representative, Peter Milliken has been our federal representative for 17 years, representing the Liberal Party. In his duties in Ottawa, he is the Speaker of the House, who helps to manage the House of Commons and supervise the staff, acting as the liaison to the Senate and the Crown (Monarch). In addition, Milliken's position lets him vote on ties when voted in the senate. Because of these duties, many Kingston residents feel that Milliken may not have been representing Kingston's best interests since being elected. And so there is a general air around Kingston that Milliken's position in parliament may be in jeopardy and that he may lose to Conservative rep. Lou Grimshaw. If that were to happen Kingston would become another riding that the Liberals have lost to the Conservatives, who have been gaining ground since the Election Campaign began, blowing the Sponsorship Scandal - trumpet and proclaiming that there is a need for change.
The Liberals are not without their own dirty fights as well. They've released statements and ad campaigns against the Conservatives, pointing out some seemingly negative events in Harper's history and painting him as a rather unappealing character.
The third party in consideration for all of Canada is the New Democratic Party. Headed by Jack Layton, I've gotten the impression that this party represents the Robin Hood of Canada and his merry men. Watching the english language debate last week Layton made it clear that their policies didn't agree with the Conservatives and that the Liberals could no longer be trusted. "But there is a third alternative".
The fourth party is the Bloc Quebecois. Headed by Gilles Duceppe, this party focuses their attention on the province of Quebec, and possibly the surrounding area. In any case, they do not have any reps in my riding, but they do control a good chunk of the votes (10%).
So who would I vote for? I don't know at the moment. Anything that a party promises at this point (or any point in campaign time) is pretty much as good as mud because you can only guess that they're saying it just to get into office. So what do I go on? I guess I'll have to decide which party would be most likely to stick to his guns and make the most informed decision he can rather than simply sitting and twiddling his thumbs and crying foul when another party does something they don't like.
The reason I think Canada got punk'd is because of all the parties, not one is able to show it can lead the country into a Canada everyone wants. THey always have to fight for each and every vote. According to the opinion polls, the strongest party has only 38% of the country's approval. If I got a 38% on anything in school it'd really suck. Moreso if it was the highest mark in the class. True you will ultimately have to choose the lesser of the evils, so what do you do? What DO you do?
61% of registered voters voted in the last election.
