Actually it may be Prime Minister Michael Ignatieff leading a coalition government, but it’s just the wildest way the parliamentary system works, and it’s awesome!
Stephen Harpertried to bully his minority government through the halls of Parliament Hill for a second mandate, and the opposition won’t stand by a second time.
And the web is reeling:
“We’ll support the government on issues if it’s essential to the country but our primary responsibility is not to prop up the government, our responsibility is to provide an opposition and an alternative government for Parliament and for Canadians. What the government has to do, if it wants to govern for any length of time, is it must appeal primarily to the third parties in the House of Commons to get them to support it.” [Stephen Harper]
“We stand on the cusp of a political miracle which might see the rejected and dejected leader of the Liberal party about to become the prime minister of Canada.” [The Tyee]
“Stephen Harper decided Canada doesn’t need a stimulus package; all we needed to do was cancel the subsidy that political parties get.” [Rick Mercer]
“Prime Minister Stephen Harper is an ass. Harper is an arrogant, foolish, power-hungry ass.” [Shireen J]
“Harper, forgetting the fact that he called for something similar when he was in opposition just four years ago, has suggested this move is undemocratic and nefarious.” [Toronto Star]
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Stephen Harper just spent $300M on an election Canadians didnt want to get a result he didnt want. Yet he, and his spinsters, will stand up today proclaiming they have a clear mandate from Canadians to govern.
Not really.
They received a mere 1% increase in popular vote, but managed to turn it into a 19 seat gain across the country.
In an election campaign that lacked any issue other than “Harper is scary” or “Dion is a bumbling fool,” Canadians stayed home, or placed a protest vote for the upstart team from Elizabeth May.
Voter turnout yesterday was just 59%, the lowest in Canadian history.
37% of Canadians, mostly in rural and suburban parts of the country stayed true to the right, while 55% of Canadians, mostly in the cities of Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, placed their vote for a party on the left side of the ledger.
STRATEGIC VOTE DIDNT WORK
The truly disappointing aspect of the results is the vote split between the Liberals, Greens and NDP allowing the Tories to sweep up the middle.
Look at just two ridings:
Saanich Gulf Islands
CON Gary Lunn 27,988 43.43%
LIB Briony Penn 25,367 39.36%
GRN Andrew Lewis 6,732 10.45%
NDP Julian West 3,667 5.69%
West from the NDP was forced to drop out early in the race due to allegations of impropriety when he stripped naked at a camp in front of teens decades ago. His name remained on the ballot and he siphoned off just enough votes to allow the Conservative candidate to win.
North Vancouver
CON Andrew Saxton 24,329 42.20%
LIB Don Bell 21,510 37.31%
GRN Jim Stephenson 6,221 10.79%
NDP Michael Charrois 5,429 9.42%
Andrew Saxton ran a strong campaign, but toss the scant few thousand votes that went to the Green party, and Don Bell would be heading to Ottawa again.
BAD BRANDING
I don’t know why Stephane Dion called his campaign platform the Green Shift. I mean, that’s what happened, traditional Liberal support shifted to the Green party instead of his green platform.
Could you imagine Jack Layton laying out a campaign based on “A Conservative Approach” or Stephen Harper proclaiming the virture of “A Liberal Vision”?
The branding of the green shift was wrong from the outset, and dropped 2 sentences into Dion’s concession speech when he basically said: “It’s about the economy, stupid.”
A STRONG MANDATE OR A DANGEROUS ONE?
We wake up this morning with $300M spent on not much of a change in Ottawa. We have a Prime Minister who aggressively muzzles his team, has a fondness for sweater vests, spent $18B on war, results to name calling in election campaigning, and proclaims a minority government “a strong mandate.”
This new government will be far more dangerous than if he had received a true majority government. The opposition party is in shambles, the left is divided, and Canadians are apathetic about elections. Harper now has the power to play a serious game of chicken with the Liberals, Bloc and NDP. He will do whatever he wants come the spring and just dare the opposition to drag Canadians back to the ballot box.
Rex Murphy nailed it on the CBC last night when, in words with more syllables, termed this a Seinfeld election. It was about nothing, and nobody won.
No leader got what they wanted last night. Harper wanted a majority. Didn’t happen. Layton flirted with the notion of being official opposition. Didn’t happen. Dion wanted to be PM. Didn’t happen. Duceppe wants out of Canada. Didn’t happen. May wanted a seat. Didn’t happen. An election that had no real issue, had no real results, had no real participation, yet still managed to cost Canadians $300M as the continent teeters on the brink of recession.
Tell me… was it necessary?
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
I shouldn’t really tell you how to vote today, the campaigning is over and it’s up to the individual to decide today.
However, should you still be totally confused, check out The Undecided. It will give you an issue based quiz to find out which federal party your personal views are best aligned with. It’s a good non-partisan guide to help you with this important decision.
You should have received a voter registration card in the mail. Bring it with you to the polling place listed on the card. The polls are open until 7p tonight.
If you didnt receive the card, visit the Elections Canada website to find your polling place, all you need to know is your postal code.
Once you get to the polling place, there are three ways to prove your identity.
1. Provide one piece of original government issued id showing your photo and address (driver’s license).
2. Provide two original pieces of identification. Both must contain your name, one must contain your address (health card and hydro bill).
3. Swear an oath and be vouched for by an elector. [elections canada]
You are also entitled, by law, to 3 consecutive hours in which to place your vote. In other words, if you couldnt get it done this morning, you’re legally allowed to get off work at 4p this afternoon to get ‘er done.
We all bitch and complain about the choices we have come election day, but at least we have a choice.
Please vote.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
I should start with a disclaimer that I have always voted Liberal. I grew up in the era of Trudeaumania and I have never wavered.
When I take issue based surveys, my personal attitudes do sway a bit to the Conservative side of the spectrum, but there are just so many deal breakers associated with the party, I cannot bear myself to vote blue. From a woman’s right to choose, to the faith based nature of policy, to issues of war, the Conservatives just bring too much baggage to the party for me to ever budge.
The negative name calling nature of their advertisements and the silencing top down approach of their leadership will never win me over.
So this election campaign was never about me voting Conservative, it was about whether or not I would continue supporting the Liberal party.
Jen and I voted on Saturday at the advance poll. I had my mind made up and wanted to make sure we had a chance to vote as a family and get Z involved in the process.
3 CHOICES: LEFT
I have been very impressed with Jack Layton, ever since he came in to leadership of the NDP. He has been confident, positive, reassuring and just has a trustworthy demeanor. Yes, his party has some very heavy tax and spend policies, but I’ve always liked the man, so I was willing to entertain a vote for the NDP. His adaption of blogging tools, widgets and Twitter during this campaign has also shown me that Jack either gets it, or is eager to surround himself by people that do.
The Greens never really played much into my debate. I’ve always thought them to be a hippy fringe party, with one issue and not much substance for the rest of the meal. That changed on debate night. Elizabeth May jumped in and stirred it up on each and every issue, and many times I agreed with what she was saying.
I was afraid of Stephane Dion. I admit it. He lacks charisma, he’s awkward, he’s bookish. It’s true. But then I watched him on The Hour with George Strombouloupolous and saw, for the first time, a confident, smart, positive man. [watch here]
So I eventually became more comfortable with all 3 parties on the left side of the spectrum.
The election and how to vote has become an issue many bloggers are addressing in their posts. Darren Barefoot voted Green, because he usually does and his riding wasn’t a swing one. Derek Miller voted NDP, because he usually does and the NDP are strong in his riding.
How would I do it?
STRATEGIC PLANNING
It would have to be done strategically. Canadians need and must vote strategically this election. A vote swap Facebook app has even been created to help things move along.
With 3 parties crowding the left side of the ledger, it’s obvious we’re a socially responsible society that doesn’t mind a bit of tax and spend. The problem lies with the Conservatives gobbling up all the right wing religious, family values, socially conservative, small government people all to themselves.
So unless Canadians place their votes together strategically for candidates that have a chance to defeat the Conservative in their riding, the Tories will glide up the middle of the vote split and sweep to a majority.
RIDING BY RIDING
My riding is North Vancouver. The incumbent MP is a Liberal, Don Bell. He’s a former Mayor of the region and has never lost an election in his 30+ year career in public office. The Conservative challenger is Saxton. A guy who got on his horse on opening day of the campaign and plugged signs up and down every major boulevard in the district. He’s been running and running hard.
I heard a candidate round table on the news radio one morning and the Green candidate was late to phone in while the NDP made opening remarks that I only remember as being totally ridiculous and not relevant to the campaign at hand.
X MARKS THE SPOT
It was then my mind was made up. I had an incumbent Liberal who was in tight against an aggressive Conservative. I am comfortable with Dion as Prime Minister so I voted where my vote needed to go.
Election day is October 14.
I spent some time strategizing my vote. If you’re Conservative, there is no strategy - vote for your man/woman. If you do not like Stephen Harper, then you need to look a little deeper to figure out where your vote will do the most damage. This is not an election to be taken lightly.
Yeah, I’m sorry for that. I didn’t mean to interfere with your day, cause .. you know .. you’re not going to vote.
Sure that video is American celebs talking about American issues for an American election, but the logic applies equally to what we’re doing in Canada on October 14.
Don’t vote. You know, unless you actually care.
Oh, and if you do care, you don’t have to register to vote in Canada. You can just show up on voting day with the proper id, or a friend who will vouch for you and you can vote. Seriously, look it up.
So, vote. Please?
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Canadians officially go to the polls October 14, but early voting booths open this weekend so you have greater flexibility to do your civic duty.
Advance polls are available Friday, Saturday and Monday.
You should have received your Voter Registration Card in the mail by now, it will detail your polling place for Election Day, as well as the Advance Poll.
Bring it with you when you vote. If you have recently moved, or did not receive a Voter Registration Card, you have 3 options to prove your identity and cast a vote.
1. Provide one piece of original government issued id showing your photo and address (driver’s license).
2. Provide two original pieces of identification. Both must contain your name, one must contain your address (health card and hydro bill).
I have already made up my mind, so I will be voting in the Advance Poll this weekend to avoid the rush on October 14. By law, your employer must give you 3 consecutive hours to allow you to cast your ballot on election day, so don’t use “I have to work” as an excuse … VOTE!
Sean Kane is a graphic designer from Victoria who decided to have a little fun with the fact that Canadians and Americans are heading to the polls pretty much simultaneously.
With the American campaign providing much more drama than our sombre effort, Sean has launched a website for those who would prefer to see Barack Obama as Canada’s Prime Minister instead of America’s President.
Sean’s inspiration was a summer survey that showed Canadians prefer Obama over our own leaders; Obama 26%, Harper 21%.
Here’s an interview with Sean about the website, what he hopes to accomplish, and how you can get the tshirt of your dreams.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
They get how the new media world of campaigning will be. Jack Layton quotes Obama in his speeches, and has gone to school on Barack’s approach to new media.
The latest? Buying links on keywords for the other political parties on Google.
Brilliant.
Look up Stephen Harper in Google and you’ll get Jack’s sponsored link popping up right at the top
“Don’t Trust Harper?
JackLayton.ca It’s time for a PM who’ll put you and your family first. Donate now.”
Nammi Poorooshasb is the NDP’s online campaign director and admits they’ve been paying attention to Obama’s new media style of campaigning
“We’ve been taking the best from all of them. They know that this is one of the places that people go to search for information, to get the latest news, to entertain themselves. Whatever it is, people are going there and we want to occupy that space as well.” [Marketing Magazine]
The “Donate Now” at the end of the Google Ad frosts some people, but just the idea that the NDP is realizing new and innovative ways to spread the message is heartening.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Check out what they wrote up in a political blog roll in The Windsor Star:
Long before the Tories were forced to apologize for having a puffin go mano-a-guano with Stephane Dion on their website, blogger Buzz Bishop was analyzing how the different parties are deploying social media in the race. Accessible and in depth, the Buzz Bishop blog is a serious resource. [The Windsor Star]
Not bad for a pop radio dj, eh?
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
In part of my research for the 24hrs article appearing today on social media and the approach of the various parties for the 2008 Canadian Federal Election, I fired off a note to Senator David Smith, Campaign Co-Chair for the Liberals, to ask him what plans the Liberals have to engage social media for the campaign.
Instead of getting a reply, I seem to have been added to the Senator’s mailing list, as I’ve been receiving a letter a day since my request.
Yesterday I got a very curious letter, one that seemed to address the original topic of my email, but was still of the form variety.
Dear Liberal Friend,
Technology can boom all it wants. The key ingredients to winning campaigns have not changed since the beginning of democracy. I am talking about people. I am talking about you.
This election is underway and we need your help. Our Liberal team isn’t complete without you.
If you are not already a member, you can join here.
If you have the time to lend a hand for a richer, fairer, greener Canada, you can volunteer here.
…..
I’m asking you to take a moment to visit our website at www.liberal.ca and take action today.
On behalf of our leader Stéphane Dion and the entire Liberal family, thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Senator David Smith,
Campaign Co-chair, Liberal Party of Canada
But did you see that first line? Here it is again.
Technology can boom all it wants. The key ingredients to winning campaigns have not changed since the beginning of democracy. I am talking about people. I am talking about you.
The Senator admits the Liberal party has no real social media platform or campaign, and then simply dismisses the need for one as being irrelevant.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
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