2021 Canadian Federal Election Thread

[BC 1988]

Will Jason Kenny's handling of the pandemic going to hurt the federal Conservatives ?

I don't think it had much affect in Alberta itself (they still voted the same federally) but it may have pushed undecided voters in other provinces away from the CPC. Alberta's COVID response (declare it over and have "the best summer ever") was a disaster and there are rumours that Kenny had made an agreement not to admit his mistake until the 21st. He broke down 4 days earlier and O'Toole was all over the pics of the Super Spreader Stampede.

To me, I doubt O'Toole deserves to come back. (CPC party rules are a leadership review after every defeat). A big mistake was the cynical use of rehearsed answers when he didn't want to directly answer a question. All the leaders do this, but at least Trudeau and Singh sound like humans while they do it. The first hour of day one of the campaign when he did this over and over in response to questions about the anti-vaxxers in his party, I thought WTF is this. He sounds like a malfunctioning robot (or a really poorly programmed chatbot.) Scheer came across as more human than this travesty.

[BC 1988]

With many mail-in votes still to be counted, the turnout for this election was an excellent 70%, according to CTV just now.

The sea of blue in Alberta has been broken by one small Liberal dot--elected in Calgary and another one leading in Edmonton. 2 NDP are also 1 elected and 1 leading in Edmonton.

[Sir Purrcival]

Well it is all said and done. And not much changed. Winners? I have to say Greens.

Why? Because they avoided complete destruction under what appears to be a unpopular leader who will now likely be gone. Everybody else? Blanchet came up with the best line of the election night when he said something about the lack of any change as a result of the election.
I'm paraphrasing but it was something about 'why did you guy interrupt my BBQ'.

Classic. I think he might be channelling Jean Chretian.

[Robbie]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, have decided to separate. I wonder if this will tarnish Trudeau's reputation as Canadian PM.

There's a fair possibility that he will now be portrayed as a "swinging young bachelor" just like his father Pierre when he became Canadian PM in 1968 as a single man who was portrayed as the most eligible bachelor before marrying Margaret Sinclair and eventually divorcing her in 1984 - the same year that he stepped down as Canadian PM.

[Sir Purrcival]

If people are going to look at couples who have separated as tarnished somehow, then we are going to need a whole country's worth of Brasso. I really think the idea that a leader has to be a family person, a regular church goer, etc. has fallen off the edge of the planet. Mostly owing to the fact politicians seems to be right up there in the column of people who do things they shouldn't. All of those good "family, church going, tee totalling", leader types over the years that have committed adultery, embezzled, been drug users and so on have really laid waste to the ideal that any of that "higher moral plain" stuff really means anything.

[Toppy Vann]

If people are going to look at couples who have separated as tarnished somehow, then we are going to need a whole country's worth of Brasso. I really think the idea that a leader has to be a family person, a regular church goer, etc. has fallen off the edge of the planet. Mostly owing to the fact politicians seems to be right up there in the column of people who do things they shouldn't. All of those good "family, church going, tee totalling", leader types over the years that have committed adultery, embezzled, been drug users and so on have really laid waste to the ideal that any of that "higher moral plain" stuff really means anything.

It's like I said with Bill Clinton and his WH fling with the intern.

I look at the leader's public morality over their private morality (choices in their marriage, etc).

The intersection of politics and religion has never turned out well and we should avoid that at all costs.

I look at the policies of government and get facts to understand their choices in actions and what I believe based on evidence around their policies what will happen before I vote.

In our current conditions globally and locally I believe the focus on helping people are the right policies.

I'm a big believer in the guaranteed income schemes being touted by business friendly UBI works and others.

Yesterday was World Overshoot Day -

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity's demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. In 2023, it falls on 2 August.

We can't all consume globally like we in the west or none of our successors will be here.

[Robbie]

RIP former NDP leader Ed Broadbent (March 21, 1936 – January 11, 2024).

Under his NDP leadership, he was involved in four Canadian federal elections but his NDP always placed 3rd as the Progressive Conservative and Liberal parties always finished in the top two making the governing and opposition parties. In nine years, the NDP managed to get a few more seats:

1979: 26
1980: 32
1984: 30
1988: 43

With four third-place finishing, Ed Broadbent finally resigned as leader in 1989. His successor Audrey McLaughlin fared worse as in 1993 the NDP finished fourth with only 9 seats.

As a memory of the late Ed Broadbent as well as the predeceased late John Turner, a video of the 1984 and 1988 Canadian Federal Election debates.

[Robbie]

RIP Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024)

Any thoughts and memories of him?

He was very popular in 1984 when he and his Progressive Conversative party won a landslide with the reason being that Canadians were very tired of the Liberal party.

He continued to be very popular in 1988 when he was re-elected because Canadians approved of free trade and NAFTA.

Unfortunately in his second term, he suddenly became very unpopular because of the failure of the Meech Lake Accord and then the Charlottetown Accord, the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on January 1, 1991, and a recession hit in the early 1990's. Knowing he became very unpopular, he chose to resign on June 13, 1993 and but legacy was left for PC party and in the October 25, 1993 the PC party under Kim Campbell was reduced to 2 seats.

[Toppy Vann]

RIP Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024)

Any thoughts and memories of him?

He was very popular in 1984 when he and his Progressive Conversative party won a landslide with the reason being that Canadians were very tired of the Liberal party.

He continued to be very popular in 1988 when he was re-elected because Canadians approved of free trade and NAFTA.

Unfortunately in his second term, he suddenly became very unpopular because of the failure of the Meech Lake Accord and then the Charlottetown Accord, the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on January 1, 1991, and a recession hit in the early 1990's. Knowing he became very unpopular, he chose to resign on June 13, 1993 and but legacy was left for PC party and in the October 25, 1993 the PC party under Kim Campbell was reduced to 2 seats.

We will definitely not see his like again as another giant of Canadian politics passes away. Like Ed Broadbent Mulroney was a decent man.
I just watched CPAC and caught one of his speeches in the House which from the context was his first speech on the Speech from the Throne where it was full of humour and devoid of the circus we see now in Parliament where even the toxi attacks are scripted and messaged. He was referencing Jean Chretien at one part of the speech by calling him the member for Shawinigan Toronto and you can laughter and no cat calls. Those were the days when the barbs weren't hateful as they are now.

Sadly our youth will never know those times and how these people did politics. Foreign minister Joli said today she called him before every trip to the USA and her takeway was politics should be about people, relationships and not hate as we see now.

His behind the scenes help with Trump reopening the NAFTA and many other initiatives behind the scenes including supporting the current gov'ts handling of the pandemic and economy is what characterizes his approach to politics.

Ending apartheid and getting Mandela out and acid rain and other environmental positives were good things.

The downside to his leadership was following the harsh policies of Thatcher and Reagan that decimated and weekened even until now the not for profit sectors who before those years in the 80s had strong voices for consumers as funding helped make them able to do their own research and sit on government committees with background data. In the social services the practices in helping families etc were spawned in the not for profit sector and gravitated to government services once proven. Now it's all short term funding and grants and less innovation is being seen.



It was hillarious and he credited John Turner now the Leader of the Opposition for his list of ills wrong with Canada that he cited in getting the Liberal Leadership only to sing a different tune (not his words) campaigning as he said he loved the outcome of Turner winning. Politically his win over Chretien was the downfall of the Liberals under John Turner. He like Paul Martin later on who looked like Golden Boys as ministers were horrible as short term Prime Ministers.