Which party will you vote for?

[Thrizzl3]

my family is all liberal..which will you vote for?

[condor888000]

The one I feel best represents my interests.

[Broli]

i generally vote liberal, the last few elections i voted liberal to ensure that the conservatives wouldn't win in my riding. this year i will probably do the same because i would certainly not enjoy a conservative majority government.

if i was to vote with my heart i think i would vote green party this year!

[Cardinal Fang]

I've never been more disappointed with the three major parties then I have this year. With so much hanging in the balance they've all resorted to negative ads and no one has really stepped up with leadership skills and a viable plan that would make me believe they could get the country out of the economic turmoil we face.

I've never voted in protest but I did in the advanced polls this year. The Green Party got my vote.

P.S. There will be no Conservative Majority. It will be a minority and even then I think it will be reduced.

[Wild Weasel]

my family is all liberal..which are you will you vote for?

Are you sheep? What makes your family "all liberal"?

[Broli]

I've never been more disappointed with the three major parties then I have this year. With so much hanging in the balance they've all resorted to negative ads and no one has really stepped up with leadership skills and a viable plan that would make me believe they could get the country out of the economic turmoil we face.

I've never voted in protest but I did in the advanced polls this year. The Green Party got my vote.

P.S. There will be no Conservative Majority. It will be a minority and even then I think it will be reduced.



i tend to agree with you

on all your points,

i will see how the last polls come out and decide where my vote belongs this year!


Are you sheep? What makes your family "all liberal"?

it is very likely that whole families vote certain ways all indivdually as they likely have similar values and hopes and expectations.

has nothing to do with being sheep imo

[Fuman]

Liberal for me, the MP representing my party has always done well.

[kid_icarus]

Are you sheep? What makes your family "all liberal"?

are you implying that they are sheep cuz it's highly unlikely every member of his family could possibly be interested/concerned/drawn to the same party?

or are you simply asking him what makes "him" choose liberal?

sorry WW just not sure your question comes off as very, "open for discussion"



anyways for me it'll most likely be liberal cuz in my riding... ndp has no chance.

i've never believed in any PC leader ever since Jean Charest and he took off to the liberals after...
i usually vote for the leader who best emanates strength and confidence and a genuine will/motivation.

i think layton best emphasizes those strengths out of the three major parties.
but i think the liberals will make the biggest "changes" if given the chance. and i think naturally, they will have the highest chance of taking the minority away from the conservatives.

i agree with cardinal fang though... i'm quite unimpressed with the sheer amount of negative ads....
i love how my tax money is funding these parties and their stupid campaigns
i'm personally sick of all these signs on the road too... it's an absolute waste of resources..... and i thought there was some sort of green shift =P

in the end i dont CARE who you vote for... so stop trying to promote ur person by simply sticking a sign on your front yard!! lol

[LockOut]

I have always voted liberal in the past, but this year, I have absolutely no idea who I'm going to vote for. I tend to move around a fair bit, so I don't vote for a candidate in my riding. This year, I decided that I would vote for the leader of the party who I thought I could trust and best represented my interests, while dealing with my concerns....

It makes it kinda hard when no one really has set forth their platforms as of yet.

And besides that, I haven't found that leader yet. I refuse to vote Conservative, because I hate Harper, and I fundamentally disagree with too many Torry policies. I really hate Dion, he's probably the worst leader that the Libs could have chosen after Martin. Layton hasn't really impressed me. May seems to be passionate about her party, her beliefs, and I think she has a pretty good grip on what affects *most* Canadians. Right now, I'm leaning Green, I guess...

[Fuman]

And besides that, I haven't found that leader yet. I refuse to vote Conservative, because I hate Harper, and I fundamentally disagree with too many Torry policies. I really hate Dion, he's probably the worst leader that the Libs could have chosen after Martin. Layton hasn't really impressed me. May seems to be passionate about her party, her beliefs, and I think she has a pretty good grip on what affects *most* Canadians. Right now, I'm leaning Green, I guess...agreed, but whenever the Liberals had power, we usually had a good surplus. When Harper took place, the surplus went to hell. I would of paid off the debt instead of the stupid 2% off GST

[Wild Weasel]

Firstly, we still have a surplus. That's not gone.

Now, as for how the economy has done lately... that has nothing to do with our politics and everything to do with the US economy. Warren Buffet himself couldn't have done anything to keep our economy growing in light of the US meltdown. I suppose we can give credit to our government for keeping things in line so we're not melting down, but expecting continued growth would be akin to asking for a miracle.

As for values and hopes and expectations... I honestly don't think that these things should be driving people toward any particular party. They'll try to pander to people using those regular lines, but in the end what you need to look at is what each party has done and what they are trying to do.

Our parties are not as right and left wing as the Americans are, giving rise to staunch partisanship and lifelong party loyalty.

Both of our main parties are close enough to the middle that most people should be able to support either one, based on their current record and what they're trying to accomplish. This is not "Liberal vs. Conservative" in the traditional sense. This is more just x vs. y where you have to dig deeper to figure out which will be better for the country.

I won't bother with the Green party, who is pandering to the current cause-du-jour to try and earn some seats, or the NDP who only exist to promote their redistribution-of-wealth schemes to the downtrodden with hopes of keeping their paycheques coming in.

What we really need is a "Bloc Ontario" party who would do for us what the BQ does for Quebec, but we don't have that so we have to decide between Harper and Dion and try to figure out who might try to do well by us.

So far, Dion's idea of taxing everything and then reducing income taxes a bit isn't sitting well with me. I don't see any way I'm going to benefit from that.

So far, I'm happy with how things have gone with Harper and think he's taking our country in the right direction.

That being the case, I will vote Conservative and it won't matter because the Liberal candidate in my riding will win by a landslide anyway.

I'll be bitter about the Sponsorship scandal and about how the provincial Liberals have cost us all dearly over the years while putting the boots to Toronto.

Then we'll repeat this whole thing again in a year or two.

[Fuman]

Firstly, we still have a surplus. That's not gone.

Now, as for how the economy has done lately... that has nothing to do with our politics and everything to do with the US economy. Warren Buffet himself couldn't have done anything to keep our economy growing in light of the US meltdown. I suppose we can give credit to our government for keeping things in line so we're not melting down, but expecting continued growth would be akin to asking for a miracle.

As for values and hopes and expectations... I honestly don't think that these things should be driving people toward any particular party. They'll try to pander to people using those regular lines, but in the end what you need to look at is what each party has done and what they are trying to do.

Our parties are not as right and left wing as the Americans are, giving rise to staunch partisanship and lifelong party loyalty.

Both of our main parties are close enough to the middle that most people should be able to support either one, based on their current record and what they're trying to accomplish. This is not "Liberal vs. Conservative" in the traditional sense. This is more just x vs. y where you have to dig deeper to figure out which will be better for the country.

I won't bother with the Green party, who is pandering to the current cause-du-jour to try and earn some seats, or the NDP who only exist to promote their redistribution-of-wealth schemes to the downtrodden with hopes of keeping their paycheques coming in.

What we really need is a "Bloc Ontario" party who would do for us what the BQ does for Quebec, but we don't have that so we have to decide between Harper and Dion and try to figure out who might try to do well by us.

So far, Dion's idea of taxing everything and then reducing income taxes a bit isn't sitting well with me. I don't see any way I'm going to benefit from that.

So far, I'm happy with how things have gone with Harper and think he's taking our country in the right direction.

That being the case, I will vote Conservative and it won't matter because the Liberal candidate in my riding will win by a landslide anyway.

I'll be bitter about the Sponsorship scandal and about how the provincial Liberals have cost us all dearly over the years while putting the boots to Toronto.

Then we'll repeat this whole thing again in a year or two.
We still have 1 Billion surplus right? but we had 11 or 12... =(

[Wild Weasel]

We're not supposed to have an 11 or 12 billion dollar surplus. If we do, that just means we're paying too much in taxes, which we are.

They should spend money on things we need, and lower taxes so we can spend our own money as we see fit.

So far, that's what's been happening. Of course, the provincial Liberals have gobbled up whatever we got back from the federal Conservatives so it's a bit of a wash...

[Fuman]

We're not supposed to have an 11 or 12 billion dollar surplus. If we do, that just means we're paying too much in taxes, which we are.

They should spend money on things we need, and lower taxes so we can spend our own money as we see fit.

So far, that's what's been happening. Of course, the provincial Liberals have gobbled up whatever we got back from the federal Conservatives so it's a bit of a wash...
Thing is I rather they cut the GST, after we pay off a lot more debt. Currently we have around $470Billion debt
source: http://blogs.usask.ca/the_bolt/archive/2008/01/canadas_national_debt_gdp.html
But I do see where you are coming from

[Unoriginalusername]

i am leaning to more conservative this time around. Every forgets what the NDP did last time they were in power, and I kinda agree with Harper that in todays market its not the time to start playing with another tax on fuel which will never end up saving us money in the long run

[Fuman]

i am leaning to more conservative this time around. Every forgets what the NDP did last time they were in power, and I kinda agree with Harper that in todays market its not the time to start playing with another tax on fuel which will never end up saving us money in the long run

if you are taking about the Carbon tax. You should read up on it, I need to as well. From how my boss explained it to me: It is targeting polluters and diesel. Polluting companies will get a tax break so that they have the money to go green. The rise in prices because of higher trucking costs will be off set by income tax reduction.

[Unoriginalusername]

if you are taking about the Carbon tax. You should read up on it, I need to as well. From how my boss explained it to me: It is targeting polluters and diesel. Polluting companies will get a tax break so that they have the money to go green. The rise in prices because of higher trucking costs will be off set by income tax reduction.

I have read a few examples of what it will mean to different lifestyles, the average joe doesn't win. Seniors on a fixed income lose the most

[crazycanuck]

It's amazing how many people don't know what the fundamental policies of each party are.

A Conservative fiscal policy is always the best for the economy. It's one of the strong bases of their platform and reasons why many people support them.

People are always complaining and complaining about tax cuts to corporations. I don't know why. It spurs job growth and promotes companies to stay and pump more income back into the economy.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but more money, more government, just means more taxes and a much bigger strain on the current economy.

[Malcolm991]

I like the way Harper is running things, I don't see any good in the other leaders to make me look elsewhere

[btown-mazda]

I've always been a supporter of the liberals ie. Chretien, Martin but with Dion at the helm i don't have any confidence in him whatsoever. If Dion was to get elected I really don't think he would represent Canada well amongst the other world leaders, he doesn't come off with a strong persona, so this year I think it'll have to be Tory.

[Xerox]

Green

Please don't cut my brake lines.

[Cardinal Fang]

Lmfao!

[Wild Weasel]

I've always been a supporter of the liberals ie. Chretien, Martin but with Dion at the helm i don't have any confidence in him whatsoever. If Dion was to get elected I really don't think he would represent Canada well amongst the other world leaders, he doesn't come off with a strong persona, so this year I think it'll have to be Tory.

I was ok with the Chretien government until it came to light just how much they were pilfering the public coffers for themselves and their friends.

It seems that once a party gets in office and makes themselves at home, they then turn to stealing from us.

With that in mind, it probably wouldn't be bad to switch every 5 or 6 years or so from one side to the other, so long as they've got a good plan to put forward.

With the minority government, things just can't get done. The opposition isn't there to provide differing views and keep the government "in check". All they do is oppose absolutely everything and jockey for position for when they can bring the government down and try to take power for themselves. It doesn't matter whether the party in power is doing good things or not. The opposition will block them in any way they can, and then claim that the government is ineffective.

The only exception to this is the Bloc Quebecois, who will help move things along so long as they get what they want for Quebec. It's in their best interest to help the government do good things, and I support that. I fully think we should have an Ontario equivalent.

All that said, if you get a new majority government in place, it's in their best interest to do good things for the country to build confidence in them so they can better establish themselves and get re-elected. Then, after a few rounds of that, they get entrenched and the corruption ensues. Than it's time to kick them out.

Seems like almost a natural order of things.

While it's not going to happen, I think the best thing would be to have the Conservatives get a majority so they could get things done. Then we can re-evaluate in a couple years to determine whether they're doing well or not.

[crazycanuck]

With the minority government, things just can't get done. The opposition isn't there to provide differing views and keep the government "in check". All they do is oppose absolutely everything and jockey for position for when they can bring the government down and try to take power for themselves. It doesn't matter whether the party in power is doing good things or not. The opposition will block them in any way they can, and then claim that the government is ineffective.

That's the job of the opposition... They are meant to stand up for citizens who don't support the current government's initiatives. They are never meant to agree with the government. It's the fundamental principle of having a fair government and one that does not yield absolute power. I still don't understand why so many people don't seem to get how a parliamentary system works.

[condor888000]

No. The role of the opposition is the same as the role of the government, to promote what is best for the nation. There are times when they should agree. Simply disagreeing all the time because the government put it forward is bad for the entire nation.

[Cardinal Fang]

With the minority government, things just can't get done. The opposition isn't there to provide differing views and keep the government "in check". All they do is oppose absolutely everything and jockey for position for when they can bring the government down and try to take power for themselves. It doesn't matter whether the party in power is doing good things or not. The opposition will block them in any way they can, and then claim that the government is ineffective.



I used to think the same thing based on what I've seen in Europe and in particular Israel and Italy. But that didn't happen here.

The Tories had 5 priorities when they were elected to the 39th Parliament. Four of them required legislative action. They got all four done and passed. They managed to pass 12 legislative acts and if they hadn't dissolved Parliament they were on track for another 5 more. They were pretty productive given that they kept complaining they were being obstructed. The Liberals backed down on everything that was a matter of "confidence" because they were so inept and broke. Harper could have continued to govern if he wanted but he got greedy.

The public wanted to give Harper a chance. Think of it as a part time position. Minority requires to achieve consensus. That's not a bad thing given today's society and economic climate. That and they'd like to see what he and his party act. When things get better people would be more inclined to give him the full time job. In the meantime, the public the public still is not convinced.

So what do we have as a result? The same thing before the election was called. What a waste of money on an election that didn't need to happen. As a fiscal conservative that frustrates me.

[Wild Weasel]

That's the job of the opposition... They are meant to stand up for citizens who don't support the current government's initiatives. They are never meant to agree with the government. It's the fundamental principle of having a fair government and one that does not yield absolute power. I still don't understand why so many people don't seem to get how a parliamentary system works.

I understand how it's supposed to work. As Condor said right after you, they're supposed to provide different views, but sometimes when something is right, they're supposed to agree and do what's best for the country.

I agree with CF that we didn't need this election but the fact is, things weren't getting done because the parties were working together. They were only getting done because the Liberals knew that they didn't have a hope of winning if they brought down the government. They were very vocal about their abject disagreement with everything that was being done. They were just too spineless to vote against it.

Ultimately, they're all just jockying for position to keep their jobs and try to get power, not actually trying to do things for the good of the country. It's a sad state of affairs!

[crazycanuck]

No...

Nothing is always good or bad for the entire nation. There are always people who benefit or lose for every motion that is passed.

The job of the opposition is solely there to voice the opinions of the people that don't benefit from a motion. Considering I work in the opposition party for an unnamed government. I am pretty sure what the job of our office entails.


No. The role of the opposition is the same as the role of the government, to promote what is best for the nation. There are times when they should agree. Simply disagreeing all the time because the government put it forward is bad for the entire nation.

[Go_Habs_Go]

Go Green this year!!! (and I don't mean the Saskatchewan Rough Riders :chuckle )

[condor888000]

There is always something which is good for the nation. Whether is is good for the people of the nation is another matter.

A good party lays out their platform during the election. Following the election they should do their best to follow that platform. If that means agreeing with the government then so be it. They should not disagree just for the sake of disagreeing! If that is the case then you have no chance for good discussion, instead you just have a bunch of idiots screaming the others don't know what they're talking about.

If that's the case, how will anything get done. In order to have a proper dialogue you must have two sides willing to discuss. With what you're suggesting we will not have that.

[Go_Habs_Go]

Considering I work in the opposition party for an unnamed government.

sounds mysterious!! are you part of a secret society? :)

[Noisy Crow]

I though Harper was dead in the water because of his position on the economy. Now, I'm not so sure: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081009.welxndionatv1009/BNStory/politics/home?cid=al_gam_mostview

[jaimie08mazda3]

personally i dont care. either way the government is gonna find a way to screw up something so it doesnt matter who you vote for. same things will happen. all the promises will be broken and you will be sitting there wishing you never voted for that person. am i wrong?

[Wild Weasel]

personally i dont care. either way the government is gonna find a way to screw up something so it doesnt matter who you vote for. same things will happen. all the promises will be broken and you will be sitting there wishing you never voted for that person. am i wrong?

I think you're wrong. In fact, I think past performance on honouring promises is a good indicator of how much a party can be trusted.

[Scottobot]

personally i dont care. either way the government is gonna find a way to screw up something so it doesnt matter who you vote for. same things will happen. all the promises will be broken and you will be sitting there wishing you never voted for that person. am i wrong?


If that's how you look at it then you should vote Green. They won't win, so no matter who comes out on top you'll have a right to complain because you didn't vote for them.
If you don't vote at all you have no right to complain because you had a shot at giving your opinion but didn't.

[Wild Weasel]

I disagree. If you're going to render a protest vote, you're better off going in and spoiling your ballot than voting for a party you don't want to win. If you go in and vote Green without actually supporting them, you're contributing to helping our tax dollars go into their pockets for future campaigns.

I've never agreed with the argument that you don't have any right to complain if you don't vote. If you just can't be bothered to understand the issues and platforms and are too lazy to vote, then you probably don't know what you should complain about anyway. If you make a conscious decision not to vote though, then that's a statement in itself.

[1flycdnM3]

I do agree that my family is 100% Liberal, but i am 'on-the-fence' again this year as well. I have yet to ever vote Green, but it's getting difficult to decifer what really matters to me Liberal vs. Conservative these days. My vote just may go to the Green Party this year, or possibly not at all.

[SilentJay]

If you make a conscious decision not to vote though, then that's a statement in itself.

Not sure what you've implied by this statement, but that's exactly what i'm contemplating. The current "crop" of party platforms and their respective leaders simply do not appeal to me. They each have their own major downfalls, IMO.


**Warning: The following is my views on political parties, only. They're probably totally off-base and uninformed, but they're of my own - Read at your own discretion**

Liberals - Dion isn't leadership material when he mumbles and bumbles his way through a platform speach or debate. English as a native tongue or not, if there is no strong conviction, backed by solid research, you'll stumble hard. Oh, and the years of tax-dollar abuse don't help the case either...

Conservatives - The "slightly", and I do mean slightly, lessor of the two major party evils. While Harper has done "some" good, his inaction or much-too-late reaction to economic hardships, his *major* blunder in diplomatic ties to China, and being a puppet to Bush really makes him unattractive as our national leader again.

NDP - Ah, Layton. While supposedly the most liked candidate, and he has said a few things that'd be fantastic if it were to come to fruition, there's got to be fine print, asterisk, or some sort of wink-wink/nudge-nudge going on there. Promising everything to the moon and stars (as one colourful commentary I read said "he'll be promising jet-packs by next week"), while not spending extra money really raises eyebrows. Somewhere along the lines, he's either going to provide a promised $90000B to help manufacturing (*but spread out along 400 years), or we're all going to see a massive tax rate hike in every aspect. Jet-packs or not, I don't think I want to see the deductions column of my paystub reading a larger value than my gross column.

Green - Hmm... Too much "lovey-dovey, hold hands across the world" going on here, I think. While the environment is definately a concern, destroying the economic engines of the country in one fell swoop just isn't the ace-in-the-sleeve they need. What, besides saving mother nature and immediately pulling troops out of Iraq/Afganistan, do you have to offer the country? The economic policy presented on their website definately has shades of Layton around, as the intended goals if elected, are far too simplified and optimistic, while offering to spend far too much money.

[Scottobot]

If you just can't be bothered to understand the issues and platforms and are too lazy to vote, then you probably don't know what you should complain about anyway. If you make a conscious decision not to vote though, then that's a statement in itself.

Problem with that is, how do they differentiate between the non-vote protest/statement of the informed but disillusioned citizen and the non-vote of the ignorant or indifferent? You all get lumped together and your voice is not heard. Spoiling a ballot's not a bad idea though.

I voted Green last time because I want to see a legitimate 4th choice. By the time they gain enough popularity to actually carry some weight they should be mature and experienced enough to handle it. Right now though, with all this economic turmoil I think some solid experience is needed, so I'm leaning Liberal. Dion's tough to watch, but his supporting cast is very good. And I'm a total optimist but I'm hoping the Liberals learned the error of their careless spending ways when they got busted and lost their position last time. Back then it seemed like they thought they were invincible. I hope they got the message.

[Wild Weasel]

I do agree that my family is 100% Liberal

This is the sort of thing that I don't really understand.

In this political climate, what does it mean to be Liberal? Do you mean that your family has politically liberal views, or that they wholeheartedly support the Liberal party?