If Canadians don’t already play a game like that, I’m surprised.
There is an organization pushing for proportional representation in Canada – does anyone know how much attention it gets? The corresponding U.S. organization gets very little. Most people here don’t even know what PR means. And that includes elected officials – I asked a legislative candidate her opinion on it once and she thought I was talking about racial gerrymandering.
Where the hell do you live, Florida or something?
Both Ontario and PEI have voted against a mixed-member proportional system, and BC has voted twice (the first time extremely narrowly) against an STV system.
Certainly for Harper. He’s doing a number on First Nations.
Fascinating. Hope the NDP can do a lot of good in office before the political tide shifts yet again.
Watched Ms Maddow tonight, lead story was all about the Alberta Apocalypse. And further, its potential effect on The Pipeline. So, what about that, Canucknuknuks? She on to something, there?
Albertans already have a pipeline. It runs across SK and down into Minnesota. The XL branch is meant to facilitate getting the Athabasca Peanutbutter down to Houston refiners quicklier, so that they can crack it and export it. Because the US can only use so much oil, and not getting it out to sea is pushing prices much too low for comfort.
The province needs oil revenue, because it is tasty and helps fund stuff. If they cannot get the stuff to SE Texas, they will build a tube to Vancouver and export directly to Asia. The NDP’s hands are tied by this, if they do not push for some kind out bigger export pipe, the province will almost certainly descend into a caricature of Saskatchewan and the NDP will be but a blip in history.
Unlike the US, where there really only two parties, this is how it works in a multi-party system. Hence the NDP can get 40% of the total popular vote in the province and still get a majority of the seats, because 40% is still considerably more than any of the other parties got.
She’s definitely ON something, if not on to something. The oil and has isn’t going anywhere. Alberta has access to a lot of it with relatively low royalty rates. When the price returns to a profitable level, businesses will resume their activities, regardless of which party forms the government. Not only that, but the proposed 2% increase is on profits, not operating expenses, so there is no reason for any job losses. Just a bunch of sky is falling whiners.
When you’ve got at least three parties in the mix, it’s common for a candidate to win by less than 50%; pluralities are normal.
But yes, this is clearly an electorate in flux. The question will be whether there will be a “unite the right” movement, similar to what occurred at the federal level 12 years ago, resulting in a single Conservative Party. The PCs, the Wildrose, and the Alberta Party all have similarities, and could conceivably face that option.
What does “caricature of Saskatchewan” mean in this context?
They are mostly political novices who never expected to get elected (the NDP had 4 seats in the previous legislature), so there will be a steep learning curve. Keeping them on track will be Rachel Notley’s biggest challenge.
The NDP platform favours the pipeline proposals to the east and west and in-province upgrading/refining so they will not promote the XL Keystone pipeline with taxpayer dollars (not that it did any good anyway). It’s really up to the US whether it goes ahead or not.
This is probably the fiftieth time, at least, you’ve talked about Canada and proportional representation. You know more about PR in Canada than most Canadians.
Steep? More like mountainous for some. The youngest new NDP MLA is a 20 year old university student. While I am absolutely delighted that the NDP won by a landslide, I am a bit concerned about how it will sensibly go from 4 seats to 53 seats and still be a competent government.
If it fails, how will Albertans know the difference?
With only 4 seats, how was it a competent government before?
They tried to unite the right last December. Remember? Didn’t go so well for the floorcrosser/traitors. Didn’t go so well for the receiving party either, come to think of it.
I dunno. A circle?
The inevitable “If this is what X has turned into, I’m leaving!” bluster: A Canadian 'mass exodus' on social media - BBC News
Unfortunate to compare them to Nazis, though (the pic is from Downfall, about the last days in Hitler’s bunker).
Move to Saskatchewan? To get away from the NDP? Lol right. Like it’s an economically better choice either. Maybe if I wanted to go to church, drink Old Stytle Pilsner and never see the mountains.
I’ll admit I am not excited by the NDP’s potential for economic competence, but I am not going to shed any tears for the PC’s. They have held the reins for so long and have never really payed for the innumerable abuses and bullshit they have pulled. Too bad that drunken pig Ralph wasn’t alive too see this day.
Wild Rose still got too many seats.