# The Canadian Election Thread. (Or maybe not...) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 21, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419 "2011-03-21T00:51:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 55
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1081 "2011-05-03T15:50:24Z")
> [@Rain\_Soaked](#): > > I won’t be coming to the Dope as often. > > Apparently, a few months ago while filling out some RRSP forms, I accidentally signed some NDP nomination papers. > > Last night I was phoned and told I had been elected as an MP in Quebec. > > Tomorrow I head to Ottawa as the new MP for the riding of “Plaisanterie de Mai”. > > I’ll send postcards. > > 🙂 Congratulations! Are you the potted plant that I heard was elected? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1082 "2011-05-03T15:50:40Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I could give up the idea of dropping public money political subsidies in favour of reforming the senate. Does the senate actually perform any useful function at this point? What has one got to do with the other? > [@Sam Stone](#): > > Federal funding of political parties has the large negative effect of freezing out new parties and new ideas because it’s very hard to compete until you reach the threshold where you can receive federal funds. It hurts grassroots organization. Not really, unless it was the sole source of funding. Fed funding only to groups who have a minimal support level doesn’t _encourage_ startup parties but it certainly doesn’t freeze them out. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1083 "2011-05-03T15:53:18Z")
> [@Mikemike2](#): > > Or maybe he feels he was given a strong mandate to implement his right of centre policies, and if the other 40% of eligible voters who did not vote had an issue with that, they had a pretty simple option. Polling being what it is, chances are we got a pretty good representation of how the other non-voters would have voted anyway. * * * Straight from today’s 308 update: > [@308](#): > > Of the 308 ridings in the country, [ThreeHundredEight.com](http://ThreeHundredEight.com) correctly called 235 of them. That’s an accuracy rate of 76.3%, which is absolutely unacceptable. (Note: I had incorrectly calculated the accuracy rating at 71.8% earlier this morning). That’s incredible, he made a mistake while admitting a mistake. This guy should find a different job. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1084 "2011-05-03T15:53:47Z")
> [@wolfstu](#): > > Does it? Certainly abolishing the Senate would. But since the senators are appointed by the [del]Queen on the advice of the[/del] Prime Minister, is it possible that the PM could implement some half-baked scheme where the provinces run plebiscites as to who should be a senator, and then [del]advise the Queen to[/del] appoint the winners? The result could effectively be that senators are chosen by [del]the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister as directed by the results of an[/del] election. > > Is there a constitutional barrier to that? I suppose my question is, with a majority in both the House of Commons and Senate, how far can a PM go to change the Senate single-handedly? There are several major problems here. First, this would be working on the honour system. That’s a terrible way to run a democratic institution. Second, absent a constitutional amendment there is no way to remove a Senator before they hit the mandatory retirement age. Senators would not face any accountability. Third, what do you do about the current, unelected Senators? They will have a vote for a long time. Fourth, the current allocation of Senators to provinces is absurdly unbalanced. The composition of the Senate would need to be reformed(via a constitutional amendment) before it should get any legitimacy. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1085 "2011-05-03T15:55:53Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > There are several major problems here. First, this would be working on the honour system. That’s a terrible way to run a democratic institution. Second, absent a constitutional amendment there is no way to remove a Senator before they hit the mandatory retirement age. Senators would not face any accountability. Third, what do you do about the current, unelected Senators? They will have a vote for a long time. Fourth, the current allocation of Senators to provinces is absurdly unbalanced. The composition of the Senate would need to be reformed(via a constitutional amendment) before it should get any legitimacy. The honour system, enforced solely by precedent, has long been exactly how we ran our country. It’s only been in the last couple decades that we’ve moved to a more codified system. The rest of your points are valid though. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1086 "2011-05-03T16:00:49Z")
And let me be the first to say Iggy resigns. > **[Michael Ignatieff quits as Liberal leader | CBC News](https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/michael-ignatieff-quits-as-liberal-leader-1.1036481)** > > Michael Ignatieff is quitting as the Liberal leader after his party took an electoral drubbing on Monday night. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1087 "2011-05-03T16:03:00Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > And let me be the first to say Iggy resigns. > > [Michael Ignatieff quits as Liberal leader | CBC News](http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/story/2011/05/03/cv-election-ignatieff-future.html) And he flits off into the night. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1088 "2011-05-03T16:04:12Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > What has one got to do with the other?\ Not much; I was just stating a preference if I had to only get one passed. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1089 "2011-05-03T16:15:36Z")
> [@Baffle](#): > > Polling being what it is, chances are we got a pretty good representation of how the other non-voters would have voted anyway. No, that’s not the general consensus. Voters are overrepresented among the older demographic, who tend to vote conservative. They are underrepresented among the young (under 30) demographic, who tend to vote more to the left of the spectrum. Low turnout is usually thought to favour right-of-center parties. Why do you think the Conservative lawyer had a problem with voting at the University of Guelph? (yes, I’m sure that they just wanted the proper process followed, and they would have done the same thing if it had occurred in a retirement home. Riiiight.) ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1090 "2011-05-03T16:17:25Z")
I was watching a critique of the results. They said the results are weird. The Quebeckers got swallowed up by national politics. THe Liberals got knocked down . The corporate party got a majority of the seats but only 40 percent of the vote. The second place party is equivalent to the Green party in America passing up the Democratic party here. Can you translate this for an American? Is public health care under fire now? ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1091 "2011-05-03T16:18:46Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Globe and Mail is reporting that CBC broadcast results before polls closed: > > [CBC appears to break Elections Act, broadcasts results before polls close](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/cbc-appears-to-break-elections-act-broadcasts-results-before-polls-close/article2007524/) They did! I was watching them from 9:00 to about 9:26 here in Ottawa, until mid-sentence they got cut off with a “technical difficulties” message. 😃 I have a lot of lefties on my Facebook, and I’m saddened by their level of disrespectfulness. If Jack Layton won a minority government, I sure as shit wouldn’t be wishing death on him. Get over yourselves… ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1092 "2011-05-03T16:22:34Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > No, that’s not the general consensus. Voters are overrepresented among the older demographic, who tend to vote conservative. They are underrepresented among the young (under 30) demographic, who tend to vote more to the left of the spectrum. > > Low turnout is usually thought to favour right-of-center parties. > > Why do you think the Conservative lawyer had a problem with voting at the University of Guelph? (yes, I’m sure that they just wanted the proper process followed, and they would have done the same thing if it had occurred in a retirement home. Riiiight.) Regardless, you are basically implying that Harper should run his government based on what a bunch of people _might_ have wanted if they had bothered to vote, rather than on the election results. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1093 "2011-05-03T16:26:34Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > No, that’s not the general consensus. Voters are overrepresented among the older demographic, who tend to vote conservative. They are underrepresented among the young (under 30) demographic, who tend to vote more to the left of the spectrum. > > Low turnout is usually thought to favour right-of-center parties. > > Why do you think the Conservative lawyer had a problem with voting at the University of Guelph? (yes, I’m sure that they just wanted the proper process followed, and they would have done the same thing if it had occurred in a retirement home. Riiiight.) I guess the conclusion we can draw here is that the older you get, the smarter you get. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1094 "2011-05-03T16:28:12Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Gotcha. It was the heat of the moment, and all that. > > And I see now I have my first official infraction. The infraction was actually for the “fuck off” post, so the post from this morning could just as easily have been your second. I’m assuming Canada will continue to have a political system for some time, so like I said, in the future please keep your feelings in check during these threads. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1095 "2011-05-03T16:31:30Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I guess the conclusion we can draw here is that the older you get, the smarter you get. 🙂 That’s one way to look at it. Or, the older you get, the more cynical and venal you get… ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1096 "2011-05-03T16:34:25Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Not much; I was just stating a preference if I had to only get one passed. Hey, the Conservatives now have carte blanche - they control the House of Commons and the Senate. The only difficulty about constitutional issues is the consensus required from the provinces. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1097 "2011-05-03T16:36:00Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The infraction was actually for the “fuck off” post, so the post from this morning could just as easily have been your second. I’m assuming Canada will continue to have a political system for some time, so like I said, in the future please keep your feelings in check during these threads. Well, thankfully we don’t have to do this again for 4 years. Of course Ontario has an election coming up in the fall. But that’s OK. We know the Liberals will be kicked out of here too. I’ll be a good boy. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1098 "2011-05-03T16:36:12Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Regardless, you are basically implying that Harper should run his government based on what a bunch of people _might_ have wanted if they had bothered to vote, rather than on the election results. Not quite. I would ask him to bear in mind that although he does have his majority government, it may not benefit him in the long run to behave as if he had carte blanche to jam unpopular legislation through Parliament. Cutting programs for poor families and youth and then using the savings to build more prisons for poor people and youth is one example. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1099 "2011-05-03T16:39:23Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Not quite. I would ask him to bear in mind that although he does have his majority government, it may not benefit him in the long run to behave as if he had carte blanche to jam unpopular legislation through Parliament. > > Cutting programs for poor families and youth and then using the savings to build more prisons for poor people and youth is one example. nm. I’ll just get another warning… ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419/1100 "2011-05-03T16:41:46Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > I was watching a critique of the results. They said the results are weird. The Quebeckers got swallowed up by national politics. THe Liberals got knocked down . The corporate party got a majority of the seats but only 40 percent of the vote. The second place party is equivalent to the Green party in America passing up the Democratic party here. > Can you translate this for an American? Is public health care under fire now? No. Or at least, not in the sense I think you mean. None of our parties would campaign on a promise to eliminate our universal health care system; that would be political suicide. Opinions differ sharply on the benefits of what the different parties propose under the aegis of ‘improving’ or ‘protecting’ our universal health care system, and you will often hear any party’s proposal attacked as being ‘the death of medicare in this country’. The Conservatives may suggest proposals which will open the door to more private sector involvement in the system of delivery of our health care system. I don’t agree with that idea, but my party just lost the election in a resounding manner. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419.md?page=54) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadian-election-thread-or-maybe-not/575419.md?page=56)