# The "Longest Election Campaign in Modern Canada" Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 2, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807 "2015-08-02T15:45:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 35
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/681 "2015-10-20T08:24:40Z")
The latter. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/682 "2015-10-20T08:45:04Z")
Don’t the Liberals also have the same position on this, that they should not have their faces covered during the ceremony? ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/683 "2015-10-20T08:51:00Z")
Missed the edit window: There is a couple that goes shopping at the supermarket where I shop, and the man wears tight jeans and tight T-shirts that show off his muscles, while his presumed wife stumbles around in a full black beekeeper suit (even in scorching/humid Missouri summers) that shows not a square centimeter of her skin. I always give her a sympathetic look and give him the stinkeye, because fuck that guy. I would love to give her asylum, along with a few deprogramming sessions, and tell him to GTFO of the country. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/684 "2015-10-20T09:11:52Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Don’t the Liberals also have the same position on this, that they should not have their faces covered during the ceremony? > [@](#): > > [**The Liberal leader**](http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/justin-trudeau-says-harper-s-pandering-to-fears-about-muslims-unworthy-of-a-pm-1.2964466) says Harper’s stance — which the Conservative party has enthusiastically embraced to rally support, raise money and pad its voter data base — is unworthy of a prime minister in such a diverse, multicultural country. Harper’s voter base is the Alberta Bible belt. > [@](#): > > [**[Harper]**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Harper) is a member of the evangelical Christian and Missionary Alliance and attends church at the East Gate Alliance Church in Ottawa. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/685 "2015-10-20T09:40:06Z")
I would have preferred a Liberal minority that had to give some ground to the NDP for its support. But I’ll settle for this. Happily. 🙂 Has the sun come up yet? Any babies born? (Just checking.) ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/686 "2015-10-20T09:44:15Z")
And so the Anglophone liberal \> ‘socialist’ surge continues … ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/687 "2015-10-20T09:49:16Z")
The Canadian flag is a “Liberal ad,” according to an “official” at a polling place in Virden, Man., where Tories are as thick as weeds; in Winnipeg an entire polling-place staff quits just before the polls open so no one can vote, and a polling place closes seven hours early; in Toronto an election official doesn’t show up until 2 1/2 hours after the polling place is supposed to open so it stays closed, and no ballot box makes it to a polling place so voters are left cooling their heels as the line-up grows ever longer. But all of that isn’t enough. Now we learn that ballots are delivered [**with Xes conveniently printed next to the Tory candidate’s name**](http://www.thestar.com/news/federal-election/2015/10/20/pre-marked-ballots-caused-by-printing-errors-elections-canada-says.html) > [@](#): > > . . . One news report says a man in the riding of Kitchener Centre went to a polling station and received a ballot with an “X” already marked for the Conservative candidate in the riding. . . . Other ballots printed with dots on them are blamed on the printer in Western Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/688 "2015-10-20T10:05:14Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > The Canadian flag is a “Liberal ad,” according to an “official” at a polling place in Virden, Man., where Tories are as thick as weeds; in Winnipeg an entire polling-place staff quits just before the polls open so no one can vote, and a polling place closes seven hours early; in Toronto an election official doesn’t show up until 2 1/2 hours after the polling place is supposed to open so it stays closed, and no ballot box makes it to a polling place so voters are left cooling their heels as the line-up grows ever longer. But all of that isn’t enough. > > Now we learn that ballots are delivered [**with Xes conveniently printed next to the Tory candidate’s name**](http://www.thestar.com/news/federal-election/2015/10/20/pre-marked-ballots-caused-by-printing-errors-elections-canada-says.html) > > Other ballots printed with dots on them are blamed on the printer in Western Canada. Obviously this explains the stunning Conservative victory yesterday. Look, elections are run by humans and shit happens when things are run by humans. If you want to blow every minor mistake out of proportion, feel free to do so. (Such as claiming “X” was printed next to the Conservative candidate’s name, when your source says no such thing, when in actuality the voter was accidentally given a spoiled ballot, which was immediately replaced with a good one.) Anyway, if you want to jump on that train, you’re going to be awful lonely. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/689 "2015-10-20T10:09:35Z")
Wow, go to bed at 10pm and wake up in a whole new political landscape. While I was expecting a Liberal win, I was not expecting a majority. Like **Frank** , I’d would have liked to see how Mr. Trudeau did with a minority government. Maybe have a few elections cycling between Liberal and NDP minorities. Well Mr. Trudeau, on the off chance that you or one of your staff read the SDMB, congratulations on your victory. The sun will rise, babies will be born, and maybe we can proceed forward with a little less fear. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/690 "2015-10-20T11:03:40Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Obviously this explains the stunning Conservative victory yesterday. Must’ve been that goddamned flag. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/691 "2015-10-20T11:40:03Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > Is it a qualification? Didn’t think so. You said Duffy was appointed ‘just like every other senator’ since confederation. But that’s not true, and you know it. My question and your non responsive answer illustrates exactly why. You’re both transparent and hilarious. Thanks for the laugh! ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/692 "2015-10-20T12:23:49Z")
Glad that’s over. 🙂 And somewhat happy with the results. I read on Twitter that this election had the biggest voter turnout since 1997. I wasn’t even of voting age in 1997. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/693 "2015-10-20T12:58:38Z")
Obviously the polls, which had called this a squeaker for the Liberals to get a plurality let alone a very solid majority, were way off … well they got the direction but kind of missed the boat on the magnitude. Before I conclude that this is just further evidence of how broken polling is in the current world of cell phones and caller ID (part of a long series of major recent fails), is there anything specific to Canada that contributes to why polling would be (was in the 2013 BC vote too I understand) particularly so far off? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/694 "2015-10-20T13:05:24Z")
There was a late surge from the NDP to the Grits that the polls had too much lag time to catch. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/695 "2015-10-20T13:08:18Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Obviously the polls, which had called this a squeaker for the Liberals to get a plurality let alone a very solid majority, were way off … well they got the direction but kind of missed the boat on the magnitude. > > Before I conclude that this is just further evidence of how broken polling is in the current world of cell phones and caller ID (part of a long series of major recent fails), is there anything specific to Canada that contributes to why polling would be (was in the 2013 BC vote too I understand) particularly so far off? Oct 18th Nanos prediction: [ul] [Prediction](http://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.2616204.1445223849!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_960/image.jpg) ([Reality](http://enr.elections.ca/National.aspx?lang=e)) - Party name [li]39.1 (+0.4) - Liberals[/li][li]30.5 (+1.4) - Conservatives[/li][li]19.7 (=) - NDP[/li][li]5.5 (-0.8) - Bloc[/li][li]4.6 (-1.2) - Green[/li][/ul] That’s pretty much spot on. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/696 "2015-10-20T13:12:27Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Obviously the polls, which had called this a squeaker for the Liberals to get a plurality let alone a very solid majority, were way off … well they got the direction but kind of missed the boat on the magnitude. Did they? The last poll averages by [the CBC and Threehundredeight.com](http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/poll-tracker/2015/index.html) were within 2.3% of the vote for all three major parties. The conversion to seats was maybe a little worse, but still not too bad (the absolute maximum for the Liberals was 185, and right now they have 184). ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/697 "2015-10-20T13:21:34Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > No, (I guess I’m youngish but) this has got to be the queerest campaign I’ve ever seen. By far. The Star is reporting that the Cons have been advised [to completely refuse to talking to the media or attending debates](http://www.thestar.com/news/federal-election/2015/08/26/tory-candidates-told-to-avoid-debates-media-during-campaign.html). Couple this with Harper’s limit of questions during the campaign (3-5), or his requirement that his events be pre-screened to only include Tory supporters and you have (what looks like) a **non-campaigning** campaign. > > The Citizen received the weirdest reply from Joe Daniel, the Conservative MP who’s running in the new riding of Don Valley North[ > > > [@](#): > > > > Daniel’s campaign told the Ottawa Citizen last week the backbencher wouldn’t be doing any interviews until after the election. > > ]([Tory candidates told to avoid debates, media during campaign](http://www.thestar.com/news/federal-election/2015/08/26/tory-candidates-told-to-avoid-debates-media-during-campaign.html))What can you even make of that? Great news, Joe Daniel [now has time](http://www.thestar.com/news/federal-election/federal-ridings-toronto-gta/2015/10/19/geng-tan-wins-in-don-valley-north.html) to meet the media. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/698 "2015-10-20T13:24:21Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > The Canadian flag is a “Liberal ad,” according to an “official” at a polling place in Virden, Man., where Tories are as thick as weeds; in Winnipeg an entire polling-place staff quits just before the polls open so no one can vote, and a polling place closes seven hours early; in Toronto an election official doesn’t show up until 2 1/2 hours after the polling place is supposed to open so it stays closed, and no ballot box makes it to a polling place so voters are left cooling their heels as the line-up grows ever longer. But all of that isn’t enough. Dude, Election Canada is not a branch of the Conservative Party. Calm down. **The result was pretty much what the polls predicted,** and so was an accurate and effective reflection of what the people wanted. What you have against Elections Canada I don’t for the life of me understand. These sorts of things have happened in every election we’ve ever had and modern elections are BETTER run, fairer, and more transparent than was the case in the distant past. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/699 "2015-10-20T13:26:41Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Don’t the Liberals also have the same position on this, that they should not have their faces covered during the ceremony? Nope. The Libs support the court’s decision, which is that a face covering is not unlawful. Incidentally, this is why many people across the land tried to protest by voting (successfully) in balaclavas, potato sacks and Stetsons with bandanas, only to discover how of a NON-issue this really was. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807/700 "2015-10-20T13:40:18Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Harper’s voter base is the Alberta Bible belt. The “Christian” Bible Belt, particularly Zionist Christians, truth be told, in contrast to Mr. Trudeau’s rather straightforward Roman Catholicism. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807.md?page=34) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longest-election-campaign-in-modern-canada-thread/726807.md?page=36)