# The Race is on! Canadians go to the polls October 14. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 7, 2008, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481 "2008-09-07T13:58:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Happy\_Booker\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/71c47a/32.png) [@Happy\_Booker\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Booker_1)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/41 "2008-09-08T00:17:40Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > What if she doesn’t have good reason, but refuses anyways? Is there a check on her? Actually, even a good reason isn’t enough. [Only in Canada could a seminal constitutional matter be known as King/Byng](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King-Byng_Affair). In short, an election was fought over the Crown’s ability to judge whether an election was justified. The bottom line was that if the PM wants an election, he gets it. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/42 "2008-09-08T00:20:46Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > What if she doesn’t have good reason, but refuses anyways? Is there a check on her? I’m not certain, but I believe the Governor General is officially named by the Queen (in practice chosen by the Prime Minister), and can be fired by the Queen as well. I believe there have been Governors General who were recalled before the end of their mandate, back when the position was more powerful. > [@](#): > > But what would happen if the current Queen decided that since she was getting older, she wanted to be a pain in the ass and start refusing assent to some things, or even everything. There is no check on that. There is no similar thing to a veto override like the U.S. has.. She’d probably be declared unable to rule anymore and a regency would be declared with Charles as regent. Else, the monarchy would be abolished, whether the monarch agrees or not. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/43 "2008-09-08T00:21:01Z")
Can we 'Merkins stop getting so many complaints about all the US election threads here now? ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/44 "2008-09-08T00:26:28Z")
No. I’ve seen two Canadian election threads on the board currently: this one and another in MPSIMS. I don’t know how many active threads on the US presidential elections there are currently, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was more than 30. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/45 "2008-09-08T00:56:21Z")
Two whole threads! You can barely find the thread where people are exposing themselves for all of them. ---
**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:** [September 8, 2008, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/46 "2008-09-08T01:05:13Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Can we 'Merkins stop getting so many complaints about all the US election threads here now? Based on what - the two threads we have now on Canadian politics (one of which will probably be supplanted by this one) and the six weeks of potential threads on our election versus the last 18 months of multiple American political threads plus damned near every discussion getting turned into an American political discussion? Sorry, we are indeed going to talk Canadian politics for the next little while, and if you don’t like it, too bad. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/47 "2008-09-08T01:19:02Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Can we 'Merkins stop getting so many complaints about all the US election threads here now? You can’t be serious. Anyway, the election will be all finished three weeks before the one down here, so there won’t be any competition then. Well, except for the rational discussions about why the Bloc and the NDP won’t back a Liberal minority government. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/48 "2008-09-08T01:27:48Z")
I’d be pretty shocked if the Liberals picked up any seats, let alone enough to be asked to form a minority government. If they did, however, the NDP would probably support them. I’m going to call a very slim Conservative majority. What I don’t know is how Harper is going to replace his one competent cabinet minister, who isn’t running cuz he’s afraid to face his constituents. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/49 "2008-09-08T01:29:51Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > She’d probably be declared unable to rule anymore and a regency would be declared with Charles as regent. Else, the monarchy would be abolished, whether the monarch agrees or not. Wouldn’t abolishing the monarchy require an Act of Parliament to which the monarch could (wait for it) refuse Assent ? ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/50 "2008-09-08T01:34:00Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > I’m going to call a very slim Conservative majority. What I don’t know is how Harper is going to replace his one competent cabinet minister, who isn’t running cuz he’s afraid to face his constituents. I’m assuming that you’re referring to David “bait-and-switch” Emerson? ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/51 "2008-09-08T02:15:09Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Wouldn’t abolishing the monarchy require an Act of Parliament to which the monarch could (wait for it) refuse Assent ? Yes, but if the people really want it, there’s nothing the monarch can do. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/52 "2008-09-08T02:25:18Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > I’d be pretty shocked if the Liberals picked up any seats, let alone enough to be asked to form a minority government. You’re probably right. But see, this is my main issue with parliamentary government. Canada has a minority government that _none_ of the other three represented parties support. By some marvelous concatenation of ballessness and bullheadedness, none of these three parties want to support any of the others, either. This is not government, it’s institutionalized bickering. I actually hope the Liberals and NDP lose to such an extent that they both have competent leaders next election. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/53 "2008-09-08T03:00:59Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > You’re probably right. But see, this is my main issue with parliamentary government. Canada has a minority government that _none_ of the other three represented parties support. By some marvelous concatenation of ballessness and bullheadedness, none of these three parties want to support any of the others, either. This is not government, it’s institutionalized bickering. You guys call it gridlock. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/54 "2008-09-08T03:02:06Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > You guys call it gridlock. Good point. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/55 "2008-09-08T03:09:07Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > It is similar in my mind to the system in England where the Queen must give “Assent” to any bill passed by Parliament and has done so with every single bill since the 1700s. But what would happen if the current Queen decided that since she was getting older, she wanted to be a pain in the ass and start refusing assent to some things, or even everything. There is no check on that. There is no similar thing to a veto override like the U.S. has.. This may be a problem in the UK. It isn’t in Canada, where the Queen has no actual executive power. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/56 "2008-09-08T03:18:28Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > You’re probably right. But see, this is my main issue with parliamentary government. Canada has a minority government that _none_ of the other three represented parties support. By some marvelous concatenation of ballessness and bullheadedness, none of these three parties want to support any of the others, either. This is not government, it’s institutionalized bickering. > > I actually hope the Liberals and NDP lose to such an extent that they both have competent leaders next election. The Bloc and the NDP have been voting against the government on confidence issues. It’s just the Liberals who’ve been afraid to bring down the Tories, for reasons that are hardly mysterious. The Bloc won’t support any other party. They _want_ the federal government to be dysfunctional. Moreover, formal support from the Bloc would be the kiss of death to the other parties in TROC. The NDP don’t have enough seats to take either the Tories or Liberals into majority territory on their own, so they don’t have any real ability to form a coalition. Anyways, it’s all Mulroney’s fault. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/57 "2008-09-08T03:35:56Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > The Bloc won’t support any other party. Except when they vote to pass the first two Harper budgets with nothing for Quebec, some months after having voted against the Liberal/NDP budget that invested $1 billion in transit, housing, and post-secondary education in Quebec. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/58 "2008-09-08T03:45:51Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > The Bloc and the NDP have been voting against the government on confidence issues. It’s just the Liberals who’ve been afraid to bring down the Tories, for reasons that are hardly mysterious. As I recall from my time in Ottawa - and I could be remembering wrong - there was some debate amongst the three parties as to how they should vote in order to ensure that the government did not fall. Once the NDP and Bloc knew that the Liberals would not vote against the government, they were free to play to the public. (This is as I remember from reading the _Ottawa Citizen_. ---
**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:** [September 8, 2008, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/59 "2008-09-08T05:01:36Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > \ > Anyways, it’s all Mulroney’s fault. That’s funny - I always blame Chretien (or Trudeau if I’m feeling old school). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481/60 "2008-09-08T05:12:18Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > That’s funny - I always blame Chretien (or Trudeau if I’m feeling old school). 😃 Well, despite being tongue in cheek, I wasn’t entirely joking. It was because of Mulroney that the PC’s fragmented and we got the Bloc and Reform, and this seemingly unending string of broken, dysfunctional parliaments. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-race-is-on-canadians-go-to-the-polls-october-14/462481.md?page=4)