Now that the Canadian election has ended with a whimper, all eyes are back on the US, where the latest polls are showing that the next President will likely be Barack Obama. Some progressives have whipped themselves into a giddy frenzy at the possibility. I am not one of them. Obama, to sum up, is […] More »
The Canadian federal election of 2008 slouched to its ignominious end last night. Having blogged about it here over the last five weeks, we can say several things: It didn’t produce a strikingly different parliament and we could have all saved ourselves the time and money; None of the parties experienced much of a victory […] More »
In the wake of Stephen Harper’s and the Conservative Party’s win last night, the leader has drawn a six-point economic plan. He spoke today of holding a conference with first ministers; issuing a fiscal update by the end of November; and forging an expanded relationship with the European Union. This last one involves freer trade […] More »
The Toronto Star today published short pieces written by four of the national leaders: Stephen Harper, Stephane Dion, Jack Layton, and Elizabeth May. There essays included specific proposals, broadsides against other leaders, and some evocative language. Both Harper and Dion used the word “strong” in one form or another, and often. Harper used it three […] More »
Today’s the big day! People seemed to like the liveblogs we did of the two federal election debates, and so we’ll go for the hat-trick by blogging the election results this evening. In case you didn’t see the invitation we posted on the blog below, or the Facebook invitation, we’re having an election-watch party tonight, […] More »
If you’re in the Toronto area, please join us tonight, upstairs at the Rivoli (334 Queen Street West) for This Magazine’s Election Watch Gala. The gala is also a welcome party for our new editor Graham F. Scott. So come and watch election coverage, eat some snacks and raise a glass to Graham. The party […] More »
Other than the Tories finally releasing their platform, it’s been a slow week for bloggers and newsies alike, so if you’re like me and suffering from a serious case of election fatigue, here’s a lightning-fast recap on the week’s (arguably pretty slow) happenings: Monday: Orphan voters are left out in the cold while a group […] More »
With four days to go, the rhetoric is heating up. Here in Quebec two Green Party candidates have told their constituents to vote Liberal because they (the Greens) have no chance of winning in their riding anyway. Of course, they neglected to check with their party leader first. I’d love to have heard the conversation […] More »
According to 2005 estimates from the Public Health Agency of Canada, some 58,000 Canadians are living with HIV, and about a quarter of those are unaware of their condition. I was surprised to learn the numbers were that high, and apparently, so were the five party leaders. Four of the five federal party platforms (the […] More »
During an election a few years ago I suggested that my mother vote for the NDP. “Why would I vote for them?” she asked me. “They’re not going to win!” Wanting to vote for the winning candidate instead of the one you believe in, is just one of the ways the results of our flawed […] More »
Yesterday I posted a short quiz to test your knowledge on what the five major parties’ have been telling us over the past five weeks. Below are the answers to that quiz. How did you do? 1. Which party has promised to roll back taxes income trusts? The Liberals. 2. Which party wants to bring […] More »