Just for fun... you're Canadian - who do you vote for in the 2011 Canadian Election?

Very_Boring_Name

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Mon Mar-28-11 10:24 PM
Original message

Poll question: Just for fun... you're Canadian - who do you vote for in the 2011 Canadian Election?

Edited on Mon Mar-28-11 10:40 PM by Very_Boring_Name

The Conservative Party of Canada- Far right (by Canadian standards), led by Stephen Harper. Created after a merger between the center-right Progressive Conservatives, and the far right Canadian Alliance (its current leader originally was a member of the latter). It supports tax cuts for corporations, opposes regulation, supported the Iraq war Invasion. It's leader formerly belonged to a citizens group whose primary goal was to dismantle the public healthcare system in Canada and replace it with privatized insurance, similar to the U.S. It opposes abortion rights, and gay rights.

The Liberal Party of Canada- Center-left (by Canadian standards), led by Michael Ignatieff, a former Harvard professor. The Liberal party of Canada has been in power for most of the post-war period, and during this time ushered in universal healthcare, the charter of rights and freedoms (the crown jewel of leftism in Canada, long detested by the right. It guarantees equality for all Canadians, and has led to many court decisions which would be considered left-wing), ratified the Kyoto environmental treaty, same sex marriage & other gay rights, legalized abortion, and ushered in language requirements in the federal government (all government agencies must operate in both english and french, a very controversial prospect at one point). The liberal party of Canada, statistically, is the only party apart from the Conservative party that has a chance at forming the government in 2011.

The New Democratic Party Far left (by Canadian standards), led by Jack Layton. Traditionally a rural, pro-farmer/labor party, NDP member Tommy Douglas was the first Premier (Canadian equivalent to Governor) to introduce universal healthcare for the province of Saskatchewan, which eventually led to national healthcare. The NDP has virtually no chance of forming the government, however, they often take a significant number of seats in Parliament and play the role of kingmaker, agreeing to support legislation only if concessions are made. They are left wing on virtually all social issues, and support an expansion of government programs such as healthcare. However, they suffer from a lack of support because many Canadians feel as though a vote for them is a vote for the Conservatives, since they have no chance of forming the government and end up splitting the left-wing vote.

The Bloc Quebecois Very European-style, Quebec separatist party. Their only goal is the complete separation of Quebec from Canada. While they only run candidates in Quebec, they often sweep the population-rich province (seats in the commons is determined by the population of the province, like the US house, and unlike the Senate), making them the third largest party (after the conservatives and Liberals). They are far-left (by Canadian standards) on both social and economic issues. Their leader is Gilles Duceppe, a former member of the Communist party of Canada (not using that against him, just trying to give an idea of where he has been politically).