Excellent summary, Sue.
This:
They have toned down their rightness for the campaign, but a lot of people fear that if they get in power, they'll push the right wing agenda back to the fore.
This is my concern, having lived through that same lie here in Ontario.
A lot of people who might be inclined to vote Green or NDP are seriously considering holding their nose and voting Liberal to keep the Conservatives from power.
Yes, please ask everyone you know to consider this policy, this time around. The Canada we know is at stake. We're going to be digging out for years from the Reform agenda inflicted on Ontario. Irreparable damage will be done.
The Greens are potentially splitting the Left vote? Why that could never happen here! Oh wait.
Thanks for the summary. Very helpful. I'm meeting a Canadian friend for coffee after work today so now I can sound all edjumacated.
For the last couple of elections, the Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives have been splitting the right vote, it's how the liberals have been in power for so long. (Oh, and the stink of Brian Mulroney lasted long...)
But now the Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives have united, is that it? So they're not competing against each other?
But now the Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives have united
Yes, although I'd be inclined to phrase it as "the Alliance has usurped the Progressive Conservative party". The (ex)leader of the PCs promised during his campaign (for party leader) not to merge the parties but immediately did so. A very large number of Alliance party members seem to have joined the PCs then specifically to vote (as PC) for the merger. This has really pissed some people off (including me).
NB: this is very close to what happened in Ontario. The Reform were too late to file party creation documents for the 1995 election, so large numbers of them got Progressive Conservative memberships and essentially staged a coup from within and steered the party far to the right. Significant chaos resulted when the program slashing began.
The parallels with the Harris era in Ontario are the reasons why I am convinced that Harper is running the same shell game from within F/r/e/d, uh the "New" Conservative party.
JohnSweden, I totally agree. I don't believe for a minute that the oh-sorry-we-don't-have-it-yet platform of the Conservative Party is anything like that of the PCs. I'm expecting Alliance/CRAP/Reform agenda all the way.
But now the Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives have united, is that it? So they're not competing against each other?
Yes. I don't really know how much vote splitting the Greens will do with the NDP. They are still a small party, but the NDP, is where their votes will come from....
Just back from coffee with my Canadian friend. She's from Broadbent's district, so she got to vote for him (I had forwarded her the rap thing; she thought it was funny). She didn't feel like she was helping to splinter the Left/Liberal vote since she thinks Ed's a shoe-in to win. True?
Probably. He's a former leader of the NDP who's come out of retirement, so he's a bit of a star candidate.
