Canadian politicians will hit the campaign trail this holiday season after opposition parties seized upon a corruption scandal to bring down the
minority government of Prime Minister Paul Martin in a vote of no confidence.
Monday's loss means an election for all 308 seats in the lower House of Commons, likely on Jan. 23. Martin and his Cabinet will continue to govern
until then.
The Conservative Party teamed up with the New Democratic and Bloc Quebecois parties to bring down the government, claiming the ruling Liberal Party
had lost its moral authority. Recent polls have given the Liberals a slight lead over the Conservatives, with the New Democrats in third place.
The same surveys suggest the Bloc Quebecois would sweep the French-speaking province of Quebec, making a majority government unlikely no matter which
party wins the most seats.
Martin is expected to dissolve the House of Commons on Tuesday and set a firm date for the elections. Canadian law sharply restricts the duration of
the campaign.
"The vote in the House of Commons did not go our way," Martin said. "But the decision of the future of our government will be made by Canadians. They
will judge us."
Martin has had frosty relations with the White House, standing by the Liberal Party decision not to support the U.S. invasion of Iraq. He also
declined to join in Washington's continental ballistic missile shield, infuriating the Bush administration, has been called weak on terrorism, and was
vocal in his opposition of high U.S. tariffs on Canadian lumber.
His push to legalize gay marriage throughout Canada also raised the hackles of Republicans south of the 49th parallel, but Martin is widely respected
worldwide for Canada's neutrality and open arms toward immigrants and minorities.
Canada's Conservatives, by contrast, are seen as much more receptive to improving relations with Washington, though a majority of Canadians opposed
the war in Iraq and the policies of President Bush.
Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper favors tax cuts and opposed Martin's successful bill to legalize same-sex marriage throughout Canada. He
would become prime minister if the Conservatives receive the most seats in Parliament.
"This is not just the end of a tired, directionless, scandal-plagued government," Harper said after Monday's vote. "It's the start of a bright new
future for this country."
The opposition is banking on the public's disgust with a corruption scandal involving the misuse of funds targeted for a national unity program in
Quebec.
An initial investigation absolved Martin of wrongdoing, but accused senior Liberal members of taking kickbacks and misspending tens of millions of
dollars in public funds.
The government ran into peril this month when it lost the support of the New Democratic Party, whose backing earlier this year helped Martin escape a
previous no-confidence motion by a single vote. New Democrat leader Jack Layton said he had not received enough assurances the Liberal Party would
fight the increased use of private health care in Canada.
Martin appears prepared to take his chances with a holiday campaign and blamed his opponents for any inconvenience to the predominantly Christian
electorate.
The prime minister had promised to call an election within 30 days of the release of a follow-up report on the corruption scandal. The document is
expected Feb. 1, which would have meant elections in the first week of April, a time that suits Canadians better than the bitterly cold and busy
holiday season.
Although no formal agreement is in place, all the parties are likely to agree to a pause in the campaign around the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The campaign is expected to start Tuesday, after Parliament is dissolved.
Unemployment in Canada is at a 30-year low and Canada runs a budget surplus.
Andrew Stark, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, maintained that the campaign would not be decided until the final days.
Stark, however, believes the Conservatives will win a minority government if Canadians view another Liberal and New Democrat coalition as being
unaccountable with tax money.
The last time a Canadian political campaign coincided with the holiday season was in 1979, when Joe Clark's minority Conservative government was
toppled just weeks before Christmas. That vote was delayed until February, however, when Pierre Trudeau and the Liberals took back Parliament.
The latest collapse comes 17 months after an election that turned a Liberal majority into a fragile minority on June 28, 2004.moforn - 11-29-2005 at 11:26 AM
Since we have four national political parties (actually one of them is a Quebec separatist party, but runs in national elections) it is possible for
the governing party to not hold the majority of seats in parliament (just more than any other one party)- in national elections here we don't vote
directly for the prime minister, we vote for local representatives and the leader of the party who ends up with the most representatives becomes the
PM.
When the governing party does not hold the majority of seats it is referred to as a minority government and is pretty precarious as it can be voted
down if the other parties collaborate against it- this is what's happening here. The current Liberal government has lasted as long as it has because
it had the support of the NDP- our leftist/socialist party, I personally thought this a livable arrangement as the Liberals had to pay a bit more
attention to social programs and keep an arms length from Bush in order to keep the NDP's support.
The upcoming election will almost certainly return the Liberals to power with another minority, the question is just which party will hold the
balance of power.jonnynewbreed - 11-29-2005 at 12:15 PM
Well said Lionel old chap, well said.
The fear amongst sane Canadians would be that the PC (Conservatives) would win at least the other minority which would be like the universe colliding.
We would all have to wear suits and comb our hair really funny cos big brother would always be watching. I think if the PC's won they planned on
actually trading Quebec with the USA.upyerbum - 11-29-2005 at 12:22 PM
I've got the guns loaded and buried and the perimeter is mined and boobytrapped.Discipline - 11-29-2005 at 02:06 PM
PC is better than Liberal.upyerbum - 11-29-2005 at 02:46 PM
Burn them all Ralphy, Burn them all!Voodoobillyman - 11-29-2005 at 04:07 PM
Quote:
PC is better than Liberal
couldnt have said it better myself.upyerbum - 11-29-2005 at 04:22 PM
The problem here is our political parties bare absolutely no resemblence to what they choose to call themselves. Liberals aren't liberal and
Progressive Conservatives are regressive. I'm movin' to the hills....newbreedbrian - 11-29-2005 at 04:43 PM
i'd take paul martin over steven harper anyday. having an outspoken bigot running the country doesn't sound particularly appealing to me. mofo is
right, a minority gov't (especially in this case) is realistically a best case scenario. i don't know if i would call NDP a leftist party though, i
think that's a bit misleading. i doubt you'll see any major power shift out of all thisDave - 11-29-2005 at 10:50 PM
it's always the same, how they are going to come with a new idea to make a new tax.Killthehumans - 11-29-2005 at 10:59 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Discipline
PC is better than Liberal.
Thats what everyone thought when they voted for George Bush in our the thinking at least in the people i know was "the democrats(leftist) are too smug
and corrupt" so people elected GWB...and things just got worse....i guess the devil you know is better than the one you dont know.DeathByForce - 11-30-2005 at 01:24 AM
PC and Republican are different in many aspects.
I'll continue to vote PC.upyerbum - 11-30-2005 at 09:40 AM
Fuck federalism. Secession is the only way to go. Fuck Ottawa, Fuck this country, Maritimers Unite!Killthehumans - 12-1-2005 at 08:03 PM
What is the PC platform?upyerbum - 12-1-2005 at 08:30 PM
Honk on Dubwa.Six66Mike - 12-1-2005 at 11:02 PM
The NORAD agreement with Canada & US expires in 2006, so if Harper becomes PM he will go further than just patrolling the airspace as NORAD dictates
and move Canada forward into the Missile Defence bullshit.
NDP has got to make a big move here, they will not win but need a huge boost in seats to control the PC & Liberals if they win.
The Liberals, without the scandal could easily be in charge for another 10+ years, they have done amazing things in Canada (same sex marriage, fuck
iraq, fuck missile defence etc etc). This one blazing scandal of complete mismanagement and corruption fucked them and Martin was Finance Minister
while it happened, so how he came out clean I have no clue.
Conservatives would support this 100%, Liberals & ND: would say fuck off.
I moved from Canada to Australia in January this year. I have been living first hand experience of what happens when a well off country becomes right
wing & aligns with the US. There are new Industrial Relations laws, anti-terror laws & other laws passing in the next week here that are pure evil
and based on American laws. I never want to see Canada follow Australia down the path of Americanization. Vote for the NDP or Liberals.
