The Election
 

I just wanted to open a discussion about who you are planning on voting for in the upcoming federal election, what are your reasons for voting for that person, and if you're changing your vote from last year, why?

To start it off, I'll be voting for Paul Martin, even though I wish he would be a bit more left of centre than he is at the moment. But so far from what I've seen he's been handling his position very well. Most of all, I don't want to see Stephen Harper run this country, as I will probably move to Iceland as a result.

I'll be voting for my local candidate. He's a bit of a loose cannon, but he's a strong social libertarian.

Well I'm putting who I would vote for, if I could.
(of course it just so happens I'm going to be travelling with No fixed address during the election, therefor am going to have great troubles voting abroad)
And I've heard Iceand is hard to emmigrate to..

I've been away working for most of the early stuff, so I'm waiting for the debate before making up my mind, buy I'm leaning towards the NDP, cause I'd rather eat my left foot than vote PC, and the Liberals have been making me sick to my stomach

There's no way I could give the Liberals my vote. I don't believe in rewarding incompetence or corruption in any way.
If they get in again I won't move away, I'll continue to work and support my family and pay my taxes like the good sheep they want us to be.

$3249.83 will get you to Reykjavík on the morning of the 29th;)

Heh as for me , I'm going to walk into the voting booth, take a look at the different parties, and if I see one that I have never heard of then they will get my vote. Vote for the small parties. The rich arseholes always screw you and our country over. Here's a good analogy that I heard , If you goto a well to get drinking water, and you know it's poisoned, then why do you keep going back. If not, I'll walk up to the person that takes our votes and just say "No confidence" and hand in my ballot . Why vote for any of those parties, when in the end your just gonna get facked anyways. Wake up people.

Fuck the NWO

I hate to say it, but the Liberals get my vote.. I'm seriously afraid of Harper and what he can do, and well the NDP hasnt put up a strong front for years. I dont find the Liberals incompetant, or corrupt..

I respect your vote of non confidence.. If you feel there are no strong candidates in your region, then it is the smart thing to do. But please don't assume to tell others what to do because "you know the score"..

This is my first time voting, and after much careful deliberation, I still don't know who I want to vote for. I've seen too much shit from the liberals, I really dislike Layton- although I agree with a lot of the party's policies, and I've had WAY too much of the conservatives here in alberta. I might vote for the Bloc if only for the hope that transfer payments will go down when they split.

In the end though, I will probably vote for NDP, though I don't like it.

NDP

I can't trust the liberals, I think Harper is a crazy man, and I actually like Leyton, and their platform

i know platforms are mostly lies, but i can always fall back on the lesser of three evils

Cause voting is your right under the democratic system, otherwise we might as well be communists/socialists. We should take a cue from Europe, where most of the graffiti is political, unlike here where it is rock bands!

lol rock bands! You should take a closer look at graffiti.

I'm voting for none of the above. I've had enough of the liberals, the Conservatives are a bunch of redneck money grubbing hardcore capitalists, the NDP have no hope in ever forming a government. I think I'll vote for the Green party, they have no hope of forming a government but if enough people vote for them perhaps the government will take notice and green up thier policies a bit.

I'm going for Liberals. The Conservatives have a strong base out here in the West but frankly, their idea and reforms are a little unrealistic. For example, how are you gonna pour more money into the Armed Force and Health Care, still be able to maintain other programs while cutting up to 60 billions worth of taxes?

I'm sorry, but they need to explain this more throughly...

The NDP, on the other hand...didn't they used to be the Communism? I have no problem with Communism ideas but still, I would like to have the freedom as many enjoy in a democracy. NDP has never been in power in the Federal government. Yeah, I know they have had control of provincal government, namely Manitoba, Alberta, etc etc my history's bad.

The Green, ah, fark em, nobody has ever heard of them anyways.

The Weed party, get real people...

A look at the party’s platforms is in order if you don't know how or if a party is going to do something.. . It's better to educate yourself about the issues from the source rather than listening to your opinionated friends, family and TV ads.
I don't know how anyone could make an informed decision about voting from 20-second news clips and what your Uncle Bob told you down at the café.

Here's a link with the major party's platforms and ideas.

That's a bullshit excuse for not voting for them to tell you the truth.

They will NEVER get in power if people just say "Oh they won't win anyway so I won't vote for them"

Vote on who you think will run the country best, not on who you think will win.

ok, so it's not all bands, but you get my point, right?

This election is tough for me.

I used to vote reform, but find Harper way too right wing and for all the things I am against.

I don't want another 4 years of liberal rule, and sure did not like the whole adscam.

Like many, I don't think the NDP can win, but I think I am just going to vote NDP, as their ideas fit more with what I believe in and want in a government.

around here the grafitti is area codes which is lame since we only have 2 area codes in the province.. lol

Voting for your local candidate is always a good idea. :D

Can you vote for someone other than your local candidate? I trust you meant your local NDP or Green Party Candidate, since you used the phrase "social libertarian."

I thought about voting Conservative for awhile, mostly because they weren't Liberal. But I decided that wasn't a good enough reason, so I did a little homework and decided I didn't like any of the big 4's ideas.
I considered not voting or submitting a blank ballot, but then I decided to vote Green, simply because if they get enough votes this election, they'll be eleigible for funding for the next election.

i'm voting NDP. a lot of people make fun of me for it, because they're not the most realistic. and to be honest i don't know if they could really run the country. but i know they won't get in where i live anyways and therefore i vote for them to support their ideals and to show that in the future these are the ideals that will lure my vote. anyone who i have met who is NDP is generally someone i would trust making political decisions for me. plus i kind of love the underdogs.

I like those reasons to vote.. And the people who make fun of you? Who needs em'

There is a reason why I said it explicitly. For example, the original poster said he would be voting for Paul Martin. The odds are shAzb0t isn't from the PM's riding... Others think they can vote for the Bloc outside Quebec. Etc.

I would disagree with your use of the term "ever". "No hope of forming the government in this election" I would agree with.

Unless the Bloc is running a candidate in your riding, you can't vote Bloc. Given your use of the word "they", I doubt you live in Quebec.

What you are describing is declining your ballot. Use those words. At least last election they where required to record your reason behind declining your ballot, so you can have your say recorded for posterity.

I'm voting NDP, for reasons I've already stated here

Everyone I've asked has said they would've voted Liberal had Jean Chretien remained in power, which gives me an idea for a poll...

Liberals. because NPD will not get enough votes to win, and the conservatives are just the alliance with a less-crazy candidate.

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

ugh

i really dont have anything to say that I havent already, and those emoticons don't portray

Completely agree...

Voting NDP. I had thought I might vote Green but once I checked out their platform I could see that they are essentially just an alternative for the old PC party. Their environmental platform nowhere near as strong as the NDP's and their belief that tax cuts are the answer to job and wealth creation are just as flawed as when I hear it coming from Harper's mouth...

My local candidate is Jack Layton. I've met him a few times, I've seen him speak a few times. Everytime I've seen him I've been impressed with his ideas and his ability to form coalitions across the political spectrum. In his days in the Toronto city council (which is bigger in size and budget than a number of provincial governments) he was one of the candidates that consistently got things done. He did this by being able to find common ground with those he would normally not agree with... partisanship is not an issue with him.

I look forward to seeing him help form a coallition goverment by backing the Liberals in a minority government.

My local MP is Bill Siksay... I don't know if they will get elected due to the fact that Svend Robinson stole that ring....

hopefully they don't think all NDP are like that

Yakk: you're right. :P

So do you guys think the NDP are winning this little poll because of the types of members this forum attracts, or do you feel that this might reflect a larger trend in canada?

the former

Mostly the former but a little bit of the latter... For the first time in a long time there is *real* choice in Canadian politics. For a long time there was:

Alliance/Reform: a regional party of the west
The Bloc: a regional party of Quebec
PC: Joe who?
NDP: waffling around on the left trying to decide which course to take... mostly drifting to the centre on the mistaken belief it would attract more votes
Liberals: a truly centrist party that was fiscally responisble (verging on conservative) while remaining socially progressive.

It is no wonder the Liberals have done so well in the recent past.

There is a desire for change this time around (regardless of the reasons) and for the first time The Conservatives are relatively united, the NDP have a strong leader with a solid vision and the Liberals are staying the course.

Real options. The fact that many Canadians are ready to vote NDP (or Conservative) doesn't surpise me.

I have already voted and I went Conservative. The reason being is because I think that the Liberal party is incompetent on every level and will not only continue, but will get worse.

I don't think the NDP can do what they want to do (lower taxes and pump up social programs) without extreme cost. 30 billion for healthcare? The lesser problem is money compared to bloated hospital administration costs. Reform that part then fund as necessary cuz that money will disappear and the problems will continue.

I am not a fan of the Conservatives in general but are the lesser of the evils for me. I like Stephen Harper though. I think he is very intelligent and could run the country but the reason people think he is extreme is because he is proposing lots of change and I think people in general are afraid of that.

It's to bad we couldn't have one vote for who we would like to have as Prime Minister and a seperate for local ridings. Maybe one day.

If we were to become a republic we would have to elect our head of state, as it is we have an appointed figure head in the shape of the Govenor-General. Until that happens the leader of the leader of the ruling party in our house of commons (the legislature) is our defacto head of state.

With the NDP, they don't intend to cut taxes as you suggest. They have said they would rollback some corporate tax cuts but leave individual taxes alone. They have said they will increase spending. They plan on doing this by using the surplus to fix our "social safety net" rather than using the surplus to pay down the debt.

They have no plans to run a deficit.

Personally, I believe we need to reform health care, education and environmental policy. This does not mean increased privatization. I think we just need to do it better than we have been.


A note on the Conservatives: It isn't that Harper wants to create change, or even a lot of change. Change can be good. It is the fact that many of the members of the Conservative party hold views (i.e. social conservatism) that I disagee with and honestly believe that the majority of Candians disagree with as well. I don't feel they are being honest and upfront about their intentions.

this is EXACTLY what I think of the conservatives... to a T

I'll vote for whoever the fuck I want for what ever reason I want. It is not your place to tell anyone how they should vote.

Chill out Mango... I don't think he was trying to tell you how to vote. I believe he was disagreeing with your reasoning. And considering your desire to vote Green your reasoning isn't sound... (i.e. they can't form a government either).

By the way, if you are looking to make a more Environmental choice the NDP's environmental platform is stronger than the Green Party.

You can... but if the only reason you're counting out the NDP is that they won't form a government in this election, your reasoning makes about as much sense as Beowulf having sex with Robert Fulton at the first battle of Antita.

My party is not a presented option, but I'm voting Green. I'd liek to see them get 5% of the vote if only to send a message to the main parties that there is a large number of Canadians who want to see the environment get more attention. Also, the more popular vote they get, the more funding they are entitled to.

just voted... feels pretty good (strangely)

here's to hoping for a Liberal government backed by the NDP

Oddly I was first in line at my polling station this morning... it wasn't out of eagerness to vote just a perculiarity of my schedule today...

I was amused to see a rather surly looking scrutinizer from the Liberal party... I smiled at him but he didn't smile back... I guess he knows his candidate, Dennis Mills, is going to lose to Jack Layton... I took the high road and didn't say anything smart assed to the effect of... better luck next time. I just voted and left...