Every party now and again feels the need to trump the wishes of their local riding association and appoint a candidate to run in a general election. But, with the British Columbia general election just a few months away, the Liberal Party of British Columbia (which should definitely not be confused with the Liberal Party of Canada) seems to be making it more of a normal practice of trumping its local riding association. Continue reading BC Liberals continue to push around local riding associations
Tag: elections
Robo-votes: What do you think about e-voting?
I’m a geek and have, for 25 years, been an early adopter of just about any Internet-based service. (Hell, I had a GEnie account!) But I’m still very reluctant to cast my ballot using anything other than a pencil and a piece of paper. But I am interested in debates on this issue, if only because new technologies may improve voter participation which I think is a good thing. So here’s a couple of opinions, pro and con, from the American debate on Internet voting. (Both culled from computer scientist Dave Farber‘s discussion list). Here’s the argument in favour:
Dave:
Internet voting is possible and can be done. Continue reading Robo-votes: What do you think about e-voting?
The Boys on the Bus: 1979 vs 2012
Washington Post reporter Jason Horowitz files a great piece of what it’s like to be one of the Boys on the Bus (to borrow the title of Timothy Crouse’s 1973 classic) covering the U.S. Presidential campaign.
Having covered a few Canadian general elections often on the buses or planes of different leaders, there was a lot in Horowitz’s piece that was familiar to me. But there were also some significant differences. For one thing, those poor American reporters never get a chance to put a question to the candidate. In the last Canadian general election, the challengers, Jack Layton and Michael Ignatieff, would answer pretty much any and all questions the travelling press could dredge up while the incumbent, Prime Minster Stephen Harper, would take questions every day but only a limited amount (usually 5 or so). While I (and many Canadians) don’t like the fact that the current PM takes only a limited number of questions every day from reporters, it’s absolutely god-awful in the U.S. where the incumbent, Obama, has not taken a spontaneous unscripted question from the press that travels with him for months. Romney’s not much better apparently. Continue reading The Boys on the Bus: 1979 vs 2012
Newfoundland first to re-draw its electoral map
All across the country, panels of eminent persons are looking at ways to re-draw the electoral map to take into account our growing population.
The group in Newfoundland and Labrador are the first to publish proposed new boundaries. At least three ridings look to get what seems to me a radical makeover.
Continue reading Newfoundland first to re-draw its electoral map
Hungry in Canada? What were the leading parties saying a year ago?
The United Nations Rapporteur on the Right to Food says Canada is “self-righteous” and says that it is “appalling” that we ignore pronouncements from the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council. Olivier de Schutter darkly warned today that Canada’s failure to heed the council – whose current members include Russia, Saudi Arabia, Cuba and the Congo — will do Canada no good!
Meanwhile, as Canadians knew all along, there are too many kids going to school hungry and too many of our relatives, friends, and neighbours who live on Canada’s First Nations can’t get good food cheap.
Well, we’ve had one federal election and seven provincial elections in the last year in Canada. The incumbent government — be it Conservative, Liberal or NDP — won every single one. Given all the opportunities electors had to “throw the bums out” on hunger and poverty issues, Canadians either blew it or they disagree with de Schutter’s diagnosis.
Now, if “eradicating hunger” was a central part of any provincial campaign, I’m counting on you, dear reader, to let me know. You can count on me, in return, to help you keep abreast of federal politics. So let’s look back, just over a year ago, to what the three leading parties were saying in their election platforms about food. Continue reading Hungry in Canada? What were the leading parties saying a year ago?
Watching elections in Kosovo, Greece and, of course, France
Voters are at the polls this weekend in France, Greece and Kosovo. Will update this post with notes, etc. as they become available:
Voter turnout in the ballot facilitation in Kosovo was reported at approximately 17 per cent by 14:00 hrs today by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.
In France, incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy is out and the champion of the Socialist Party Francois Hollande (above) is in: Continue reading Watching elections in Kosovo, Greece and, of course, France
How To Win An Election: Advice from 2,000 years ago
In 64 BC, Quintus felt obliged to jot down some advice for his older brother who was then in the midst of an election campaign for the job of consul of Rome. As translator Philip Freeman explains in the lively introduction to How To Win An Election: An Ancient Guide for Modern Politicians, Marcus came into that campaign as an outsider and as a bit of an underdog. Generally speaking, Romans only elected consuls who had the Roman equivalent of the “royal jelly”, which neither Marcus nor Quintus had. They had to work for the place in Roman society rather than be born into it.
So Marcus had a fight on his hands for votes and gave his brother some advice on how to beat the other two candidates, both of whom had “royal jelly” connections. The result? Well, if Machiavelli’s The Prince is gimlet-eyed advice on the exercise of political power, then Quintus Cicero’s slim volume is equally sharp advice on the acquisition of that power in a democracy.
Some of Quintus’ advice (lifted straight from Freeman’s translation):
- Do not overlook your family and those closely connected with you. Make sure they are all behind you and want you to succeed … For almost every destructive rumour that makes its way to the public begins among family and friends.
- There are three things that will guarantee votes in an election: Continue reading How To Win An Election: Advice from 2,000 years ago
Election financing laws: Re-thinking restrictions on third-party spending
I am a great fan of Canada’s political finance laws and the reforms enacted by both the governments of Jean Chretien and Stephen Harper. Among other things, our political finance laws prohibit significant third-party spending during election campaigns. I’ve thought that this limit on freedom of expression was appropriate in that its aim was to provide fair access to the public common during a writ period. Mostly, I look to the U.S. and see the distortions in their political system because of Big Money. Obama will likely spend $1 billion on his re-election campaign this year. $1 billion! I would be surprised if the total spending in Canada’s federal election last year for every local candidate and the national campaigns in 2011 hit $100 million.
But now, after reading an interesting essay from Pauline Beange, a University of Toronto scholar, I’m ready to re-examine some of my assumptions about the restrictions we have on political financing. Continue reading Election financing laws: Re-thinking restrictions on third-party spending
From Harper to Redford, the politics of fear works
It matters not if you’re an incumbent of the left, centre, or right. Painting the other guy or gal as scary is how incumbents are holding on to power in Canada.
And it works.
Here’s the argument as it will appear Wednesday in our papers across the country.
[Picture: Taken by me on Sunday in the riding of Calgary-Currie. Premier Alison Redford hugs a supporter during one of 9 campaign events she held Sunday. This one would help spur rookie Christine Cusanelli into the Alberta legislature for the first time.]
Has Canada moved left during the Harper decade?
In my column across our chain today, I suggest that the answer to that question may be yes!
Harper has convinced fewer than a million Canadians to move right in the last decade, while Jack Layton convinced a whopping 3.4 million Canadians to move left to vote NDP in same period.
Moreover, a New Democrat looks a good bet to win the premiership in B.C. next year.
A New Democrat is premier in Manitoba and Nova Scotia. New Democrats are the official opposition in Saskatchewan and hold the balance of power in Ontario
Please, if you would, read the rest of my argument at the Ottawa Sun’s site...