Canada's Liberals seen heading for spring election - New Zealand Herald.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/latestnewsstory.cfm?storyID=3552382&thesection=news&thesubsection=world

OTTAWA - Canada's ruling Liberals are set to stick to plans for a May election now that opinion polls show public support rebounding in the wake of a major scandal, party sources said on Monday.

Although aides to Prime Minister Paul Martin initially said the election would be held on May 10, this date was put in doubt after the $C100 million ($110.61 million) funding scandal erupted on Feb 10 and slashed public support for the Liberals to 35 per cent from 48 per cent.

A poll released on Saturday showed support had rebounded to 42 per cent, just above the 41 per cent that gave the Liberals a majority government in the November 2000 election.

Party insiders said it made sense to go to the polls before bad news started flowing from the public inquiry Martin has called into how money destined for a programme to boost national unity ended up in the hands of advertising firms with close Liberal ties.

-I never trust any Canadian news story 'til I see it in the New Zealand Herald.

[Spazito]

1. Good! Hope they do go in the spring...

It will put the new/old Conservative party behind the eight ball as they will have just chosen their new leader in March and they won't gain much by then.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

2. It's pretty surreal that it's a big story in the NZ Herald.

But, yeah, all signs point to May 10th.

Looks like Gouk is running again in your riding, with Alex Atamanenko running for the NDP, maybe Janice Morrison for the Libs.

[Spazito]

3. Yeah, Gouk will run again,,,

but I heard Morrison pulled out of the race for the Liberals which is good, she did nothing as a city councillor and would do nothing as an MP.

This riding, sadly, will go Alliance/Conservative again.

[Tommy_Douglas]

12. Mine should go NDP...

Saskatoon should be a friend of the NDP this time around, but we'll see. The premier and his caucus hasn't been too popular of late.

[ironflange]

4. I'm in Harper's riding, blah

My vote will only be a token protest. I wish the Rhinos were still around.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

5. Ablonczy for me. But I'm going to fight tooth and nail.

Probably futile of course, but what you gonna do?
:shrug:

[Hand]

6. Geoff Regan...

Liberal toady, is my current MP. He's also Fisheries Minister, after many years of dutiful backbeching. His sole qualification is that he's the son of Gerald Regan, former premier of Nova Scotia.

Gerald Regan, BTW, was a serial rapist and habitual molestor of young girls. He beat the rap in court because he had an expensive lawyer and the charges went back decades. Our next-door neighbors, who have two grown daughters, swear that no one who knew better ever let their daughters babysit for the Regans, because "everyone knew that he couldn't keep his hands to himself. Awful; awful..."

Anyway, going to vote NDP on the offchance that we can unseat the sod; similar things have happened, and maybe the sponsorship brush will tar Regan as well...

:evilgrin:

[Screaming Lord Byron]

7. 2000 result was Lib - 39.21%, NDP 29.99%

I think we can take it, particularly if these facts are well known.

[Hand]

8. Oh, they are...

It was headline new for weeks and Stephen Kimber (local highly respected pinko journalist and author) wrote an entire book about it.

Very likely this contributed to Gordon Earle defeating Geoff Regan in 1995. He was NS's first Afro-Canadian MP--and the first vote I cast in Canada! (I'm a transplanted Yankee.)

The general stink over the sponsorship scandal could hurt Regan, but his cabinet rank may help him, although the Atlantic fisheries are in such depression that it may not do him much good at all.

Not sure who'll run against Regan--Earle's giving it a shot in a different new Halifax-area riding and may well pull it off. He's well respected and the NDP has gained a lot of street cred in the last couple of elections, both federal and provincial.

[iverglas]

9. and in Ottawa Centre (soon to be Ed's)

I'd understood that the by-election was about to be called -- not sure whether the below really is "latest news" or not:

http://www.edbroadbent.ca/en/abouted/latestnews.php#entry193

Ottawa Centre by-election delayed New Democratic Party candidate Ed Broadbent is calling on the government to “do the decent thing” and set an early date for the by-election.

"The over 114,000 people living in this riding have a right to representation,” said Broadbent.

Ottawa Centre has been without a Member of Parliament since September 9, 2003, when the sitting Member received an appointment to the Senate.

The government has delayed the by-election call for six months, the maximum permitted by law. Reports today suggest it may delay the vote further by extending the campaign period beyond the usual five weeks.

The sitting member was of course the excrecence known as Mac Harb -- well, not known to anyone here, I imagine. About the lumpenest of the lumpen backbenchers, and the corruptest of the corrupt Liberals. (Just not bright enough to be corrupt on any grand scale.)

A by-election in Ottawa Centre would be fantabulous -- a beloved star candidate, a riding with lots of money (i.e. no worries about being depleted for the real thing), and a chance for Jack and the party to get loads of national coverage. And a damned good shot at winning the riding back. I'm tempted to say a sure thing, but I won't.

Anyhow, I'd thought that the deadline when the govt absolutely has to call the by-election to fill the seat was fast approaching -- yup, that would be March 9 -- but that it could then set the actual date for voting as long as 6 months in future, obviously to be pre-empted by a general, if called and held in spring or by early September. It would still be a tremendous headstart/kickstart for the national campaign to have Ottawa Centre off and running first, once a date, any date, is set.

.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

10. Martin will never allow a by-election before the General Election

Broadbent would be a shoo-in at a by-election, and it would boost the party by a few percentage points at the most dangerous point and in the most dangerous place, Ontario.

[iverglas]

11. I know

Martin undoubtedly has that figured out too ... or has someone to figure it out for him.

But we can dream. ;)