NDP Convention: Thomas Mulcair leads the first round of balloting

Français : Thomas Mulcair le 23 avril 2011 à Montréal lors de la campagne électorale fédérale (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Seems that the first round has shown Thomas Mulcair leading in the NDP leadership race. Thomas Mulcair won 30% of the vote on the first ballot. However, can the Quebec MP get enough support to win the race to succeed Jack Layton?

http://www.thomasmulcair.ca/site/?lang=en

 [yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS9jpCMBHUY&feature=related’%5D

First Ballot Results:

Thomas Mulcair: 19,728 votes

Nathan Cullen: 10,671 votes

Brian Topp: 13,915 votes

Peggy Nash: 8,353 votes

Paul Dewar: 4,683 votes

Martin Singh: 3,821 votes

Niki Ashton: 3,737 votes

Update: It looks like Thomas Mulcair is closer to winning the leadership of the NDP. He remains in the lead on the second ballot, but just short of a victory.

Read more:

http://www.canada.com/news/Thomas+Mulcair+remains+lead+short+victory/6354549/story.html

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/canada-politics/

Related articles

• Rae vs. Mulcair (macleans.ca)
• NDP releases first ad featuring Thomas Mulcair (ctv.ca)
• Winning the weekend vs. Winning the race (macleans.ca)

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Now Witness the Power of a Fully Armed and Operational Conservative Party

Canadian Election 2011

Everything that has transpired has done so according to Conservative design. NDP and Liberal Canadian’s walked into a trap. It was I who allowed other parties to believe that they could defeat me. My policies are quite safe from your pitiful little band in parliament. An entire legion of my best policy makers await them. My policies are unavoidable now. It is Canada’s destiny! You, like the people before you, are now, mine! I can feel your anger. You did not think I could win. Your hate has made you powerful. Now, fulfill your destiny and take your place as a Conservative member.

Conservative Party Policy (5 Key Priorities):

• Creating jobs through training, trade and low taxes.
• Supporting families through our Family Tax Cut and more support for seniors and caregivers.
• Eliminating the deficit by 2014-2015 by controlling spending and cutting waste.
• Making our streets safe through new laws to protect children and the elderly.
• Standing on guard for Canada by investing in the development of Canada’s North, cracking down on human smuggling and strengthening the Canadian Armed Forces.

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Election Day in Canada – May 2, 2011

Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Well a historic election has just taken place in Canada. The Bloc was decimated in Quebec, and almost wiped off the map. Newfoundland told Conservatives what to do with themselves. The Greater Toronto Area is painted blue and Toronto has gone NDP Orange. Also, it looks like we have our very first Green member of Parliament. So what went wrong for the Liberals? They took their support for granted. Canadians were looking for change and they did not see it in the Liberals, in Ontario. Yes, there was a lot of vote splitting, however lets be honest. Ontario has been red for a long time. This is a breakthrough for the Conservatives in Ontario. The question is, can they live up to that support?

The G.T.A is an important battleground and they better take note. As for the NDP, they better not take their Quebec support for granted. The Bloc imploded, Liberals were yesterdays news and they did not like the Conservatives. So we are left with the NDP. Jack the time to start working is now. As for the Liberals, there is a lot of soul searching.

However I will offer this advice to all parties. (1) Liberals, you need to go back to your roots. Your party is not dead. I’d rather say that it is in hibernation and healing. Canadian’s have not forgotten you, rather the opposite happened. You forgot them. Remember who you are and what you stand for. Otherwise, what is the point of the Liberal Party. It is time for you to reconnect. (2) NDP you have been given the chance to prove your worth, so do not disappoint. From the people I have spoken to many parked their vote with the NDP. Also, in Ontario, people simply love and trust Jack Layton.  It will be important, despite a majority Conservative government, that the NDP choose their battles well and fight for those who voted for them. Less we forget, as often Canadians do! (3) Conservatives fought a simple and straight-forward campaign. You delivered your message and Canadians listened. We are concerned about the economy and trust in that has been given to you. However, do not take that trust for granted. A lot of Canadians still do not trust the Conservative Party and a lot of seats were gained from vote splitting. Be careful how you govern. Canadians are watching. Do not slip to the right with arrogance. As Harper said, keep a steady ship. If you can prove your worth maybe your quality will be remembered. (4) Finally, to Elizabeth May and the Green Party. You have made Canadian history! Despite the media ignoring you, thank you for running and not giving up. The Green Party should be a wake up call to ALL parties. People voted for Elizabeth May and the Greens across Canada. Their ideas and policies should not be ignored! Summed up in Elizabeth May’s own words “amateurs built the ark and professionals built the Titanic”. People are wary in Canada and if the status-quo parties cannot deliver, Canadians may decide someone else can.

Congrats to Prime Minister Harper, who has finally gotten a majority government for the Conservative Party. We will all watch, wait and see what policies are implemented and what happens in the next Parliament. See you in 2015!

By Mannee Jay

Election Day

Well its election day in Canada! I’d offer some predictions, however I imagine that the election will be overshadowed by Osama Bin Laden today. In light of that there will be a dynamic shift today. Question is what will really happen. This is hard to predict. Canadians are angry. The Conservatives were arrogant, in demanding a majority. They should have reached out early to soft-C Conservatives in the Liberal party. However, it is too late. They waited until Jack Layton, whom both the Liberals and Conservatives ignored, sprung to life in the polls. However, all may not be lost for the Conservatives. It all depends on vote splitting in Ontario and other provinces. There is a chance they may sneak through.

It will be an interesting night, however I predict that the NDP will gain a large amount of seats. The Bloc will tank and the Conservatives may end up with a majority. However, there is a slight chance that Canadians are so angry that the NDP could win, but I doubt it. It will definately be an interesting night in Canada.

Voter turnout is heavy in Durham and York region, the middle class is voting for Harper and splitting the vote to Layton. Dion’s leadership maybe in question?

Update (7:56pm):Just came back from voting and turnout is heavy. I had to wait in line for a long time as it went outside of the High School and into the parking lot. Durham residents are voting, are you?

Update (10:14pm): It will be a Conservative win for Harper. The question is how large of a win? In Durham region there are some tight races in Oshawa. There is no way to declare a winner at the moment. Tonight is definitely a strange night. The Conservatives are doing well across the board. However, the Liberals are actually looking strong in Quebec, which is a definite blow to Jack Layton and the NDP. It will be interesting to see the numbers from B.C as they come in. However, no matter how you  put it, at the moment this is the Conservatives night. Albeit, still a minority at the moment they are picking up seats in Ontario. Dion has helped in Quebec, however strangely they are hurting in Ontario, which is there base. An interesting note is Ontario’s north has gone NDP. I am not sure if this is a pattern for Jack Layton to go on, however it’s an interesting note for the future. The NDP vote is definitely up in percentage, however he must be disappointing with the seat total. Also, the Conservatives are doing well in Thornhill with Peter Kent. Better thank Peter Shurman for that pick up! Dion will definitely have to explain the Carbon Tax to his caucus. Canadians were either in fear (a general lack of understanding) of the Carbon Tax. Or is this a message from Ontario on his leadership?

BIG NEWS: Oh my! Garth Turner has been defeated! Harper must be happy….

Update: Voter turnout may have been heavy in Durham, however across the Country it seems NO ONE CARES. Voter turnout was the lowest in Canadian history at only 59%.

Oshawa must vote NDP to send a message to Ottawa

“There is one leader and one party that tells the truth frankly, doesn’t pretend to be all things to be all people, doesn’t pretend to have perfect answers, but does have answers for ordinary families and that’s Jack Layton and the NDP.”

That was a quote from Mr. Broadbent. Leader of the federal NDP from 1975 to 1989 and led the party to a record 43 seats in the 1988 federal election. He retired in 1989 after 21 years as Oshawa’s MP. With GM on the cusp of bankrupcy and jobs in doubt who will rally for your cause?  If you want change in Oshawa and for the country, vote NDP.  By: Isaac Thomas / G.T.A Patriot Contributor.

An excerpt from Jack Layton:

• We’ll stop tax giveaways to corporations that don’t need them, or who ship our jobs overseas.
• We’ll support companies that provide training to workers here. We’ll invest with companies that are innovating in the new energy economy, and creating new green collar jobs for Canadians.
• We’ll stop the shameful rip-offs and gouging by cellphone giants, banks and credit card companies.
• We’ll shorten health care waiting lists by training more doctors and nurses. Five million Canadians don’t have a family doctor. One million are on waiting lists.
• We’ll face the challenge of climate change – not with Mr. Harper’s idle words or by taxing you and your family – but with tough laws that force polluters to clean up the mess they’ve made.

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The mistakes Conservatives, Liberals, NDP, Greens and Bloc Quebecois made. However there is no mistake when you vote!

Make sure you vote!

In my estimation, these are the errors each leader made during this campaign. They are in no particular order, however I welcome your comments.

Harper and the Conservatives

1. Called the election in the first place, knowing that Canadians wanted the minority government to remain, as is. We wanted everyone to work “together”.

2. The perceived indifference to voters and the electorate during these tough economic times.

3. Hoping to get the election done, before the market meltdown, the Conservatives hoped to get a majority government.

4. Telling Canadians that there were “good deals to be made on the stock market now”.

5. Trying to give leeway, albeit the judges, and more options in allowing 14 year old criminals to be placed as adults in court or placing them in jail for longer periods of time.

6. Cutting off Arts funding and then flip-flopping on that plan. He totally misread the importance of this issue, and the crime bill, in Quebec.

7. The “optics”, no matter how true it may be, of telling Canadians that the “fundementals are sound“. A leader must be able to tell Canadians that he/she will do something, even if nothing is to be done. Canadians need that assurance, however you may feel about that situtation.

8. Offering no ease to the manufacturing section or some kind of plan. People are hurting and loosing jobs in Ontario and Quebec. The perception is that he is uncaring. I know that this is not true, but the the optics are bad.

Dion and the Liberals

1. The Green Shift. You may agree with it, however it needed to be implemented in a different fashion. The economic meltdown has destroyed this plan (albeit unfairly). You need to explain it in layman terms. Just give us the basics. They allowed the Conservatives to control the message. Carbon taxes are not a bad thing and even conservative economists believe it is the best way to deal with taxes. This reminds me of the religious school funding issue in Ontario and how it played out.

2. The unfair perception of Leadership in this campaign. Somehow the Liberals needed to fix that.

3. Not offering clear and precise answers to Canadian voters.

4. Again restoring to “don’t split the vote and vote for the Greens or NDP“. The scaremongering was low! Yes, they just came to my door and told me that and it really pissed me off! This is a democracy, I will vote based on the issues and who “I” feel is the best option for Canada. I do not vote based on fear.

5. The anybody but Harper campaign. I am starting to wonder, can you not offer anything better than that? Old tactics, which makes me believe that they are worried about Jack Layton.

Layton and the NDP

1. Should have “never” tried to stop Elizabeth May and the Greens from appearing in the debate.

2. They should have got their message out even more in the media. Tell people what you are going to do.

May and the Greens

1. Going after a blogger for trying to post a video/audio of her telling Canadians that they were “too stupid”. If you listened to the entire phrase you would understand that she was actually making sense. However, this is a free Country and threatening a mere blogger is a pretty junior mistake. let people decide for themselves.

Bloc Quebecois

1. There biggest mistake is ignoring the NDP in Quebec. They may be in for a surprise come election day.

2. Not running candidates outside of Quebec.

3. Instead of looking for a way to break up the Country, find a cause of unify the country with Quebec culture. I will never understand, if we are a bilingual country, why we were not ingrained in learning French while growing up. Look at some of the European countries and how successful those strategies are.

Conclusion

In the end I cannot tell you who will win and loose. It is too close to call. I know what would happen if people voted how they wanted to. I can only say that Elizabeth May and Jack Layton seemed to perform the best. They had the least amount of gaffs and missteps. The Dion and Harper have not looked good through this election. I sense that the electorate would love to punish both of them and send the NDP and Greens to Parliament in force. However I sense the fear. Even though they want to vote Green or NDP they fear giving the Liberals or Conservatives a majority. The Liberals have done a good job and swaying voters in that manner. That is not a democratic ideal. Our soilders fought in wars for YOUR FREEDOM TO VOTE, so use it! Vote you conscience! Canada will go on no matter which major party is in power. Although I do not agree with his policies, Harper is NOT the devil.

You should not fear making any mistakes when voting. There are no mistakes when you vote based on your conviction and what you believe makes Canada better. If you want to vote Green than do so. If you want to vote for Jack Layton and the NDP, than do so. For the day we start voting based on fear, it is no longer a democracy! it is not longer Canada.

By: Andy MJ
a.k.a The G.T.A Patriot

Layton appeals to Quebec voters

RICHARD BRENNAN
OTTAWA BUREAU
GATINEAU—NDP Leader Jack Layton today urged Quebec voters to turn their backs on the separatist Bloc Quebecois.

“There’s a new choice for Quebec in this election – a choice of hope and optimism,” he said, adding the province would benefit in many ways from a national party, as opposed to one that has no MPs outside Quebec.

Layton pointed out many things that Quebecers hold dearly, such as the environment, that require strong actions across provincial boundaries that can only be offered by a national party.

The NDP is hoping to make a breakthrough in the riding of Gatineau with Francoise Boivin, a former Liberal MP in the Paul Martin/s Liberal government. The riding is now held by the PQ’s Richard Nadeau.

Throughout the election, Layton has been appealing to voters of all political stripes to side with the NDP, promising a New Democratic government would kill the Conservatives’ $50 billion corporate tax cut and use that money to improve child care, hire nurses and doctors, and bring in pharmacare, among other things.

Earlier in the day in Toronto, the NDP campaign turned to veteran New Democrat war horse Ed Broadbent to shore up support.

“It is good news for the NDP in every part of the country,” he told the adoring crowd, adding that the party is challenging in 20 ridings where the NDP have never been a contenders.

“We will bring in new seat after seat and we will have the largest caucus in the history (of the party),” Broadbent, who had a record 43 seats in 1988, told about 400 supporters.

read more | digg story

Jack Layton is the ideal opposition leader

You can’t do your job as Leader of the Opposition. I don’t know what you’re doing running for Prime Minister. It’s a very unusual political situation when every voter knows even before the federal election that Canada’s next prime minister will be Stephen Harper. Like or loathe it, the Conservatives will be returned to power on October 14.

But two other important questions are far from decided – who will be Opposition leader and whether it will be a minority or majority government.

After last week’s debate and two years of Harper government one thing is very clear – the only real federal opposition in the House of Commons is the New Democratic Party. And the only real choice for Opposition leader is Jack Layton.

Liberal leader Stephane Dion is a smart, decent man. But Dion and the Liberals don’t stand up to Stephen Harper – they prop him up.

On 43 separate occasions in Parliament, Dion’s Liberals voted to keep Harper in power and accept his very conservative legislation.

By continually abstaining, the “Official Opposition” has abdicated its important role of serving the majority of Canadians who reject Conservative ideology.

But it wasn’t just fear of losing an election that led to the Liberals becoming Conservative Lite – they actually agree with Harper’s wrong-headed positions on many key political issues.

Dion and the Liberals support Harper’s massive $50 billion corporate tax cuts that reward companies which have eliminated more than 400,000 manufacturing and forest industry jobs since 2000.

And the Liberals and Conservatives want huge tax cuts despite the fact that Canada’s tax rates are already lower than many industrialized nations, including the United States, Germany, Italy and Japan.
And Canada also has a much lower Goods and Services Tax than most countries.

Dion and the Liberals joined with Conservatives to vote to extend till 2011 the deadly mission that sent brave Canadian troops into a hopeless situation in Afghanistan.

Dion and the Liberals say they want a “Green Shift” and carbon tax to protect the environment but oppose a proposed NDP moratorium on new Alberta tar sands oil projects – Canada’s biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

read more | digg story

Jack Layton TV Ads

I am not sure why so many people are looking for information on Jack Layton. So if you need more details, see below:

Jack Layton TV ad: Chalk Talk – Leadership

Jack Layton TV ad: Chalk Talk – The Economy

Jack Layton TV ad – Chalk Talk – Health Care

That One? Obama — is not like the rest I guess?

The expression represented something sinister: a suggestion that that one — Obama — is not like the rest. He refused to look at Obama. He refused to shake Obama’s extended hand after the debate, the arrogance and lack of respect. If he wants to avoid rumors of racism he needs to show more respect. The ironic part is McCain has probably given Obama supporters and people in general a new reason to support him. By disrespecting Obama in this fashion, he has essentially provided a new avenue for people.

By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – What a difference a word makes. Republican John McCain‘s presidential campaign has nicknamed rival Barack Obama “The One” to ridicule what they see as the Democratic candidate’s messianic tendencies.

For McCain himself, Obama is simply “that one.”

Referring to an energy bill during Tuesday’s debate, McCain said: “You know who voted for it? You might never know.”

“That one,” he said, pointing to Obama.

McCain was criticized after the first presidential debate on September 26 for refusing to look at Obama.

The Obama campaign seized on Tuesday’s remark as further evidence of McCain’s contempt for his opponent in the November 4 election.

“Last time he couldn’t look at Senator Obama, this time he couldn’t say his name,” Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said after the debate. McCain did refer to his opponent as Senator Obama at other times in the debate.

Obama’s vice presidential running mate, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, was more forgiving.  Continued…

That One

That One Obama

Why you should not ignore Jack! Is it time for a new vision for Canada?

Maybe its time for change? Maybe its time for a new Prime Minister? We like to think the Tories are the best for managing deficits, however, Ronald Reagan, Brian Mulroney, Mike Harris (Ernie Eves), George Bush and now maybe Harper, will show us that maybe those ideologies just do not work? The Conservatives say that our fundamentals are sound. However, who are they fooling. They are not true Libertarians. There own platforms calls for an approx 1-2 % growth. Economist say that this is highly optimistic, if not deceptive. With the U.S slowdown it is more likely to be a 1-2 % downward turn. That amounts to, in a recent broadcast on CBC Newsworld of a 3.3 billion dollar shortfall. Hmmm! Sounds familiar? Remember Ernie Eves? Yes, Ontario was left with a large deficit, even though our “fundamentals were sound” in Ontario. Makes me wonder, what are the Conservatives going to cut in order to balance the books? Will there be some form of privatization of Healthcare or key Government corporations? Read more below from a recent National Post article on Jack Layton. It maybe time for Canadians to give the guy a chance.  By: Isaac Thomas / G.T.A Patriot Contributor

——-

By: John Ivison, National Post
Published: Monday, September 29, 2008

Jack Layton

Jack Layton has never really been taken seriously. Beyond the fiercely partisan types who crowded into a community centre just off Danforth Avenue yesterday, the NDP leader has always been regarded as a harmless buffoon — a man so smug, he’d drink his own bathwater. Jack — let’s call him Jack — has always said outrageous things and nobody has paid too much attention to this point.

But perhaps it’s time people actually started listening.

The NDP leader unveiled his party’s platform yesterday in front of a boisterous crowd in his own riding. It was a virtuoso performance.

“Friends, I sense a real excitement out there. A sense of hope that this time, in this election, we can really make a difference,” he said.

“And maybe we can even make a little history.”

If current polling trends continue, he could do just that, by taking possession of the keys to Stornoway, the residence of the leader of the Official Opposition. The NDP started the campaign as much as 19 points behind the Liberals — some polls now put them in a statistical tie.

On the surface, much of the New Democrat platform will seem appealing to many Canadians — families would receive an enhanced child benefit payment of up to $400 a month; billions would be spent on affordable housing; students would be given a $1,000-a-year grant; more doctors would be hired and their loans forgiven if they work in family medicine; and everyone would get an extra day off work in February. Unlike in days of yore, this would not mean plunging the country into deficit. Budgets would be balanced and personal income taxes would be held steady.

In short, Jack made a convincing case that if he became prime minister, we could trust him to spend our money wisely. There he is in his campaign literature, sleeves rolled up, in the living rooms of the hard-pressed Canadian families helping them make ends meet. No wonder he’s flying high in the polls — he’s identified real problems, real issues and promised real solutions.

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