Who is in charge of the Liberal Party and why are they pushing for an election when they are unprepared and have not won the support of the voters to replace the government? What is the SPECIAL SKILL Michael Ignatieff brings to the Liberal Party?
Clip 1: Kirk (Robert Downey Jnr), pretending to be an African-American, makes a point about characters like Rain Man and Forrest Gump - they never go “full retarded”, they always have some special skill.*
Thus the Iggy experiment can finally be called a concrete failure. Turn out the lights, this party's over.
Quebeckers don’t much like Stephen Harper, but they like even less the idea of an election and they don’t view Michael Ignatieff as an acceptable replacement.
He set the Liberal Party on course for an election it wasn't ready for, and set the country on the road to an election it doesn't want.
It's also exceedingly lucky that Harper might be about to do battle with a Liberal leader who appears to be as politically unskilled and out of touch as Ignatieff seems to be.
“Our first task is to get Canadians to dream again,” said Trudeau, MP for the Montreal riding of Papineau.
Ignatieff should forget any thoughts of forcing an election until his party has shown it has the troops and the unity to mount a real fight in Quebec and at least take a shot at relegating the Bloc to the irrelevance it so richly deserves.
The only solution, according to another veteran Liberal, is to do what Brian Mulroney did when the team that helped him become Prime Minister started mis-firing - "clear house ruthlessly at the top".
Michael Ignatieff, the Liberal leader, is unimpressed by these efforts, dismissing them as “amateur hour.”
“We have a very, very serious problem with this relationship and I don’t think I’m going to be able to fix it until I become prime minister,” he said on CTV’s Question Period, with typical self-effacement.
Will the Liberal Party of Canada be eating crow again?
According to Canadian government sources, Ottawa expects that the White House will use its discretionary power to exempt Canada from the clause very soon. In return, Canada would simultaneously announce that its provincial and municipal doors are now wide open to U.S. companies.
Liberal Press Release- Aug 13, 2009
1.Stephen Harper’s failure to persuade President Obama to take action against “Buy American” provisions leaves him with only one more chance to save Canadian jobs from US protectionism, Liberal trade critic Scott Brison said today.
2. “By failing to effectively make the case against U.S. protectionism to President Obama, Stephen Harper is letting Canadian workers and their families down.”
When did the Liberal Party become disconnected with the will of Canadians? What has occured over the last decade to the party of Laurier, Pearson, Trudeau?
The Liberals inherited the mandate to govern for nearly 13 years, taking advantage of a split right centre vote, a growing global economy and a desire for change from the PC government led by Brian Mulroney.
What is the legacy of those thirten years under Chretien/Martin? Most Canadians and Liberals don't know.
Some Liberals take pride in those years of balancing the budget but today some of those Liberals acknowledge they were done on the backs of the taxpayers and provinces through significant cuts in transfers to provinces in the areas of Health, Education and Social Services. They went too far.
The Neo-Liberals cuts were estimated over $ 25 Billion. The Liberal also made significant changes to the EI program resulting in disqualifying large numbers of Canadians from collecting benefits in large urban centres in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta. They also made sustantial cuts in a review of Government services: $ 11 Billion those included food safety, duplicate meat inspection (federal, provincial), nuclear programs: isotope supply, the military.
The Auditor General found serious problems with many programs managed under the Liberal led government and had many restrictions kept in place to remove her capacity to audit the government including Crown Corporations.
The Supreme Court ruled 7-0, the Government under the Liberals acted illegally by raising taxes on the taxpayers without representation in the HOC.
The Neo-Liberals promised to restore funding in many areas they had previously cut led by Paul Martin in an attempt to remain in power in 2004.
The will of the Canadians did not allow the Liberals to remain in power. Since their loss in 2006 the Liberal Party has continued to drift and lose support across Canada.
In October 2008 the Liberal Party suffered the worst defeat in pop in over 100 years. Why do they simply replace the leader and believe they are fit to return to power?
Federal election 2008: Digging into numbers shows some surprises Oct 15th, 2008 by Michael Shapcott
GREATER TORONTO: In Toronto, the electoral system favoured the Liberals. They earned less than half the popular vote (43.6%), but received three-quarters of the seats in Parliament (76.2%). The Conservatives earned one out of every three votes in Toronto (33.5%), but received less than one-in-five of the Parliamentary seats (19.1%). New Democrats attracted 15.1% of the votes, but only received 4.8% of the seats.
Conservative support is on the rise in the GTA, but star candidate and former Afghan ambassador Chris Alexander still faces a fierce battle against incumbent Liberal MP Mark Holland.
An Ekos poll that came out last week indicated the Tories were picking up support in Toronto, which has traditionally been a bedrock of support for the Liberals, although in the last few elections the Conservatives have managed to pick up a few seats in suburban areas of the GTA. The poll had the Tories leading in Toronto with nearly 42 per cent support, compared with 37 per cent for the Liberals. The margin of error is 6.2 percentage points, however, because of the smaller sample size, but the trend suggests the Conservatives have become more competitive in the city.
Of the GTA's 47 seats, the Liberals hold 32, the Conservatives have 13, and two ridings are held by the NDP.
In September 2009 we are witness to another internal party struggle to replace the leader who has been unable to gain traction against the government during the worst recession since the 1930's that has seen the G20 step in to avoid the collapse of global markets.
The Liberal Party of Canada refuses to introduce any substantivePolicyalternatives and challenge the current government but have promised to withdraw support confidence of the government before examining any Bill.
Markets up on employment data, Bombardier
Julie Fortier, Financial Post Published: Monday, September 28, 2009
The number of people receiving regular employment insurance benefits in Canada declined 3.8% in July compared with June for a total of 787,700, Statistics Canada reported Monday. It was the first monthly decline since August, 2008.
The Press Release of September 25, 2009 demostrates how deeply disconnected the party is from the regular voter and reality.
L. Ian Macdonald, National Post : Friday, September 25, 2009
Now Bob Rae, Iggy's lifelong friend and erstwhile leadership rival, has jumped into the fray, saying "room must be found" for Cauchon. "Martin Cauchon was an outstanding minister of justice and has been a fighter for Liberal values all his political life," Rae told Joan Bryden of The Canadian Press, who has the Liberal caucus wired for sound.
That's not exactly a stirring endorsement -- especially the part about Liberal values, since it is coming from Rae, who spent most of his political life in the NDP.
Besides, now you have a member from Toronto telling the party who should be a candidate in Quebec. Uh, Bob, that's not your call as an MP. It's the leader's call. And the party in Quebec won't appreciate a guy from Ontario telling it how to run its affairs.
While suturing a laceration on the hand of a 70-year-old rancher (whose hand had caught in a gate while working cattle), a doctor and the old man were talking about Michael Ignatieff being the leader of the Liberal Party.
The old rancher said, "Well, ya know, Ignatieff is a 'post turtle'."
Not knowing what the old man meant, the doctor asked him what a post turtle was.
The old man said, "When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a post turtle."
The old man saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he continued to explain, "You know he didn't get there by himself, he doesn't belong there, he doesn't know what to do while he's up there, and you just want to help the poor stupid guy get down."
"Look at the field behind me, it is not getting done," Ignatieff said.
Burlington Mayor Cam Jackson said the Liberals picked the wrong field to stage their press conference. The park project just got environmental approval last week and wasn't planned for years."This project was not slated to be done for seven years," Jackson said. He added he won't criticize the Tories or the provincial government on infrastructure spending because he has projects happening all over his municipality.
Burlington Mayor Cam Jackson, who appeared alongside Mr. Baird, later criticized Mr. Ignatieff and Mr. Kennedy for what he described as a disingenuous photo op. “I can tell you it was a great visual shot, but I mean it just lacked the substantive facts that gave credibility to it,” the mayor said.
He said there was never any thought that construction would begin on this $6.9-million project, which is to be a multi-use park, until sometime next year.
And he suggested Mr. Ignatieff doesn’t understand how the infrastructure program actually works. He also said he found it “objectionable” that Mr. Kennedy criticized Premier McGuinty for being a partner with the federal government.
Tim Hortons chief financial officer Cynthia Devine said it's hoped the reorganization will improve efficiency, growth and competitiveness.
"Finally, this reorganization will help Tim Hortons align itself to continue to take advantage of lower Canadian tax rates," she said. "These lower tax rates help us and companies like us keep more capital at work and achieve our priority in reinvesting in the business for future growth in our company."
Liberals look small and disgenious by attacking without presenting an alternative and an environmental record of inaction. “I love my double-double as much as the next guy,” said Liberal Energy and Environment Critic David McGuinty. “But examining the latest in doughnut technology while the rest of the world’s leaders gather to confront the challenge of climate change is like Nero’s fiddling while Rome burns.”
Rome is a city in Italy. The Liberal Party is not the Roman Empire.
After a summer that saw the federal Conservatives and Liberals in a virtual tie, the Tories have opened up a comfortable lead over the Liberal Party and appear to be making a breakthrough in Toronto, a new poll suggests.
I don't understand who is advising the Liberal Party to make these mistakes. Someone needs to be fired.
The economy - Stephen Harper 40.5% (Michael Ignatieff 26.8%)
The environment - Stephen Harper 21.6% (Jack Layton 21.1%)
National unity - Stephen Harper 30.1% (Michael Ignatieff 28.1)
Taxes - Stephen Harper 40.1% (Michael Ignatieff 24.2%)
Healthcare - Stephen Harper 28.9% (Jack Layton 22.1%)
TORIES’ OPEN UP COMFORTABLE LEAD; TORY VOTERS “MOST COMMITTED”
National federal vote intention:
¤ 37.0% CPC
¤ 29.9% LPC
¤ 13.8% NDP
¤ 10.2% Green
¤ 9.1% BQ
The Conservatives now appear to be competitive even among some groups, such as young voters and Toronto voters, once largely beyond their reach.
More ominous for the opposition parties is the startling difference in the composition of the most committed voters. Right now, Tory supporters outnumber the other parties in the “fully committed” voter segment by a margin of more than three to one.
“What this means,” said EKOS President Frank Graves, “is that the significant advantage that Stephen Harper’s Conservatives now have in public opinion may actually understate their potential strength in an election.”
Dalton finally catches up to Iggy and forces him to take a position.
Dad told Iggy get on board or else!
I assured him the Liberal Party of Canada is a party of government. We don't rip up agreements that have been duly negotiated by previous administrations.-MI
Iggy Shuffle
You put your right foot in,
You put your right foot out,
You put your right foot in
And you shake it all about.
You do the Iggy shuffle
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.
Canada is boycotting a United Nations speech by Iran's incendiary president, with Prime Minister Stephen Harper saying the move is a rebuke of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's anti-Semitism and abysmal human rights record.
"There are times when things are being said in this world that it is important that countries that have a moral compass stand up, make their views known," Harper
While Canada pledged to boycott Ahmadinejad's speech last night, a number of other countries walked out in the middle of the speech, leaving the majority of seats empty in the UN General Assembly.
The leader with the best vision for Canada’s future
National (n=1,002)
Stephen Harper: 32%
Michael Ignatieff: 20%
Jack Layton: 15%
I question, however, why Stephen Harper has refused to take action in Canada to hold the Iranian regime to account.
Mr. Ignatieff said Canada cannot tolerate Holocaust deniers and anti-Semitism, but argued that Mr. Harper should be at the UN to register the government’s unhappinessin person.
“We have a very, very serious problem with this relationship and I don’t think I’m going to be able to fix it until I become the prime minister.”-Michael Ignatieff
"He's put absolutely nothing on the table. It's just empty rhetoric," a top Liberal who supported Mr. Ignatieff (Etobicoke-Lakeshore, Ont.) in both of his leadership campaigns told The Hill Times last week. "It's not enough to say, 'That in good times we're going to bring forward the progress...' If he goes into an election and doesn't really have anything substantive to put on the table, we're looking at a massacre."
The Auditor General presented findings on a more robust system.
The Liberal Party of Canada are appearing rudderless and without direction. What does the Liberal Party stand for today? What are the policies and how are they different than the government?
Mr. Ignatieff still hasn't delivered on the promise of a renewed Liberal Party. While Mr. Harper spent the summer at work, Mr. Ignatieff vanished from the radar for most of the time. His speeches in Parliament are often lame, as were the first TV ads featuring him in a bucolic setting. His image is still blurred. He still looks like a visiting professor, unable to explain in concrete terms what exactly he would do to make Canada better, apart from high-speed rail between Quebec City and Windsor – a tired idea to be sure.
In the week when the opposition was supposed to overthrow the government, Mr. Ignatieff unveiled a foreign policy platform – not exactly the kind of thing that generates excitement around kitchen tables. Those few who paid attention must have been puzzled to hear Mr. Ignatieff complain the country has stopped engaging in “muscular internationalism,” when Canada has been taking on the riskiest tasks in Afghanistan.
Michael Ignatieff set Canada on what could be an irreversible course toward a fall election, announcing the Liberal Party he’s led for nine months will no longer prop up the minority Harper government – and instead will actively seek to defeat it.
It appears the party prefers to criticize the government on less substantitive issues than introduce alternatives. How are the surrogates of the Liberal Party helping the Liberals dumb down their party?
The voters and the MSM have been ignored, who is Micheal Ignatieff, what will the Liberal Party do differently and why do they continually threaten an election?
Leader's gut reaction to ads: Don't treat Liberals like fools.
"While you're propping the government up, they're running ads saying, `He's just in it for himself.' How stupid do they think I am?" Ignatieff said in an interview with the Star yesterday, immediately after the Liberals, for the first time in nearly four years, voted against the government in a confidence vote.
"If you want to make Parliament work, you can make Parliament work if you're the prime minister of Canada. It's that simple. So now, he can do it. But don't treat the Liberal Party of Canada like fools. Because we're not.
Have Canadian/American relations sunk to the point where a Prime Minister and a President use a summit to sort out a spat over the Maple Leafs' travel plans?
CBC Peter Mansbridge reinforces the Toronto Star Editorial and the Liberal Party narrative.
Liberal Party
Alternative solutions to improving relations with congress and protectionist US lobbyists, government officials? Missing in action. Just more criticism and empty rhetoric.
Solution:
Unlikely as each political party self-interest trumps what is best for Canada. The Bloc and NDP are not supporters of the Free Trade and improving access to other nations if negatively affects their base.
Some members of the Liberal party are interested in improving free trade, Scott Brison spoke in support legitimate trade and providing opportunities for choices for the citizens of Colombia. Bob Rae agrees a need for an improved strategic approach to improving global trade.
A government policy that deploys capable stakeholders from each party to tackle American protectionism, Canadian inter-provincial barriers for fairer competition and freer trade that benefits both countries is a sustainable delivery model.
First, he is disingenuous about his previous role. When he wrote in The New York Times Magazine and elsewhere in support of war, preventive detention and “coercive interrogation,” he was not leading one of his academic seminars. He was in politics, seeking to encourage and persuade. As a public intellectual, he has always been in politics. If he did not know it then, he was naive; if he does not know it now, he is obtuse. Any academic who writes for the wider public should know that. His role as an academic was no excuse for his errors of judgment.
Second, his conception of politics is stunningly inadequate. Politics may, in one sense, be theatre and rhetorical battle, but it is not just performance. There must be authenticity behind the façade. The great actor is not just in it for the applause; the aspiring politician should not be in it just for the glory. Voters can make the distinction, and wise politicians know it.- Denis Smith The Globe & Mail Sep 2009
In Ireland Michael Ignatieff is very critical of Canada and Europe (excluding England, US).
How many Canadian men and women will shed Blood to satisfy the Liberal leader's desire to reclaim our international citizen status from the 1950's?
Instead of blaming our country, why not blame the Liberal Party who were in power and gave away our capabilities?
Did China or Russia have significant interests and were they blocking any U.N. actions?
Why did the Liberals under Chretien use his close relationship with China fail to apply pressure?
2009 Toronto, Canada
Michael Ignatieff revised his Foreign Policy speech, the Liberal leader drops his criticism and praises the Liberal Party and Canada peacekeeping reputation. He attacks the current government for tarnishing our reputation. In 2005 he was very critical of Canada and Europe for a bogus peacekeeping reputation.
In four years why did he change his mind and forget all his criticisms of Canada?
Look at the images he invokes in his address, which was supposed to reveal the Liberal vision for our country's place in the world. Searching for points of pride he falls back on the UN, the blue helmets, the Suez crisis, Lester Pearson, peacekeeping, multilateralism, the Security Council. This is the best he can do? Nothing in the 45 years since Pearson left the stage strikes him as evidence of Canadian achievement? Does he know so little about this country that everything from mid-Trudeau onward is a blank?
He blandly proffers immense absurdities. "Under Stephen we are no longer the world's leading peacekeeper," he laments, blind to the fact Canada lost its military bearing when Jean Chretien systematically starved it into a state of near-ruin.
"An engaged, muscular internationalism was not the exception for Canada; it was the rule," he boasts, apparently unfamiliar with the sad Liberal era of "soft power", when Canada's role in the world was to creep around the corners, jostling elbows and wondering if more important countries had a moment for us.
The Liberal Party is attacking the government suggesting they are unfit to govern. What are the criticisms used by the Liberal Party is replacing the current government.
This speech revealed a man who left Canada in 1978 with a vision of his country fixed in his head, and returned 30 years later with that same image in place. The country has moved on since then; Ignatieff's understanding of it hasn't. He clearly has little comprehension of the country he wants to lead, of the way it thinks and acts, of its motives and aspirations, of its very image of itself.
..a number of senior Grits emerged from a special strategy meeting to argue that Mr. Harper has ignored Canada's multicultural heritage, has no pride in the country's health-care system and has ignored cultural workers. "As a Canadian woman, as a woman of African ancestry, I'm not a 'left-wing fringe group,'" trilled permanently peeved Liberal MP Marlene Jennings. The Grits were in such good humour that they were running around the lobby of the House of Commons yesterday handing out pink lapel pins that read: "Je ne suis pas une marginale de gauche."
The Liberals took the unusual step today of calling in the media after the regular strategy meeting with leader Michael Ignatieff, using the event to bash the prime minister.B.C. Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh said the NDP can do what they want, but the Tory government hasn't changed its ways and Harper is still "a bully and will be a bully tomorrow."Quebec MP Marlene Jennings said the prime minister's recent videotaped address to supporters was a direct attack on gays, lesbians and other minorities.
"Normally going into an election, there’s about 65 per cent of Canadians who continue to say they don’t want an election," said Mr. Cuzner, a longtime Ignatieff loyalist."That’s historically. Now it’s a little bit higher. It’s about 70 per cent. That’s probably being reflected. He’s being seen as the guy who may be responsible for it."Mr. Cuzner says he expects those numbers would move in a campaign."Once we start an election campaign, they’ll see that he has a purpose and he has a vision for the country that Canadians are going to respond to," he said.
One MP said the mood at the caucus meeting in Sudbury was "near unanimous" against a fall election. Yet, less than an hour after caucus had debated the issue, the Liberal leader emerged to hand down his decision. "We might as well have stayed in bed," said the MP.-John Ivison
I spoke with many MPs last week, mainly Liberal, and the vast majority say they're against another early election too. -Angelo PerschilliThe Hill Times
Hard to sustain can only mean one thing Michael. Hard for your ego to sustain.
Despite the fact that Harper's party got 143 seats and yours got about half that many, you felt it the voters outcome the people's outcome was hard to sustain...And so now you want another election another 300 million spent. The issue? There is no issue, except the one your old nemesis just referred to. The idea of you not being power is too hard to sustain.
Is Michael Ignatieff' the Kayne West of Canadian Politics? What has been the direction of his polling numbers and public reaction towards the Liberal leader since his June 2009 press conference? The Liberal Leader has a LSI that is now heading below the levels of Dion. The Canadian public is sending a message to the Liberal Party, they are not interested in another election at this time. They don't want the opposition to topple the government. Do the negative attacks on the government by the Liberal Party painting the "reformist" government as racist, mean, homophobic, small minded, sexist drive away the voters? So much for taking the high road and comparing policy.
Nik Nanos has conducted a National Poll on the Leadership Index Score between September 3, 2009 through September 11, 2009.
Q1. Which of the federal leaders would you best describe as: The most trustworthy?
Q2. Which of the federal leaders would you best describe as: The most competent leader?
Q3. Which of the federal leader would you best describe as: The leader with the best vision for Canada's future?
The combination of all these provide the Leadership Index Score.
Leadership Scored 2009/04 through 2009/09
Stephen Harper 99 (+7)
Michael Ignatieff 54 (-11)
Jack Layton 40 (+3)
Gilles Duceppe 19 (-1)
Elizabeth May 14 (-4)
The Liberal leader ended his honeymoon in June 2009, his numbers are sinking fast. The new Liberal leader is now tied the LSI of Dion score of Feb 2008.
In Nov 2008 Canadians were presented an idea of a cooperative model by three opposition leaders. A central theme for this coalition was an opportunity for these voters to replace the existing government without returning back to the Polls. The numerical and timing advantage by the three opposition leaders were sufficient to wrest control. The rules exist to effect such a change.
The government needed to divide the united opposition and buy time. The government was successful in having the Governor General agreeing to close parliament one week earlier before the scheduled Christmas Break. The Government spent the time to provide a New Budget that included a substantial increase in funding for programs. The united opposition had lost their "timing advantage" window, but still had enough vote non-confidence against the government. The six week advantage has been replaced by fifteen weeks leading many to believe the GG would entertain the opportunity to return to the Polls.
The Liberal leader decided for various reasons his party might not benefit from returning to the Polls in March 2009. The decision to not vote no-confidence against the government resulted in the adoption of EAP. The Liberal leader decided to allow the CPC to wear the recession by setting up Report Cards and putting the government of Prohabation. The three smaller opposition parties who were united in November 2008 to were now divided again.
In June 2009 the Liberal leader called a Press Conference and decided to deliver four ulimatiums for his continued support. The Polls were favourable and showed a potential for a small minority Liberal government. The next twenty four hours exposed the reluctance of the Liberal Party to withdraw their support of the government to visit the Polls.
Many in the MSM lost confidence in the Liberal leader declaring the termination of the honeymoon. The upwared momentum of the Polls had now stalled and the positive numbers for the leadership scores started to turn negative. A Nik Nanos Poll show a substantial negative trend in June 2009.
In Sudbury the Liberals held a summer caucus meeting and made another public proclamation.
“Stephen Harper leads a government that doesn’t care. We can do better and we will do better.”
The Liberals have now attempted to shift the burden of returning to the Polls on the NDP and Bloc parties. Will this new strategy benefit of hurt the Liberal party?
Many of us will consider this another strategic error on the part of the Liberal Party. In the next few weeks the media will now be following the two smaller parties giving them a bigger spot light just before we enter into a national campaign.
Will the experienced leaders of the NDP and Bloc capitalize on Liberal Party's decision to pass the ball on keeping this government afloat for the next few months?
Did the Polls react favourably to the Liberal Party leader when they voted in favour of supporting EAP? Why would the same polls not repeat the same pattern?
"Even in his short-term goal, of punting to Layton, Ignatieff is giving up the ball. Ignatieff has given the balance of power in the minority House over to Layton. There are two things Layton likes - being on camera and being relevant, and Ignatieff's gambit assures him of both when the Commons resumes tomorrow after the recess. The NDP and the Conservatives are not an obvious fit, but Layton can take the balance of power out for a test drive." L. IAN MACDONALD
"There's still time for the prime minister to do the right thing."
"We'll side with the Canadian people, that's who we'll side with," Layton told CTV News Channel on Saturday. "And I guess I'm looking for results for Canadians.
If Prime Minister Stephen Harper proposes a motion to adopt his government’s home renovation program, “We'll support it,” Duceppe said. “We proposed it,” he added. “It would be incoherent to say we’re against something we asked for.”
The Toronto Star, known by many as the Liberal Star has an editorial today that challenges the wisdom of the strategy of the Liberal Party to push for a fourth election if five years.What's the reason for an election? For Ignatieff has yet to offer Canadians a compelling reason to oust the Conservatives and put the Liberals back in power. -Toronto Star Editorial
Did ANYONE imagine reading a Toronto Star editorial critical of the Liberal Party?
Why is the biggest cheerleader of the Liberal Party trying to stop the beating of the "war drums" in the Liberal Party? In the last October election the Toronto Star was one of the few papers that endorsed Dion. Is the editorial staff losing confidence in the Liberal Party and the leadership?
Going negative or talking down an opponent over their policies is "fair play" in politics. Fear mongering has a long history and has been used by ALL parties.
The Liberals will apologize over this latest gaffe as many Canadians will not accept their position. Reminding Canadians we are SMALL or that we are diminished in the eyes of world because we did not keep the Liberals in power reeks of arrogance.
Liberals blame voters for getting it wrong: arrogance exposed.
"The message that Canadians should not be proud of our flag, the symbol of our nation and our sovereignty, has no place in this country's political system," Ashfield said indignantly.
Carr and Ashfield want Liberal officials to apologize for the offensive message.
But Fry says the Tories are deliberately taking the message out of context.
"This postcard represents what Liberals are hearing from everyday Canadians from coast, to coast, to coast: that, under Stephen Harper, Canada is becoming a diminished light and force on the world stage," Fry told The Telegraph-Journal.
"Mr. Harper has tarnished our international reputation when it comes to climate change, the United Nations, respect for human rights, peacekeeping, and the list goes on."
Fry said it is not meant as a slight against the military."
The Canadian Political Pulse, conducted by Angus Reid Strategies in partnership with the Toronto Star, has found that 57 per cent of respondents are against the opposition parties toppling the Conservative government to trigger an election. Conversely, 32 per cent would support this move.
Almost half of Canadians (47%) are satisfied with the way the federal government has handled the ongoing economic crisis, while 45 per cent are unhappy with their actions.
The Bloc suggest two peas in a Pod?
Dear Michael Ignatieff/Adler Commentary
Roy Green on the Corus Radio Network about the last time there was an election and he Bob Rae and you Michael Ignatieff didn't like the people's outcome..didn't like the cut of their jib...it was an outcome which you Liberals felt was hard to sustain-- ( Green with Rae )
hard to sustain
Hard to sustain can only mean one thing Michael. Hard for your ego to sustain. Despite the fact that Harper's party got 143 seats and yours got about half that many, you felt it the voters outcome the people's outcome was hard to sustain...And so now you want another election another 300 million spent. The issue? There is no issue, except the one your old nemesis just referred to. The idea of you not being power is too hard to sustain.
...So the challenge for the Liberal Party if they want to maintain and augment their increased level of fundraising will be to increase the amount of money contributed by each remaining donor of $200 or less, while the NDP and Conservatives still have roughly 40% of their donor counts from last year they can still approach for a first contribution (and in fact 60% of the number of Bloc and Green contributors from last year have yet to make a contribution this year as well).
But it will be challenging based on historic trends for the Liberals to increase the average donation size of contributors under $200, as their average donation in this category has fallen below that of the Conservatives in most every quarter since 2005 when quarterly returns were first mandated. The alternative for them is to identify large numbers of new donors, in order to try and match the 111,862 donors who gave a contribution to the Conservative party last year.
Ignatieff, who is the front-runner to succeed Dion in an upcoming leadership convention, said the three candidates were "at one" in their belief that "the only leader who can lead us in this context is the duly elected leader of the Liberal party."
"I support the accord because it's fiscally responsible, it provides responsible economic leadership in tough times and it also conserves the basic principles of national unity, equality that our party has always believed in," he said. Dec 1, 2009
“There was also a question concerning the legitimacy of the coalition that troubled me,” he confided. While perfectly legal, it would nonetheless have struck many Canadians, coming so soon after an election in which the Liberals had suffered their worst defeat since Confederation, as if they and their coalition partners had “in some sense or another stolen power.”
Moreover, it would have been very difficult to assure the country of the certainty and stability it needed in a time of crisis “with three partners in a formal coalition,” he said, likening it, CP reports, to a rickety three-legged stool. “That was my first doubt. I couldn’t guarantee the long-term stability of the coalition.”
Especially when, as he told an interviewer back in March, one of the partners was a separatist party. “I could be sitting here as your prime minister, but . . . I didn’t think it was right for someone who believes in the national unity of my country to make a deal with people who want to split the country up.”
Why are the Liberals no longer interested in supporting a minority government led by the Conservative Party of Canada?
Are the opposition parties interested in seeking an election within one year of an election?
The Liberals deny it is the Polls, they suggest it is the principle in Sudbury Liberal meeting between Aug 31-Sept 2, 2009.
The BlocStrategic Counsel poll for CTV and The Globe and Mail, the Bloc is now at 49 per cent support in Quebec -- its highest level since the 2004 election.. and NDP stand to lose the most seats in a November election are repeating the rhetoric in pushing for an election unless the Government meets it's demands.
Both the Bloc and NDP have been consistent and have been voting against the government 99% of the time since the General Election October 14, 2008.
The Government "official" position is they don't want an election.
Do the Polls favour the Liberals in an upcoming election to gain seats? Yes
Does the "faux" outrage by the opposition regarding the leaked tape provide any NEW information to the voter?
The Government Hidden Agenda exposed?
Scrapping Gun Registry.
Appointing less left leaning activist judges.
Balancing the Senate with non Liberals
Scrapping Programs that are filled with liberal appointees ie ...Court Challenges.
Majority to end the coalition threat.
Canadians will have a choice if the opposition vote non confidence in the government including returning the status quo minority parliament.
Replace the unstable minority current government:
A majority for the CPC
Keep the status quo hoping the CPC minority can keep the coalition from gaining control.
A minority led by the Liberals supported by a coalition supported by the NDP and Bloc.
Punish the government for being "small" and give the Liberals a majority.
@ 2:27 Michael feels it is VERY important to have the coalition option.
@ 3:15 ..the COALITION has been essential in pushing this man back forcing him to make concessions that were in the national interest.
Why would ANYONE than believe Michael Ignatieff would eliminate a legal, democratic option, an essential tool that was used to push back the government in the national interest? Is he telling us a white-lie to spare us?
"Let me be clear: the Liberal Party would not agree to a coalition. In January we did not support a coalition, and we do not support a coalition today or tomorrow," He says the party will seek support and consensus of "partners" but will not sign a formal coalition deal. He said he does not believe Canadians are in favour of a coalition government.-September 11, 2009
A campaign narrative that is being deployed is the CPC Majority is needed to prevent a Liberal led coalition backed with Socialists/Separtists. The Liberals will be govern propped up by socialists and separtists.
Another campaign narrative that is being deployed by the Liberals will be the Hidden Agenda, mean, scary Harper is destroying Canada.
Unfortunately the Hidden Agenda Scary Harper narrative has been used since 2000 and has not effective in slowing the loss of Liberal voters.
The Loss of Catholic Votes, Visible Minorities, leadership, indentified Liberal partisans is explored in detail in a study The Anatomy of a Liberal Defeat.
The Campaign 2009 may not provide the results expected by the partisans for each party.
Why do Politicians prefer to play games with the electorate? Is this posturing to be taken seriously or is this an attempt by the Liberals to push the NDP and Bloc to act more responsibly?
A very small number of people believe Canadians are interested in going to the Polls again. Is the posturing by the leaders of each political party acting in the best interest of their party? Are they interested in facing the voters or are they trying to re-cast their role in the upcoming parliament?
I suspect the political posturing is a key element in the latest election threat. The CPC have been in power for over 1300 days. Their track record was judged on October 14, 2008 and resulted in a larger mandate falling short of a majority 12 seats.
Excluding Quebec, the rest of Canada rewarded the Government with 57% of the seats. In Quebec all three Federal Parties won 24/75 seats against a regional protest party interested in leaving Canada.
Some leaders in the opposition and punditry have suggested the decision by the Francophone vote to support the Bloc is a repudiation of the current government. Since the inception of the Bloc have the Liberals won a majority of seats in Quebec? (October 2008 CPC 9, LIB 14, NDP 1)
Six weeks after returning with a larger mandate the Government introduced the Economic Update and the opposition decided the government became unfit to govern and would be replaced by a Coalition with the Liberals,NDP being supported with Bloc votes for 18 months.
One week before the House was to break for Christmas, the GG granted the PM a timeout (prorogue) to present a new budget and keep the confidence of the House.
At the end of January 2009 the CPC maintained the confidence of the House with the support of the Liberal Party.
In Sudbury the Liberal Party leader announced he would no longer support the Government. For some Canadians including the Press the posturing has referred to this as "Ground Hog Day" or De Jevu.
In the meeting the Liberal leader denied the returning to normal has anything to do with the polling numbers.
Internal numbers leaked by the Liberals and the recent Poll by Strategic Counsel show potential seat gains for the Liberals at the expense of the NDP/Bloc.
Will the Bloc and NDP allow the posturing of the Liberal leader to affect their roles of opposing the government on every single Bill and voting non-confidence?
Will the Bloc and NDP change their posturing and decide to telegraph their "lines in the sand" to the government to avoid a no confidence motion to defeat the government. Will they join the Liberals in a no confidence motion at the earliest opportunity, win concessions for votes or risk going to the Polls.
The timing of the Liberal announcement supported a boost of seats according to internal Polls. If the lead over the NDP and Bloc vanishes in the next three weeks will the Liberals follow? Will the Bloc or NDP blink if their numbers show a loss of seats?
Campaigns matter and this site has a great snapshot of preparedness and organization. It looks like the NDP, Greens, Bloc, Liberals are unprepared in nominations.
Money is very important. How do they rank (Party Finances)? Clearly the CPC are in a substantial lead. Some would argue the Liberals recent improvements make them more competitive.
The Conservative Party raised more money in 2007 than all the other political parties combined, according to data released by Elections Canada. The Conservatives earned 62% of the fundraising dollars, while the Liberal Party raised 18%.-March 2008
Do the CPC have the most to benefit from the repeating their narrative of not wanting an unecessary election in a fragile recovery? The CPC has been quick to sink any backroom deals or concessions for keeping confidence in the house.
If the opposition decide they no longer have confidence in the government, the PM will ask the GG to dissolve the Parliament.
Ballot Questions:
Handling the Economy
"Almost half of Canadians (47%) are satisfied with the way the federal government has handled the ongoing economic crisis, while 45 per cent are unhappy with their actions."-Angus Reid Sept 3, 2009
Voter Discontent
"32% support the opposition parties toppling the Conservative government; 57% are opposed"- Angus Reid Sept 3, 2009
In the next few weeks, the Polling will again be used in determining the posturing. Expect more internal leaks from the Liberal Party to discourage the NDP and Bloc to defeat the government.
