Canuck Politics

Election 2008 Federal Leaders’ Debate (Full Video)

Canuck Politics — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:59:30 +0000

The five federal party leaders debate the election issues in the English language debate.

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NDP election ads promote Layton’s leadership, promise stimulus spending

Canuck Politics — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:32:12 +0000

Two new NDP election ads focus on leadership and the economy. One ad criticizes Stéphane Dion’s leadership and promotes Jack Layton as a viable alternative to Stephen Harper.

Chalk Talk: Leadership

Another ad promises $50 billion in economic stimulus spending instead of corporate tax cuts planned by the Conservatives.

Chalk Talk: The Economy

Green Party releases first election ad

Canuck Politics — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:59:25 +0000

The Green Party has released their first television ad of the election.

Liberal ads link Harper and Bush

Canuck Politics — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 23:23:44 +0000

New election ads from the Liberal Party draw parallels between the foreign and economic policies of Stephen Harper and George W Bush.

Harper, Howard, Bush and Iraq

Bush and Harper

Harpernomics and Bush

The ads promote a new Liberal Website BushHarper.com.

Liberal ad: Canada falling behind with Harper

Canuck Politics — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:01:50 +0000

A new Liberal election ad says Canada is falling behind with Stephen Harper.

Is Stéphane Dion cheering for a recession?

Canuck Politics — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 06:59:35 +0000

September 10 to 26, 2008 - Prime Minister Harper says Liberal leader Stéphane Dion is trying to undermine confidence in the Canadian economy while “sitting on the sidelines virtually cheering for there to be a recession”.

Links:

Video: Stephen Harper’s economic plan

NDP election ad attacks Harper on environment

Canuck Politics — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 23:30:05 +0000

A new election ad from the NDP attacks Stephen Harper’s environmental policies.

NDP election ad attacks Harper on healthcare

Canuck Politics — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:38:00 +0000

New NDP election ads target Stephen Harper on the issue of healthcare.

Liberal election ads pounce on Listeriosis jokes

Canuck Politics — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 01:08:14 +0000

The Liberal Party has released new election ads that criticize Stephen Harper’s leadership and focus on recent leaked comments by Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.

Sick Joke

Liberal Leadership

Bob Rae saves the day

Canuck Politics — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 03:35:50 +0000

Liberal candidate Bob Rae introduces former leadership rival Stéphane Dion in a rousing speech at a campaign rally in Halifax.

We look at Mr. Harper and we say instinctively, ‘Grandma, what big teeth you have!’, and there’s no way we’re going to let that wolf stay at Sussex Drive.

CPAC defends its journalistic integrity

Canuck Politics — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:28:33 +0000

The Canadian Public Affairs Channel (CPAC) defended its journalistic integrity over questions surrounding a recent campaign profile of Liberal MP Garth Turner.

CPAC responded to revelations posted on the Angry in the Great White North political blog that a man presented by CPAC as a random voter was in fact Michael Shaye, the son of Turner’s campaign manager Esther Shaye.

Do the folks at CPAC know that Garth Turner dragged their camera crew to the home of the son of his constituency office manager for a visit to a “typical” constituent?

The Turner campaign insisted they informed CPAC of Mr. Shaye’s identity, and they say CPAC had no objections to presenting him as a random voter.

CPAC denies the accusation and says they only learned Mr. Shaye’s relationship to the Turner campaign when the details were revealed in the blogosphere.

Liberal Party releases ‘Harpernomics’ election ad

Canuck Politics — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:17:44 +0000

The Liberal Party has released a new English language election ad attacking Harper’s economic policies.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=youtube wZBqM6Uwt4g

Liberal ads compare Harper to Bush

Canuck Politics — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 18:31:22 +0000

The Liberal Party has launched new election ads in Quebec. The ads compare Stephen Harper to George W. Bush, attack his leadership, and criticize the Conservatives for ‘going negative’ during the election.

Leadership

Grand Leader

Espoir

Harper says Canada becoming more conservative

Canuck Politics — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 23:17:56 +0000

Prime Minister Harper says Canada has become more conservative over the past several decades.

Harper was responding to a question an interview published in today’s National Post:

I said for a long time, and nobody listened to me for the longest time, that my goal was to make conservatism the natural governing philosophy of the country.

-Stephen Harper

NDP election ad goes negative in Quebec

Canuck Politics — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:03:29 +0000

The New Democratic Party has launched an ominous French-language election ad in Quebec that calls Stephen Harper a proxy for George Bush. The ad darkly paints Harper as authoritarian, intolerant, anti-gay, anti-environment, and pro-war.

Help please: Can anyone provide a full translation of this ad into English? Please submit your translation here.

Greens allowed in debates after boycott reversal

Canuck Politics — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 01:18:36 +0000

The media consortium that produces the televised leaders’ debates reversed yesterday’s decision and announced it will allow the Green Party to attend the debates on October 1st and 2nd.

The change comes after the NDP and Conservatives bowed to public pressure and withdrew their threats to boycott the debates if May attends. The Conservatives, NDP and Bloc argue the Green Party should be excluded from debates because Elizabeth May has publicly endorsed Stéphane Dion and other Liberal candidates in the election.

Stéphane Dion has supported including May in the debates since the two parties formed an alliance last year.

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Harper confirms Afghanistan pull-out in 2011

Canuck Politics — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:05:47 +0000

Stephen Harper confirmed Canadian Forces will withdraw from Afghanistan in 2011 as per the legislative agreement reached with the Liberal Party earlier in the year.

Green Party excluded from leaders’ debates

Canuck Politics — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 06:59:00 +0000

The media consortium that produces the televised leaders’ debates says Green Party leader Elizabeth May will not be invited to the debates in October.

The media consortium implied one or more political parties threatened to boycott the debates if the Green Party were included.

The Conservatives, NDP and Bloc all oppose including the Green Party in the debates, saying Elizabeth May is a Liberal proxy because she has endorsed Stéphane Dion and other Liberal candidates in the election.

The Liberal Party has advocated in favour of including the Green Party since the two parties formed an alliance last year.

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Tory election ads say Dion a risky gamble

Canuck Politics — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:21:31 +0000

Three new Conservative election ads paint Stéphane Dion’s policies as a risky gamble.

Pay More

Scratch ‘N Lose

Triple Threat

Liberal election ad promotes Green Shift

Canuck Politics — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 22:02:44 +0000

The Liberal Party’s first election ad promotes the Green Shift tax plan.

NDP election ad targets Stephen Harper

Canuck Politics — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 05:58:16 +0000

The NDP ’s first television ad of the campaign targets Stephen Harper.

Dion says Harper dishonest about hidden agenda

Canuck Politics — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:59:09 +0000

Stéphane Dion says the Conservative government is the most secretive in Canadian history, and Stephen Harper has a hidden neo-conservative agenda to transform Canada into an ‘extreme right-wing’ country.

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New Conservative ads show friendlier Harper

Canuck Politics — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 05:59:24 +0000

The Conservatives have launched a series of election advertisements that project a softer image of Stephen Harper.

Family is everything

A nation of immigrants

Lest we forget

Canada has to stand for something

True North Strong and Free

Greens claim spot at TV leaders’ debate

Canuck Politics — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 04:59:54 +0000

Green Party leader Elizabeth May says she should be included in the televised leaders’ debates during the upcoming federal election.

May argues the Green Party has earned the right to be included in the debates now that Blair Wilson, a sitting Member of Parliament, has crossed the floor and joined the party.

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Harper to call early election despite fixed date

Canuck Politics — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:59:57 +0000

July 30 to August 26 - Prime Minister Stephen Harper appears ready to call a federal election this fall despite the fixed-date election law passed by his government. Harper cites opposition threats and parliamentary deadlock as grounds for an early election.

Liberal leader Stéphane Dion criticized Harper for breaking the spirit of his own fixed election date law, yet continued his threats to defeat the government sometime before the fixed election date in October 2009.

The cash-strapped Liberal Party was widely expected to defeat the government when the House returns this fall, but only after they receive a $2 million rebate paymet from Elections Canada in October.

Conservative’s Q2 fundraising tops all other parties combined

Canuck Politics — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:22:16 +0000

The Conservative Party continues to dominate political fundraising in the second quarter of 2008, collecting 65% of the total fundraising dollars, more than all other political parties combined.

The Conservatives are also the only political party to raise more money from their own efforts than from public subsidies.

Contributions to Political Parties
(2008 Q2)

	Conservative	Liberal	NDP	Green	Bloc
Total number of contributors	33,833	9,556	11,941	3,184	607
Total amount of contributions	$3,525,352	$912,378	$711,637	$213,922	$36,698
Transfers from registered associations	0	$9,556	$1,095	$5,249	$90
Transfers from candidates	0	0	0	0	0
Total Transfers	0	$67,158	$352	$6,592	$62
Grand Total	$3,525,352	$979,536	$711,732	$219,171	$36,851
Average Contribution	$104.20	$95.48	$59.59	$67.19	$60.45
Percent of Total	65.3%	16.9%	13.2%	4.0%	0.7%

The Liberal Party failed to attract as many donars as the New Democratic Party but received more total donations due to higher average individual contributions.

The NDP continued its recent fundraising success, attracting donations from more people than the Liberal Party, while the Green Party’s donations remained steady.

Links:

Elections Canada political financing database

Elections Canada Chief grilled over alleged leak

Canuck Politics — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 06:59:15 +0000

Marc Mayrand, Canada’s Chief Electoral Officer, testified before the House Ethics Committee regarding an alleged media leak surrounding the recent raid on Conservative Party headquarters.

In April Elections Canada and the RCMP conducted a highly publicized raid on Conservative Party headquarters searching for documents related to a dispute over election spending during the 2006 election.

Conservatives suspect Elections Canada of leaking news of the raid to the CBC and the Liberal Party.

Mayrand says he reviewed the allegations but could find no evidence of a leak.

Liberals release “Green Shift” ads

Canuck Politics — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:11:27 +0000

The Liberal Party has released two ads promoting their “Green Shift” tax plan.

The Green Shift

The Green Shift is Here

Dion unveils Liberal “Green Shift” carbon tax

Canuck Politics — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 06:59:38 +0000

Liberal leader Stéphane Dion announced details of the Liberal Party’s Green Shift carbon tax at a party rally in Ottawa.

The plan includes a tax on carbon emissions against big polluters with tax cuts and rebates for individuals intended to offset increased energy prices caused by the tax.

Dion later challenged Harper to a public debate saying he wants a substantive discussion on the issue.

Links:

Liberal Party website: The Green Shift
Video: Conservatives attack Dion’s carbon ‘tax shift’ plan
Video: Harper promotes Canada’s emission reduction plan in Europe
Video: Stéphane Dion proposes carbon ‘tax shift’

Canada apologizes for residential schools, forced assimilation

Canuck Politics — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 06:59:09 +0000

Prime Minister Harper offered Canada’s aboriginal peoples an official apology for the government’s involvement in the Indian residential school system and its ongoing policy of forced assimilation.

Opposition leaders also offered their apologies during a special sitting of the House of Commons. First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders were welcomed onto the House floor to respond to the apology.

Conservatives attack Dion’s carbon ‘tax shift’ plan

Canuck Politics — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 22:18:51 +0000

The Conservative Party launched a campaign attacking Stéphane Dion’s proposed carbon tax shift plan by portraying it as a ‘tax on everything’.

The campaign includes the website WillYouBeTricked.ca and 15 second video adverts displayed at gas pumps throughout Canada.

Links:

Speculation about Julie Couillard spins out of control

Canuck Politics — Sat, 31 May 2008 06:59:47 +0000

May 26 to 30, 2008 - Speculation surrounding Julie Couillard spins out of control after Couillard gave a public interview in which she revealed former Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier left sensitive documents at her home.

The mainstream media, Liberal Party and Bloc Québécois speculate about a possible bug in Couillard’s mattress, rumoured meetings between Canada’s spy agency CSIS and the Prime Minister’s Office, and whether Couillard held a diplomatic passport.

MacKay editorial cartoons: Canada’s image abroad

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Links:

Canadian government to appeal safe-injection site ruling

Canuck Politics — Fri, 30 May 2008 06:59:50 +0000

Health Minister Tony Clement has made clear the Canadian government’s position on Insite, the safe-injection facility in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The Canadian government intends to appeal a BC court ruling that would allow the site to continue operating beyond June 30, 2008.

Insite is operating as a pilot project under a legal exemption originally granted by the previous government that allows people to carry, traffic and inject illegal drugs in the supervised facility.

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The Conservative government extended the legal exemption until June 30, 2008 in order to conduct more research into the the program. Meanwhile, a British Columbia court has ruled that Canada’s current drug laws are unconstitutional when they prohibit possession and trafficking of illegal drugs by those looking for help at facilities such as Insite.

I cannot agree with Canada’s submission that an addict must feed his addiction in an unsafe environment when a safe environment that may lead to rehabilittion is the alternative.

- Mr. Justice Ian Pitfield

Clement said the federal government will appeal the recent BC court decision, saying supervised injection sites are well-intentioned but ultimately medically unethical.

Harper promotes Canada’s emission reduction plan in Europe

Canuck Politics — Fri, 30 May 2008 06:59:02 +0000

Prime Minister Harper promotes Canada’s plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce in London, England.

Links:

Canada’s Environment Plan: Turning the Corner Regulatory Framework
Video: Stéphane Dion proposes carbon ‘tax shift’
Video: Stephen Harper’s economic plan

Maxime Bernier resigns over missing documents

Canuck Politics — Wed, 28 May 2008 06:59:32 +0000

May 26 and 27, 2008 - Maxime Bernier resigned as Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister after learning his ex-girlfriend Julie Couillard would reveal in a televised interview that he left sensitive documents at her home.

Links:

Video: Is Maxime Bernier’s ex-girlfriend a national security risk?

RCMP says no Conservative bribery, libel suit against Liberal Party still pending

Canuck Politics — Sat, 17 May 2008 06:59:25 +0000

The RCMP has closed its investigation into allegations that Conservatives attempted to bribe the late independent MP Chuck Cadman in 2005, saying there is no evidence of any wrongdoing by Stephen Harper or the Conservative Party.

Liberal MP Dominic LeBlanc asked the RCMP to investigate the allegations, and today released the the RCMP’s response. Despite the RCMP findings, Stéphane Dion and other Liberals say they will continue to press the government on the alleged attempted bribery of the deceased MP.

Links:

Video: Harper sues Liberal Party over bribery accusations
Video: Liberals claim Conservatives tried to bribe dying MP
Audio tape and transcript: Zytaruk tape of Stephen Harper (CityNews)

Stéphane Dion proposes carbon ‘tax shift’

Canuck Politics — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:59:00 +0000

Stéphane Dion outlined his latest vision for the economy and environment during a speech at the Canadian Club of Toronto.

Dion proposed a carbon tax during the speech, saying it will be revenue neutral because he would also lower other taxes.

MacKay Editorial Cartoons: Liberals uneasy about Dion’s plan for carbon tax

Some Liberals are uneasy of the plan, fearing it will be difficult to sell during an election.

Links:

Report: Pricing Carbon: Saving Green (David Suzuki Foundation)
Regulatory Framework for Industrial Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Government of Canada)
Video: Stephen Harper’s economic plan

Is Maxime Bernier’s ex-girlfriend a national security risk?

Canuck Politics — Sat, 10 May 2008 06:59:44 +0000

May 8 and 9, 2008 - The Liberal Party and the Bloc Québécois attack the government over Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier’s former relationship with a woman who had personal ties to Quebec bikers in the 1990’s.

The government refused to answer the questions claiming they inappropriately malign the reputation of an innocent woman.

Questions about national security?

The Liberals and the Bloc insist the issue raises national security concerns, but the NDP say they are uncomfortable pursuing this line of questioning.

MPs and journalists smear Julie Couillard

Some concerns are raised over the role the Liberal Party, the Bloc and the media played in advancing and perpetuating the story.

Tories receive 69% of political donations, NDP 16%, Liberals 12%

Canuck Politics — Thu, 01 May 2008 23:29:49 +0000

According to data released today by Elections Canada, the Conservative Party raised 69% of the money donated to political parties in the first quarter of 2008, a 7 point increase from 62% of the political donations in 2007.

Contributions to Political Parties
(2008 Q1)

	Conservative	Liberal	NDP	Green	Bloc
Total number of contributors	44,345	10,169	13,329	4,731	463
Total amount of contributions	$4,954,550	$846,129	$1,119,648	$210,963	$37,006
Transfers from registered associations	0	$9,134	$352	$6,592	$65
Transfers from candidates	$268	0	0	0	0
Total transfers	$268	$368,249	$352	$6,592	$65
Grand Total	$4,954,818	$879,927	$1,119,648	$217,555	$37,071
Average contribution	$111.73	$83.21	$84.00	$44.59	$79.93
Percent of total contributions	68.7%	12.2%	15.5%	3.0%	0.5%

The NDP raised 16% and the Liberal Party raised just 12% of the total political contributions.

For the first time, the NDP outperformed the Liberal Party in both total number of contributors and total contributions, while the Liberal Party fundraising ability continues to implode.

Contributions: A Bigger Picture (Northern BC Dipper)