Laraque - Cause I like the colour Green?

 I can't add much more to this...

Q Can you name three of your favourite Green party policies?
A I just got a big book about all the policies. If you ask me in a month, I’ll be able to tell you. So far, the biggest policy is about promoting the environment. In the coming weeks, I will be studying and meeting and reading with Elizabeth [May] a lot more on those environmental policies to be more informed on the specific policies that they have.

Read more: National Post: georges laraque from hockey heavyweight to green party draft pick/

make them add up to 155

I can't make them add up to 155...

It looks like this too me...

Porcelain bus has a good list for tonight

Conservatives 125 to 140
Liberals 80 to 100
NDP 39 to 48
Bloc 49 to 57
Green 0

NDP growth to be in BC, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec

Liberal's will lose seats in Ontario and BC, pick up in Quebec and NFLD. Ontario 905 is vital to the Liberals. They have to hold it or they could have a really bad night.

Conservatives will pick up in Ontario and may lose to NDP in BC but pick up from Liberals. Quebec could be a wipe out!

The NDP stand to pick up to 6 - 9 seats in Ontario, 3 in Saskatchewan, 2 or 3 in Quebec, 1 in NFLD, 2 to 3 in the Maritimes, and 4 to 7 in BC.

I hope I'm wrong and the NDP and Liberal numbers add up to 155

Will your Liberal still be Liberal October 15?

It's so easy to cross the floor...

We all know about the horse trading that went on in Parliament over the last three years. Belinda Stronagh moving from the Tories to the Liberals, right into a cushy cabinet post, David Emerson from the Liberals to the Conservatives. Scott Brison from Tory to Liberal, then there is the failed attempts by the Liberals and the Conservatives to get Chuck Cadman.

There have been several more that have crossed the floor in the last couple of years. Oddly enough it has been just two parties that partake in this, the Conservatives and the Liberals. The Green Party accepted Mr. Harris from BC as a member when he left the Liberals in the last parliament.

Only one party has a position against this kind of betrayal of local voters. The NDP introduced a bill in this last session to prevent crossing the floor. The Liberals and Conservatives voted against this legislation.

So as we go to vote on Tuesday, keep in mind that some of the Liberal and or Conservative candidates you are voting for could easily cross the floor to accept a cabinet post.

Listen to the Liberal response and the New Democrat response to a question crossing the floor...




Its clear we are headed to a minority government and likely Mr. Harper leading it. In the battle to hold onto power, to get a few extra votes, Mr. Harper may entice another Liberal to join his ranks. Who will it be? There are many Liberals that hold similar positions to the Conservatives on social justice issues like the right to choose, gay marriage, arts and culture and criminal justice.

These Liberals have voted with Stephen Harper more than Stephane Dion! In the last parliament the Liberal en mass voted on 43 pieces of legislation Mr. Harper wanted passed. Some Liberals voted even more than that with the Conservatives. They kept Mr. Harper in power by supporting the Conservative budgets and key pieces of Harper's draconian justice and immigration bills.

This election has been a breakthrough for the NDP. They are up in polling numbers from 2006, the media generally feel Layton has run the best campaign, and finally, the NDP numbers are not falling off as we come into election day. The Liberals have had Bob Rae toss everything he can at NDP supporters and hasn't managed to get them to budge.

Its going to be a barn burner election night.

Green Party Activist voting NDP

Dauncey wrote the Green Party's climate platform.

A well known environmentalist and respected activist Guy Dauncey has said he will be voting NDP in his riding and has provided a list of people to vote for on Vancouver Island in order to stop Stephen Harper and the Conservatives. If all the pro environment listed below by Guy are elected it would also see Vancouver Island return all women MP's. That is a significant and achievable goal.

Here is Guy's reasoning and list ...

Dear Friends,

Voting on Vancouver Island

I know it hurts to vote against your instinct, to make that all-important democratic tick for a party other than the one you believe in.

Under our antiquated, colonial, discriminatory, stupid, undemocratic, first-past-the-post voting system, however, when we split the progressive vote not two but three ways, every vote for a candidate who has little chance of winning makes Conservatives cheer.

They are laughing all the way to a possible majority government, packed with Conservative MPs many of whom, If the disgraced MP Maxime Bernier is anything to go by, think climate change is a joke, a Rocky Horror Show of doom and gloom dreamed up by us eco-freaks.

I have been a member of the Green Party in Britain and Canada, on and off, for 35 years. I wrote our Canadian Green Party's climate platform, that was awarded the highest rating by the Pembina Institute. And I am urging all people of a progressive hue not to vote Green, but to vote strategically, to put aside party loyalty for greater loyalty to our Planet Earth.

We absolutely must stop the Conservatives from getting back into power. A Liberal/NDP/Green coalition government (hoping Elizabeth May gets elected) would get Canada back on track with committed action on climate change.

In Vancouver Island North, this clearly means voting for Catherine Bell, NDP -

In Nanaimo-Alberni, this clearly means voting for Zeni Maartman, NDP -

In Nanaimo-Cowichan, this clearly means voting for Jean Crowder, NDP -

In Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca, it's a close race between Keith Martin (Liberal) and Jennifer Burgis (NDP)

In Saanich-Gulf Islands, this clearly means voting for Briony Penn, Liberal

In Victoria, it clearly means voting for Denise Savoie, NDP

This is also what 120 of Canada's top climate scientists are urging us to do - vote strategically - see http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/story/2008/10/07/scientists-environment.html

Just as a comment - if all these candidates won, with Jennifer Burgis in Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca, 100% of Vancouver Island's MPs in Ottawa would be women - which would be amazing.

To all those committed Greens who think this means I am betraying my deepest principles - I apologize. Our undemocratic voting system turns good friends into bickering enemies, which is a drag. I have good green friends who are running for the Green Party, and I'd love to support them - but it just does not make sense.

And yes, we all want to see Proportional Voting in Canada.

We will NEVER get this with a returned Conservative government. But we MAY have a slim to good chance with a new progressive coalition government.

with best wishes,

Guy Dauncey

Victoria

www.earthfuture.com

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It May not happen like they wish

May,(BE) not so fast...

Elizabeth May is a good candidate in the wrong riding. She deserves to be in parliament yet she is not going to make it. She can not make it in Central Nova. May should have chosen a more urban seat to run in. The Liberals and Greens were way behind the NDP and Conservatives in the last election there and May, although her vote will go up, largely drawing from those that have not voted before and some Liberals will go her way.


The Liberals seem to have a lot riding on the riding results even if they do not have a candidate running under their name. Their candidate is Green party Candidate May. 10,349 people voted for the Liberals in this riding in the last election.

Some high profile Liberals arranged a back room meeting so May could meet other key Liberals. The meeting drew only 35 Liberals including guest speaker Senator Jim Cowan. "We need her," he said reported STEPHEN MAHER of the Chronicle Herald

"The country needs her. Stephane Dion needs her, and I ask you to do your part," continued Senator Cowan. Also there to help out was provincial Liberal president Derek Wells and a retired Senator. Cowan told the Chronicle Herald that key Liberals were backing Ms. May.

It is ironic that the progressive vote in Central Nova is not for the leader of the Green Party. That does not take anything away from the the NDP candidate, its just as the national media in focusing on this riding did not look at the ground there. They were instead sensationalising. They were there to see the two stars in the race, May and Conservative War Minister MacKay duke it out for the cameras.

The real race is between the NDP and Conservatives as much as many would like the fairy tale race to happen. NDP candidate Louise Lorefice has a lot of help and her message resonates better than May's and the Liberals.

The Conservative email, a portion of it reproduced above is a real reflection of what is happening. Are any of you really surprised?

hat tip to Buckdog

May gets Duffy in the Kisser

Credit where it is due!!!!

I like Ms. May, too bad she will not win in her riding. Central Nova could only go NDP with the progressive vote. I want May, next time a winning riding.




thanks Scott...

Once Hedy Liberals are Fried

Currently a whole bunch of folks are thinking of voting something other than Conservative. thats the good news. In fact 60% or more of the population will vote for a candidate other than a Conservative.

That maybe okay in the end if the Greens, NDP and Liberals can find enough common ground and have enough seats to wrest power away from the Harperites. Elizabeth May said as much today, she is asking Canadians to vote for the candidate that has the best chance of defeating the local Conservative. Mr. Dion has agreed in to talk about it. Mr. Layton has dismissed it according to the press.

So it would appear that this is a non starter at this point and maybe it should be. The Greens have never held such opportunity to elect someone, though it would still be a surprise if they did, and the NDP have never been this close to unseating the Liberals.

Today's poll by CPAC-Nano's (thanks for the twitter, Bourque) show the Green's and the NDP gaining ground at the expense of the Liberals, and unless something changes in the days ahead, it won't be hard for more Liberals to abandon ship. A small shift of voters would see the Liberals fall behind the NDP. Not since Brian Mulroney, have the Liberals been in such desperate straits.

The Conservatives have all but abandoned the Prairies where they will sweep the seats again and are focusing on BC, Ontario and Quebec. The Liberals are barely hanging onto Toronto. Even here they are about to lose star candidate, Gerard Kennedy. Kennedy is in tough against NDP MP, Peggy Nash and will likely lose.

A couple of days ago, I got a phone call from a friend in Montreal. He has always voted for the Bloc. With the Bloc appearing to have no focus, he has switched to the NDP and is campaigning for them. He states that he has many friends joining him this time. That hearsay evidence is backed up by the latest polls. The NPD are tied with the Liberals in Quebec.

In BC the Liberals trail the NDP by 6 points and trend appears to be widening. Look out because Hedy Fry, who has owned Vancouver Centre for the Liberals since 1993 when she knocked off Prime Minister Kim Campbell is in a horse race and she's going to lose it. The Conservatives are running a smart two time MLA, Lorne Mayencourt. Mayencourt and I have our differences as you will discover if you search my blog. That said, he remains a formidable candidate and a tireless doorknocker and self promoter. Mayencourt will pull votes from Fry, opening the door for the NDP's star candidate, Michael Byers, nationaly recognised for his work as a Canadian Research Chair in International Law and Politics UBC.

If Hedy can lose her seat, the Liberals are fried in BC. They could lose every single seat they currently hold.

For the so called Centre left parties to get on with each other it is going to take Stephane Dion to do the unthinkable. He will have to cede his Liberal given 'right' to dictate the terms. Dion could propose an equal number of seats for the NDP and Liberals and a token Green seat. It's not going to happen.

The NDP will likely reject him as have the voters to date.

In Toronto vote for whoever you like, the Tories will still lose. In BC, Ontario, Atlantic Canada, vote NDP. On the Prairies, vote NDP or Liberal, one of them might sneak in. In Quebec, I never thought it possible, but consider the NDP candidate especially in Montreal and Western Quebec, in a four way race, they could win.

My advice stands until I see some momentum on the Liberal poll numbers. The only party with a chance at a majority are the Conservatives. It looks like the progressive side of politics needs a minority to govern. That won't be easy if the Liberals maintain that people that voted NDP in 2006 caused their defeat. Its time the Liberals shouldered some of the blame for their misfortunes.