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the majority of 16 and 17 yr olds dont give a damn about politics. just because you know some that do doesnt change that.
only the naive would not expect that many who did vote would think it fun(ny) to purposely try to skewer the vote by voting for fringe parties.

I am quite sure that the above also applies to many older voters as well, but it would be a larger percentage the younger you get.

KnowItAll wrote:the majority of 16 and 17 yr olds dont give a damn about politics. just because you know some that do doesnt change that.
only the naive would not expect that many who did vote would think it fun(ny) to purposely try to skewer the vote by voting for fringe parties.

I am quite sure that the above also applies to many older voters as well, but it would be a larger percentage the younger you get.

In your opinion!!!! My circle of friends are more politically engaged than yours. If you post your opinion on things like this, then say IMO, because it's obvious you don't know it all.
It's also obvious that there aren't any high school age members on this site or else they would be defending themselves from youth ignorance.
They are our future. Guess what? there are more intelligent high school students than you think. If anyone is frightened by our childrens education, then maybe they should run away to live on an island somewhere.

My opinion ...

Best campaign by a party leader: Jack Layton.

Worst campaign by a party leader: Michael Ignatieff.

Why can't Iggy connect with the public? Dunno ... Why did the Liberal party go and recruit him from his Harvard professor gig? Dunno, but I'm guessing they thought his intellect would wow the voters. It could not have been because they thought he had charisma. From the time he came on board with the Liberals he seemed like an easy target and very awkward. Again ... IMO, and I have nothing against the Liberal Party. I've voted for them a number of times.

My best guess on the results federally: Conservatives, NDP, Liberals and the Quebec whatever, in that order.

Coalition? Wow. Good question. It's apparently up to Johnson first, then Harper (should his party "win" the election.) A two-step process. And then the NDP and the Liberals would have to decide if they want to do the deal. Interesting ...
...........

I would not want to see Canadian politics descend into the perpetual stalemates they have in Italy. Too many parties. Never a majority. Never any change.

All just IMO, and although I have voted for years and years, following the issues and the personalities, I do not consider myself any kind of expert on the technical aspects of Canadian government: prorogue, coalition, etc.

zark wrote:

KnowItAll wrote:the majority of 16 and 17 yr olds dont give a damn about politics. just because you know some that do doesnt change that.
only the naive would not expect that many who did vote would think it fun(ny) to purposely try to skewer the vote by voting for fringe parties.

I am quite sure that the above also applies to many older voters as well, but it would be a larger percentage the younger you get.

In your opinion!!!! My circle of friends are more politically engaged than yours. If you post your opinion on things like this, then say IMO, because it's obvious you don't know it all.
It's also obvious that there aren't any high school age members on this site or else they would be defending themselves from youth ignorance.
They are our future. Guess what? there are more intelligent high school students than you think. If anyone is frightened by our childrens education, then maybe they should run away to live on an island somewhere.

nothing to do with intelligence. Its about knowledge, life experience, maturity and attitude.

Its about knowledge, life experience, maturity and attitude.

So why can you vote?
My last post on this thread. I've learned KIA is not a KIA.
So long, so long , and thanks for all the fish!!!!

Go out and VOTE!!!!

zark wrote:

Its about knowledge, life experience, maturity and attitude.

So why can you vote?
My last post on this thread. I've learned KIA is not a KIA.
So long, so long , and thanks for all the fish!!!!

Go out and VOTE!!!!

dam straight. never have been and never will be a car.

My son is almost 17, he knows a lot of teens through school, church, Taekwondo, and elsewhere. He says no one he knows is very interested in the election and certainly no one is saying anything about wishing they could vote. They talk about politics in class, but not to the point where they are ready or wanting to run out and help decide on our country's leadership. They have more immediate important priorities, like passing school, graduating to their next TKD belt, dating, gaming, sports, etc

Age is not necessarily a determining factor on who is capable of casting a wise ballot. How many people who are supposedly old enough and knowledgeable enough can't even figure out how to mark an X on a ballot? If you can't figure that one out, you probably can't convince me that that person can probably make a reasoned choice about who to vote for either. Too many people vote along historical lines. "I am voting party X because I have always voted party X." All parties that get into power seem to go bad at some point given enough time to hang themselves thus single party allegiance I find perplexing. Vote for the person who you think will do the best job, not for the colour of their election sign.

Sir Purrcival wrote:Age is not necessarily a determining factor on who is capable of casting a wise ballot. How many people who are supposedly old enough and knowledgeable enough can't even figure out how to mark an X on a ballot? If you can't figure that one out, you probably can't convince me that that person can probably make a reasoned choice about who to vote for either. Too many people vote along historical lines. "I am voting party X because I have always voted party X." All parties that get into power seem to go bad at some point given enough time to hang themselves thus single party allegiance I find perplexing. Vote for the person who you think will do the best job, not for the colour of their election sign.

I fully agree that a lot of people who vote, shouldnt. I just do not want to add many, not all, but many, younger teens to the mix.

I voted. My ballot is secret. Ha ha

53 minutes left until the polls close.

Are the media conducting exit polls as they do in the US? Is that allowed up here?

Conservative Majority.

Hmmmmm

We'll see how Harper uses it. There are some concerns. As a conservative, he should be thinking balanced budget. No guarantee of that. Canada already has a lot of social programs, so if that is not an emphasis, then it shouldn't be the end of the world for us. I hope he does not take his party and the country to the right, radicalizing and dividing the populace, as the Republicans have done in the US.

Wow is all I can say about the non performance of Michael Ignatieff as Liberal Party leader. Looks like a dud. Walks like a dud. I would have to say, as a party leader, he has proven to be a dud. Too stiff. No charisma. For a professor, he has a poor ability to communicate with the electorate.

Layton did a nice job leading his party to new heights. Gotta say Harper did well too: Teflon Man. IMO he is a smoothie. And to say those things are not meant as praise, just recognizing what I see as some political skills he has.

Yeay, B.C. voted in a Green Party Member of Parliament. Well, ya gotta start somewhere.

IMO ... IMO ...

Well, this was certainly an interesting election.

My biggest fear with Harper is that he has been secretive and disrespectful of the democratic process and that was when he had to make it work as a Minority Gov. My fear is that without that sword hanging over him, there is nothing to restrain him for the next 4 years. Having said that however, the people have spoken and it is what it is. He did make some good noises in his victory speech about representing all Canadians. I only hope that they are more than words.

The NDP - not sure they have reason to be so happy. Basically they have 4 years to make themselves into a bonafide opposition party. The landslide they got in Quebec this election is likely a one off. If they want this to translate into more than one term of Official Opposition or dare I say future government, they are going to have to make bigger strides in the rest of the country. They aren't go to get by being shut out of the prairies. As it stands, they now have less power than they did when Harper had a minority. They can talk all they want about taking government to task but as it stands now, they can't do a thing about it.

Liberals - what can you say. I wonder how many seats they lost tonight because they and the NDP split the left vote letting the Cons ride the backs of the right? I think Iggy is gone. CBC spent a lot of time with Justin Trudeau tonight. Suspect you might be looking at the next Liberal leader. He is young but he has his father's legacy working for him, is apparently popular in Quebec and has appeal in other quarters of the country. He represents the kind of renewal that the Liberals need to undergo. He has at least 4 years for seasoning. I wouldn't be surprised to see his name rise to the top of possible Iggy replacements. The Liberals can't afford to be "wrong" again in their next choice for leader.

Bloc - victims of a stale party and message. Make no mistake, the separatists are alive and well in Quebec. It won't be long before the wave of enthusiasm over the NDP will wane as they realize that
A. they are basically on the outside of power looking in just as they were voting with the Bloc
B. that they are now represented by a party that can't afford to look too "pro Quebec" without risking support in other area's of the country.
Roughly 40% of Quebecers have some kind of affinity for separation, that didn't disappear in one election and with a new leader, look to see the Bloc or some other version of the Bloc gain traction again.


Green's - Historic night for them but a long way to go. It takes 12 seats to gain official party status. They are nowhere close to this and in fact their popular vote went down tonight as compared to the last election. Again, four years to gain some traction but I don't think they are quite that close yet. They will need to field other credible candidates who are capable of winning seats too or their success on the night will be confined to the annals of Canadian Political Trivia. At least she won't have to fight to get into the next Election Debate.

Summary - Harper has got his majority, lets see if can manage the country the way he says he can without the excuse of a minority status holding him back. He has made election promises that he now has no reason for not keeping unless financially they are as untenable as they sound. There will be hot button issues too like the Long Gun registry. He can easily do away with it now if he so chooses. He will alienate law enforcement if he does and he will alienate the rural areas if he doesn't. Should be able to push legislation on the Senate too, either elected or abolished. That was a big issue of his in the past but he should be able to make good on it now.
If he can find a way to put some civility into his dealings with parliament, then perhaps it will all be fine but I hope that he finds a better more cooperative leadership style. If he chooses to do things "my way or the highway", then we are in for a long 4 years and won't be able to do anything about it cept survey the damage when he is done.

What a great night for the nation it turned out to be ! Something so many of us had hoped for so long , perhaps now common sense , something long missing , can once again be part of the process in Parliament .
The message has been sent to the Libs loud and clear . They had that message sent to them shortly after the last election when they tried to pull the coalition blunder that was overwhelmingly rejected by the masses , but apparently they never understood . Weaseling your way into power is not acceptable . Last night they kept talking about going back doing , some reflecting and soul searching etc . For them perhaps they need to get out of selfish ambition thinking mode and get the message they never got before . Iggy ,even in his good bye speech said " too bad we could not be the BENEFICIARIES of that change we helped bring about " , revealing that it's all about personal gain to him and his party rather than the good of the country . That Libs , is the message YOU need to get into your heads !! Get rid of Iggy now , the guy has been nothing but a disturber in Parliament and incredibly devious , never there to work with the others and always tried to spin that it was Cons doing . The Voters last night saw this in you and left you in droves. You were down to 18% !
Exactly what Harper opponents meant by secret agenda , I'd like to know what that was . What supposedly is so "scary " . Maybe they could be specific and we can see if there is anything other than propaganda/spin to their accusations , now that he's got a majority .
As for me , I'm looking for common sense to be allowed back into running this country and the end of partisan games . I'm hoping for our new Gov to get the ball rolling in the restoring the justice system , so long denied by the Libs and NDP .
Harper made me proud when he stood up to the Europeans at the Copenhagen Summit when he refused their destructive proposals , which both Layton and Iggy wanted him to accept .And I'm looking forward to the end of the threat of constant elections the Libs wanted to bring on and Gov trying to convince us we like excessive taxation .
As for Layton , yes he did get his biggest ever numbers , but that for the most part came from only one part of the country , Quebec not across the board . And yes that could be a one term wonder as Quebec voters may well turn back to the Bloc again next time . Hope he takes that into consideration .

Ironic that Jack Layton had more power in a minority Conservative government than as Leader of the Opposition.

TheLionKing wrote:Ironic that Jack Layton had more power in a minority Conservative government than as Leader of the Opposition.

RIP Jack Layton

July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011