maplesyrup

udaw....of course, you are correct, so is Pell and Biggunner.

My goodness, what in the world is going on here? Canadians must be getting tired of politics, or at least the people involved in politics in Canada. No wonder we have such low voter turnout in elections.

Realistically, looking at the polling figures, we will be lucky if we can hold the Liberals to a minority government. Liberals may obtain a majority. It will be very close.

I just did a google search for "Jack Layton" and look what I found: http://www.mapleleafweb.com/interviews/layton_01.htm It's a bit dated, but pretty good nevertheless.

As we get closer to the actual election the Liberals will pick up strength in Quebec, and probably end up taking 30 -35 seats. Layton was born in Quebec, Martin ,Stronach, & Harper were born in Ontario, I believe.

The Liberals could care less about who becomes leader of the Cons, as they're having enough problems of their own, with such things as the sponsorship scanda,l and Sheila Copps, etc. As far as Harper is concerned my understanding is that since becomming leader of the Alliance he lost 11 or 12 by-elections in a row. That is a dismal track record in anyone's book. Quite frankly what he is offering, most Canadians aren't buying. Also why is the nomination in Stephen's riding delayed until after the leadership race? Is he not going to run for the Cons if he loses to Belinda? It seems like this race has been stacked in Stephen's favour.

The NDP are running third in Quebec, after the Bloc and the Liberals, with 8% support. If the NDP has a chance at any Quebec seats which seats would they be? What about Manicouagan where the former NDP leadership candidate, Pierre Ducasse, who made such a splash at the NDP leadership convention, is running? 2000 election results Manicouagan (BQ 1,532) 133:134 xGhislain Fournier BQ 11,597 Robert Labadie LIB 7,730 Laurette de Champlain CA 1,201 Gaby-Gabriel Robert PC 830 Normand Caplette NDP 382

Fascist?

willy......here's a URL to some infomation on Mahar Arar. http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/arar/ara..._statement.html

It is going to very close in the two most important areas: 1 - whether the Liberals get a majority or a minority. 2 - whether the Bloc forms the official opposition or not.

Just heard on the CBC The National that Monia is going to run in John Manley's old seat - Ottawa South. 2000 election results Ottawa South (LIB 23,203) xJohn Manley LIB 26,590 Brad Darbyson CA 12,648 Kevin Lister PC 8,100 Jeannie Page NDP 3,468 Ron Whalen MP 699 James Hea NL 141 Marsha Fine ML 80 Mick Panesar COM 79 No kidding she is not running for the Liberals. Ottawa is beginning to look quite interesting for the NDP.

Does anyone know how to take these regional polling percentages, and transfer then into seat numbers?

Here is some additional big news for the NDP. There is no question the NDP is on a roll these days. And their timing couldn't be better for a spring election. I'm curious to hear which particular riding Monia will be running in.

Proportional Representation will control fairness in Canada's voting system. The NDP is making quite a resurgence, not since Broadbent was leader have the NDP been been this strong. New leader Jack Layton is having a remarkably positive impact on the party's fortunes.

So tonight's the nite in Newmarket, Belinda's nomination meeting. I wonder if they will announce the numbers for each candidate. This latest Ipsos-Reid poll, which came out last evening, indicating a minority government, should give a boost to Belinda's campaign, as I understand now the Liberals have backed off, from calling a May, 2004 election.

Goldie.....I think what you stated represents the viewpoint of a lot of Canadians at the moment. Come election time, some will probably float back to the Liberals, and some will be looking for another home to park their vote. This coming election, the three Canada-wide political parties, will all have new leaders of their respective parties, at the helm.

Willy.....yes actually I do believe Layton is the man. But more importantly so do more and more Canadians, as we can see by the trends in the Ipsos-Reid polls, one of which came out today. Layton has turned the NDP around. He wants to fight the abuses of multinationals, the whinning of the provinces, and the bullying of the US against Canada. If people are so concerned about government spending, maybe we should abolish the provinces. I'm sick of the premier's whinning and we would save a lot of taxpayer's money in the process. Perhaps with a federal government and a municipal government, that is all the government we need.

As the NDP has continued to show strength in national polling I have been trying to figure out some of the reasons for their popularity amongst Canadians. One of the reasons I believe is addressed in the following article: I too share these concerns that Mr Travers raises in his article. We need a Canadian prime minister who is going to stand up to the provinces. Someone who will represent Canada as a whole entity, otherwise we will continue to drift towards a bulcanized state of being in Canada.

BC politics is hilarious. The NDP picked what they thought was going to be a caretaker leader in Carole James, because no one expected the Liberals to crash and burn the way they have. Campbell is dragging their party down first with DUI last year, this year the BC raids on the BC Legislature, MLAs quitting, etc. Look for the liberals to replace Campbell this year, and look for Carole James to become premier in 2005. The NDP and the Liberals are now tied in the latest polls. My, how times have changed

Interesting to see the CPC are now in third place in BC as I supsected was going to happen all along. Norman Ruff, the U of Victoria political scientist, is dead on when he sees the NDP making gains in BC. With Layton's effective leadership, and the unpolularity of Gordon Campbell, I expect the NDP to take about half the seats in BC.

At least Belinda and Tony showed some passion at the debate in Montreal last weekend. Was Harper there? Belinda has found a position for Tony in her cabinet, where will she put Stephen?

I think the latest Ipsos-Reid poll and comments from IR pollster John Wright have given Belinda's campaign a big boost. It appears now that there will not be a spring election after all, and this was the complaint concerning Belinda, that many political puindits said, that she is not quite ready. Now she will have lots of time to prepare for those who question her current abilities.

BigGunner....thanks for posting this latest scientific poll. CPC in third place in British columbia as I suspected. This Ipsos-Reid poll confirms what University of victoria political scientist Norman ruff has stated that the NDP are poised to make gains in BC. I continue to predict the NDP will take approximately 50% of the seats in BC

Another wheel has fallen off the Gordon Campbell BC Liberal wagon. Liberal MLA quits, slams premier VICTORIA - Liberal MLA Elayne Brenzinger has resigned from the B.C. Liberal caucus – accusing Premier Gordon Campbell of showing a complete and utter disregard for the opinions of elected members. Instead, says the Surrey-Whalley MLA, Campbell has pressed ahead with his own "secretive mandate." She says as a result, "community dreams and goals are being crushed" by the Liberal government. http://vancouver.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/V...=bc_mla20040308 This is quite a devastating indictment for the Premier of BC, and probably couldn't have come at a worse time as well. Campbell has to call an election in 2005 as BC now has a 4 year term fixed date elections. Hard to believe as the Liberals won by such a massive majority in the last election, in 2001, but the Campbell Liberals have been in freefall, and now the NDP, with their new leader Carole James, are now tied with the Liberals in the polls. Will this be the final straw that topples Gordon Campbell from the leadership of his party?

I think Belinda said it all about Harper at the Montreal debate yesterday: Under Stephen's leadership, the Alliance party lost 11, or is it 12, consecutive by-elections. The problem around this issue is that by-elections are usually a time when citizens feel it is safe to chastise the government because there is usually no threat of overturning the government. So by-elections are most often won by the opposition parties.