RNG

But the fallicy of your argument is that the 60% you refer to is not a majority, they are split and actively bickering against each other. Right now, the biggest political fight in Canada is NDP vs. Libs.

Admittedly Garneau is smart, and in great physical shape, and a good guy. But the attributes that made him a good astronaut and a good scientist do not necessarily translate to good business or good politics. Silly statement on Iggy's part. (Again.)

I worked with a Russian petroleum engineer in the early '80's who somehow got permission to emmigrate to Canada. In the early '70's he would get pulled out of his Moscow office and sent to a collective farm, spring and fall. He and multi-thousands of others were drafted to help the planting and the harvest. He says most were so angry about this that the deliberately sabataged the planting, and stole as much or more of what they harvested. He says it was a total fiasco.

In my experience, extreme anything is bad. (Can you patent a brilliant thought?) I call myself a libertarian by the US definition. I visited the Canadian Libertarian website. Those guys are way worse than the original Reform stuff.

I agree, so let's see, 8 AM to 8 PM Pacific time means the guys in Newfieville can vote from 1 PM to 1 AM and Ontario is good to go from 11 AM to 11 PM. And will start seeing some results about midnight. Works for me!!1!1

That's sort of funny because I am, economically, very right wing.

That's what I think we all hope for. The problem as I see it is that, as is demonstrated in this forum so often, the views are becoming more and more polarized in Canada, almost if not equal to the situation in the US. I am not an Obama fan, but the Reps would criticize him for causing the world population to spike if he cured cancer. And the Dems take the same view of any Rep. It's getting way too similar here.

This is a great technique for engaging the younger demographic. The problem is that the younger demographic, by and large don't bother voting, and probably vote NDP anyway. Who was it that first said "Any twenty year old who isn't a socialist has no heart, but any thirty year old who isn't conservative has no brain."? (Or words to that effect.) Some say Churchill, but I don't think so.

I know there are several theorists on this site who keep telling us we in fact vote for our local MP, not the PM, and that we are a parliamentary democracy with this meaning and that. But lets face it, I'll say starting with Trudeau and going on, each successive PM concentrated more and more power into the PMO to the point that the average MP is a voting puppet. Some cabinet ministers have some stroke, but it's all the PM. I think Clark tried to be more "democratic" and look what happened to him. Talking with my friends they all agree that it is the leader who makes the greatest difference and dominates choice of candidates. So picking a good leader is very important. And in this game, defining good is difficult.

All of them, and you should have made cadidate plural.

I'm going off memory here, which at my age is always dangerous, but I seem to recall reading about an analysis if US federal election results that did show that as one of the parties gained more and more seats in the East, the voting patterns drifted in the west to increase voting in favour of the leading party. Trying a quick google and couldn't find it. Any of you recall that?

Exactly, but we export way more to the US from western Canada via several major pipelines. The western exports far exceed the eastern imports.

We don't import oil. We are a net exporter of oil, in a big way. That is a big chunk of our trade balance.

Not quite totally correct. Eastern Canada imports oil and gas. Western Canada exports it. We export close to twice what we import, as your data shows. The reason being transportation costs. Be it pipeline, tanker, truck, train whatever, it has a cost. Pipelines are the cheapest. We have more pipelines south in western Canada so we export there. The infrastructure is such that imports from the US and by tanker from Venezuela and Russia to the refineries in the Maritimes, Quebec and Ontario make economic sense.

From my POV, you, in this simple sentence, just proved yourself to be a liar.

Here it's more, a bit over 40%.

With all due respect, I'm not sure, even if it's early Alzheimer's, if they should be voting, based on my experience with two relatives who unfortunately had the condition.

Talking Alberta, Saskatchewan and BC, royalties are some percentage of the dollar value, so when prices drop, government revenue drops. This hurt all three of those provinces through this last period of low prices. And Canada is a net exporter of refined products. I believe there may be some importing in the east, but there is more exporting in the west.

I don't know, but I do know that the auto insurance company the NDP opened in BC is charging me 40% more than I paid in Alberta for less coverage and more user fees.

Thanks, Hydraboss. I have given up trying to defend this. It's like sour gas pollution. There have now been seven studies, government, private and combined, and none have ever found any evidence that living downwind of a sour gas plant has any adverse effects. So the enviros just keep saying well, it needs more study. Same thing here. Sensationalism and prejudice.

And everyone ignores water vapor.

S&P have lowered their outlook for the US from neutral to negative and has "treatened" to lower the US debt rating. The Fed called it a "political decision". What say you? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13118834

So how'd that shoe factory the CCF opened in Saskatchewan do then?

Layton has the most charisma, no doubt. But he has never really been tested. I keep going back to the fact that Stockwell Day was a great Alberta cabinet minister, a dissaster as a leader, and a great Fed cabinet minister. Paul Martin was the best minister of finance we have ever had, IMO, but a loser as PM. Jack isn't proven.

What monopoly are you referring to? And they don't extract money from the hard working common folk. They provide jobs for the hard working common folk so they can feed their kids and have the odd beer. And if they didn't create conditions to allow production of wealth, we would all starve.