Will Stephane Dion become Prime Minister?

[1967100]

With Harper being the most unpopular Prime Minister in the last 40 years due to the Afghanistan War and the economic recession in Canada, do you think Dion will become Prime Minister by ousting the fat Harper?

[Pliny]

With Harper being the most unpopular Prime Minister in the last 40 years due to the Afghanistan War and the economic recession in Canada, do you think Dion will become Prime Minister by ousting the fat Harper?

Wishful thinking. Mulroney and Turdeau were less popular.

[1967100]

Wishful thinking. Mulroney and Turdeau were less popular.

Actually, Trudeau is consistently ranked as Canada's most popular and well-loved Prime Minister. The CONs have to go back to the days of Sir John A. to find such a Prime Minister.

[Keepitsimple]

With Harper being the most unpopular Prime Minister in the last 40 years due to the Afghanistan War and the economic recession in Canada, do you think Dion will become Prime Minister by ousting the fat Harper?

You're too funny. Although the Conservatives seem to be lukewarm with the average Canadian voter, Harper actually has very good personal approval ratings. As for what will happen to Dion, he will end up being dumped. It's true that he does not have the leadership skills but more importantly, he is trying to take the Liberals too far to the Left. It's not really that he's afraid of losing votes to the NDP and Greens - it's that he truly is a left winger - anti-military, big Federal government - throw money at the First Nations (Kelowna), National Daycare, money directly to Municipalities instead of the Provinces.....soft on cfrime as evidenced by an unwillingness to push the Senate on Crime Bills. There's an old expression - Liberals campaign from the Left and Govern from the Right. What that traditionally has meant is that Liberals promise things to appease the hand-wringing Left but when they get in power, they don't follow through (they lie). For example - remember ending poverty by the year 2000? How about fixing Healthcare for a generation. And cancelling the GST? Now Dion says he'll reduce poverty by 30% in his first term and 50% overall. Dion would not only campaign from the Left - he actually would try to do it - Tax and Spend and our standard of living goes down, down down. That's why the Liberal backroom boys will turf him.

Edited February 18, 2008 by Keepitsimple

[Muddy]

Dion is the best thing to happen to Harper`s CPC. Even if Harper gets only a minority he will govern like a majority. Why? Because the people will have made it perfectly clear for a second time they want a minority government and the opposition will be expected to co operate. I predicted Dion would win the leadership of the Liberals,but I also predicted he would be an interm leader.

The country is at war and our troops are in harms way. The country does not need nor should it have a leader who changes it`s policys on the war on a weekly basis. Like him or not, Harper is the better leader while we are in this conflict.

[Borg]

Actually, Trudeau is consistently ranked as Canada's most popular and well-loved Prime Minister. The CONs have to go back to the days of Sir John A. to find such a Prime Minister.

Unless of course you do that poll in Alberta.

I for one would rather piss on his grave than talk highly of him. But then again he ruined many in my family with his medling in the oil biz.

Trudeau - the name alone brings many in the west to the boiling point.

Borg

[Borg]

With Harper being the most unpopular Prime Minister in the last 40 years due to the Afghanistan War and the economic recession in Canada, do you think Dion will become Prime Minister by ousting the fat Harper?

Do not know where you get that info - perhaps some proof or are you trolling?

Dion is an absolute wimp and makes mr. dithers look real good.

Best thing the libs could have done is bring him to the front as leader.

Borg

[noahbody]

I think Dion has a good chance. The reason is that many people have bought into the "Harper would be different with a majority" propaganda. So they will vote for a minority government thinking enough will vote for Harper for him to keep power. It will be a little like Canadian Idol when the only guy that could sing, Greg Neufeld, was gone early and Canada was stuck with Brian Melo.

[capricorn]

Best thing the libs could have done is bring him to the front as leader.

Borg

Dion is a gift Chretien unknowingly gave the Conservatives. Chretien has now counseled Dion to defeat the government on the budget. I hope Dion is grateful enough to have been rescued from the halls of academia and heeds the advice. This charade has gone on long enough.

[Hydraboss]

Unless of course you do that poll in Alberta.

I for one would rather piss on his grave than talk highly of him. But then again he ruined many in my family with his medling in the oil biz.

Trudeau - the name alone brings many in the west to the boiling point.

Borg

PET was perhaps the most popular PM in history in two provinces of Canada. He single-handedly ensured that another Liberal PM from Kwebek will never be sent to Ottawa by the west. The hatred out here even for that name does more than bring many to the boiling point; the name will make the elderly use swear words they never thought they would. Even on this board there have been posters that have debated whether PET or mass murderers are worse (I think that's pushing it, but I wouldn't have even considered hitting the brakes if the bastard had walked in front of my truck). He ruined this country with his Charter of No Rights and Exceptions, and the west will never forgive the Liberals for that.

Why on god's green earth you would bring up that guy's name in a thread about Harper the Liberal and Dion the Liberal is beyond me. Your statement that Harper is the most unpopular PM in the last 40 years is proven wrong even by substantiated posts by Liberal shills like jdobbin. Check out his Political Polls thread.

Dion will be defeated in the next election, and then demoted to water boy for the Natural Governing Party of Kwebek, Canada, and the World. I had hoped he would stay to ensure that Harper gets his majority, but apparently Dion wasn't even useful enough to do that properly.

[Wild Bill]

With Harper being the most unpopular Prime Minister in the last 40 years due to the Afghanistan War and the economic recession in Canada, do you think Dion will become Prime Minister by ousting the fat Harper?

Well, you sure know how to kick off a thread!

That being said, I'm not sure if you're playing devil's advocate here. Surely you don't believe your point about PET's popularity?

I lived through those times. Ole Pierre never had absolute support even in Ontario. You either loved him or hated him. There was no inbetween. While he obviously had enough votes to win enough of the available seats to win power (not always with a majority) he never held anywhere near the majorities of Brian Mulroney.

There is a very human tendency to project our wishes onto reality. While it might feel good it is rarely accurate.

If you want to make a reputation as a reliable prophet you're gonna have to learn to be a bit more objective. I have absolutely no idea how anyone could vote for Dalton McGuinty after he threw an entire town to the wolves, depriving them of even the basic right of police protection. Still, it was obvious that he was going to win the last provincial election.

[CanadianOak]

I'm shocked as to why Liberals chose Dion! If anything he actually gives Harper's Conservatives a chance at majority even though Harper ran on a Liberal agenda over the past couple of years and has even teamed up with the NDP on some issues for God's sake!

Next we are gonna choose Trudeau's son who will be just as dismal. I cannot believe this nonsense. Trudeau jr. is already campaigning for some MPs as if he is some kind of a Super Star.

I personally don't like the conservatives after Mulroney screwed sh*t up. But I'd much rather prefer Harper who seems like a stronger leader than Dion and would give the cons a few more years because I think they deserve them but a minority government though.

Anyone but Dion. He makes Harper look amazing.

[Hydraboss]

Dion makes a cabbage and large rocks look amazing.

[M.Dancer]

With Harper being the most unpopular Prime Minister in the last 40 years due to the Afghanistan War and the economic recession in Canada, do you think Dion will become Prime Minister by ousting the fat Harper?

All opinion polls show Harper as being one of the best liked amongst the crop.

[Borg]

All opinion polls show Harper as being one of the best liked amongst the crop.

Someone please produce one of these polls.

That way we can refute the pollster rather than the poll - for a time at least.

Seems everyone has read or seen one stating something.

Heck I saw a dog pissing on one recently.

Borg

[M.Dancer]

Someone please produce one of these polls.

That way we can refute the pollster rather than the poll - for a time at least.

Seems everyone has read or seen one stating something.

Heck I saw a dog pissing on one recently.

Borg

When respondents were asked if they found the leaders favourable, less than half said they had a good impression of Dion (difference between a Jan. 11-14, 2007 poll in brackets):

Stephen Harper, Conservatives: 58 per cent (+4)

Elizabeth May, Green Party: 56 per cent (-2)

Jack Layton, NDP: 55 per cent (-4)

Stephane Dion, Liberals: 39 per cent (-20)

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...?hub=TopStories

[M.Dancer]

The numbers in parenthesis denotes the change from the previous Nanos Research survey completed in November 2007 (90 day change).

The most trustworthy leader

Stephen Harper 30 (-1)

Jack Layton 21 (+7)

Stephane Dion 14 (+2)

Elizabeth May 8 (+4)

Gilles Duceppe 6 (NC)

UNPROMPTED

None of them/Undecided 20 (-13)

The most competent leader

Stephen Harper 39 (NC)

Stephane Dion 16 (+5)

Jack Layton 15 (+2)

Gilles Duceppe 6 (NC)

Elizabeth May 3 (NC)

UNPROMPTED

None of them/Undecided 22 (-5)

The leader with the best vision for Canada's future

Stephen Harper 32 (-3)

Jack Layton 18 (+3)

Stephane Dion 17 (+2)

Gilles Duceppe 3 (NC)

Elizabeth May 6 (+1)

UNPROMPTED

None of them/Undecided 24 (-4)

To sign up for automatic polling updates or to see the detailed tables visit our website at: http://www.nanosresearch.com.

[Slim MacSquinty]

I think the CONS are doing a very good job, no corruption, they almost always do what they say they would do, they are doing a good job on foriegn policy, are dealing with the silly premiers well and are making reasonable compromises on the environment.

What the hell do Canadians want? If Ontario and that cardboard cut out they call premier are the example then they just want sweet nothings and promises wispered in their ears with no phone call the next day!

[Visionseeker]

Dion's numbers are no worse than Harper's were before the 2004 election. An election has a way of raising impressions of the contender, that's why the Conservatives have tried so hard to depict him as a weak leader.

I think the Dion detractors on this board make the same mistake as his leadership rivals: to underestimate him, is to lose to him.

The next trip to the polls will be quite interesting. I personally am looking forward to Dion trumping a good measure of Bloc support. He impressed many watching his appearance on Tout le monde en parle, and Harper is simply ill-equipped to be competitive with him in Quebec.

Dion may be unseasoned as a leader, but as someone who has watched his improbable political career since the beginning, it is folly to call him weak.

Edited February 20, 2008 by Visionseeker

[Slim MacSquinty]

Dion doesn't have the "stuff" he looks like Beaker, he mutilates my mother tongue and he can't make up his mind on the issues, then again Chretien was funny looking, also mutilated my Mother tongue and ruled by the polls.

Chretien didn't really have much of an opposition at the time, so I hope history doesn't repeat itself. The Liberal's are very divided, underfunded and not enthusiastic about going to the polls.

The Cons have done very well as a minority, although I do suspect that enough of the voters are still skeptical based on the Liberal campaign of neo-con BS. The proof however is in the pudding and despite all the chicken little stuff the sky remains. If the Democrats win in the US it is very likely they will pursue a protectionist, anti free trade policy which would be very bad for Canada. Harper will be viewed more favourably, the US is unlikely to tolerate a Liberal American bashing government in Canada and will be further motivated to turn their backs on us.

[capricorn]

At this moment, Dion's nemesis is Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario. Dalton is a Liberal in a majority government and he is alienating many Ontarians with his leadership style. I believe this is why the Conservatives' numbers in Ontario are improving as shown in recent polls. The Liberals have a majority in Ontario and Ontarians (same as with Quebec) prefer to keep federal politics opposite to provincial politics.

Admittedly, Dion has other strikes against him, yet IMO this provincial dynamic, both in Ontario and Quebec, will work in favour of the Conservatives and against the federal Liberals. In effect, the Liberals are wasting their time trying to determine when to defeat the government on a specific issue. The writing is on the wall and the Conservatives are sitting pretty. It's a good time to be a Conservative supporter as all the pieces are falling into place for victory. IMO, unless a major scandal hits the government in the near future, it's looking more and more like a Conservative majority will materialize.

[Slim MacSquinty]

Here's hoping your right!

The last thing this country needs is an arrogant sociology professor in charge, hell when I went to school most of them thought of Marx as a hero and communism just needed another chance.

I'm very hopeful for a CON majority and a move toward civil liberties and better democracy. I would be very encouraged to see property rights in the charter.

[Topaz]

These polls have one problem they don't poll the whole country they only ask about 1000 or less people. I can get a better "poll" by going on different forums and so far, alot people don't like either but they don't like Harper more. Harper today, talked about building a stronger military for the future. Well to build a stronger military it takes huge amount of money and then you have to get the people to enlist. If think if Harper ever got a majority government he would really blow the budget on another buying spree for the "big" items and he would have to bring in some sort of mandatory service to get the personnel. So if you have both of these items, then you want to bet Canadian soldiers will be in the theatre of war all the time, after all what good is having a military if you don't use it?

[Slim MacSquinty]

These polls have one problem they don't poll the whole country they only ask about 1000 or less people. I can get a better "poll" by going on different forums and so far, alot people don't like either but they don't like Harper more.

Perhaps you can get a job at the Toronto Star, you could save them alot of money and it appears you agree with their editorial agenda. The application of probability and statistics (you know math?) makes the asking of 1000 people under the correct circumstances quite accurate.

Harper today, talked about building a stronger military for the future. Well to build a stronger military it takes huge amount of money and then you have to get the people to enlist. If think if Harper ever got a majority government he would really blow the budget on another buying spree for the "big" items and he would have to bring in some sort of mandatory service to get the personnel. So if you have both of these items, then you want to bet Canadian soldiers will be in the theatre of war all the time, after all what good is having a military if you don't use it?

You have an excellent imagination, going from the desire for a strong military to enlistment and warmongering, good for you. I once saw a spider eat a fly, soon there will be no flies.

[Dionysus]

Actually, Trudeau is consistently ranked as Canada's most popular and well-loved Prime Minister. The CONs have to go back to the days of Sir John A. to find such a Prime Minister.

Just to note, he's both one of the most loved and one of the most hated. The Greatest Canadian Be sure to look under "Greatest" and then "Worst". While worst is a tad drastic, I can understand the spread. Personally, I love his personality but policies? Less so.

Edited February 26, 2008 by Dionysus