Ignatieff calls it!

[Moonbox]

This might be worth a thread of its own. Why is the Ontario Liberal support so confined to cities?

What is it about the party that makes it so unappealing to voters outside 416 land?

It's because Liberal social programs, or social programs in general, are largely concentrated in large cities. Combine this with the LPC's over-generous immigration policies (family re-unification and refugee claims etc) and the heavy ethnic populations in these cities and you have a perfect stew for pandering.

[nicky10013]

It's because Liberal social programs, or social programs in general, are largely concentrated in large cities. Combine this with the LPC's over-generous immigration policies (family re-unification and refugee claims etc) and the heavy ethnic populations in these cities and you have a perfect stew for pandering.

I think it's more of a rural/city divide. In the end, rural voters don't understand the plight of the urban voter and the urban voter doesn't understand the plight of the rural voter. Though, I do have to say that though it "looks bad" when you see a map of blue ridings and red ridings, the urban population of Canada accounts for some 80% of the population not to mention the fact that urban ridings are vastly under-represented in terms of MPs per capita as opposed to those in rural riding.

Toronto isn't the only Liberal stronghold. Montreal and Vancouver also have a great deal of Liberal seats. The Maritimes are also traditionally Liberal. Polling in Ontario and Quebec around the party is way up especially after the "They can go fuck themeselves" comment out of Mr. Baird.

[punked]

"We do better" That is and what the Liberals will be spinning this election. We have already seen it today. I think that is a notion and I think it a great slogan. I thought it was a great slogan when both John and Robert used it. Mr. Ignatieff you are no JFK so you could stop stealing his slogan's please?

[Topaz]

"We do better" That is and what the Liberals will be spinning this election. We have already seen it today. I think that is a notion and I think it a great slogan. I thought it was a great slogan when both John and Robert used it. Mr. Ignatieff you are no JFK so you could stop stealing his slogan's please?

OK, how about, BETTER.. its what we do! OR the Better we do, the better Canadians will feel! or We're just.....Better!

[Topaz]

Flippy Floopy Flip Flop

Is Harper on a slow boat to China? Well it doesn't matter because the city of Windsor On has China coming to them to make business deal. http://www.windsorstar.com/Chinese+busines...4582/story.html

[jbg]

If it weren't for Toronto, the LPC would do terrible in Ontario. It's the same throughout most of the country. Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto is all the Liberals have to hang on to right now, which speaks volumes of how they run their show.

But Canada is a rather urban country population-wise. Ex Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and the remaining provincial capitals, Canada is lightly populated.

[jbg]

Ignatieff like most Liberals seem to be more and more 3rd way liberals. Ignatieff, Chretien, Martin, Clinton, Obama and most importantly Tony Blair as he founded the 3rd Way...

Osama Obama is not Third Way in any sense. He's truly left wing; even to my left.

[Moonbox]

But Canada is a rather urban country population-wise. Ex Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and the remaining provincial capitals, Canada is lightly populated.

The Liberal votes aren't concentrated on urban centres in general. It's just three VERY specific cities that account for close to 25% of Canada's population.

[Moonbox]

I think it's more of a rural/city divide. In the end, rural voters don't understand the plight of the urban voter and the urban voter doesn't understand the plight of the rural voter. Though, I do have to say that though it "looks bad" when you see a map of blue ridings and red ridings, the urban population of Canada accounts for some 80% of the population not to mention the fact that urban ridings are vastly under-represented in terms of MPs per capita as opposed to those in rural riding.

Toronto isn't the only Liberal stronghold. Montreal and Vancouver also have a great deal of Liberal seats. The Maritimes are also traditionally Liberal. Polling in Ontario and Quebec around the party is way up especially after the "They can go fuck themeselves" comment out of Mr. Baird.

It's not a rural/city divide. It's a metropolis/everything else divide.

It's not the 'plight' of the urban or rural voter that's in question here. The problem a lot of people outside of those three cities have is that an excessive portion of federal/provincial funds go towards big city projects.

[Sir Bandelot]

"Adventavit asinus,Pulcher et fortissimus"

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090904/...delxn_ignatieff

[Keepitsimple]

This was in my inbox this morning - it had a picture of a turtle on a fencepost:

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old rancher, who's hand was caught in the gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually, the topic got around to Ignatieff and his bid to be the PM of Canada.

The old rancher said, 'Well, ya know, he's a 'Post Turtle''. Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a 'post turtle' was.

The old rancher said, 'When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a 'post turtle'.

The old rancher saw the puzzled look on the doctor's face so he continued to explain.

. . . 'You know he didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belong up there, and he doesn't know what to do while he's up there, and you just wonder what kind of dumb ass put him up there to begin with'.

[ToadBrother]

This might be worth a thread of its own. Why is the Ontario Liberal support so confined to cities?

Because the rural population makes up a small enough fraction of the electorate that there's little to be gained by bending policies to attract rural voters.

It's the harsh arithmetic of electoral success. I'm sure the Tories would gladly swap their success among rural voters in Ontario with the success the Liberals so often hae in urban Ontario.