What would force each of the federal leaders to resign?

Bryan · October 2, 2015

Conservatives are a minority in this country as they are well aware.

Socialists are an even smaller minority. Most people are right in the middle, willing to give anyone a try if what they happen to be selling lines up with what they feel they need at the time. Conservatives have been successful in recent years because they moved to the middle.

Smeelious · October 2, 2015

Personally, I think Micheal Chong would make a good conservative leader...

To the topic, Harper has said that he would go if the Conservatives lost even one seat. So I suspect he'll go. He's had a good run, and I shudder to think who will actually take his place at the head of the Cons.

I suspect Muclair will be gone after this election, unless by some chance they win.

Trudeau has a ways to go yet. It would take an extraordinarily bad showing for him to be ousted. (Like being reduced to 2 seats...)

SpankyMcFarland · October 2, 2015

Socialists are an even smaller minority. Most people are right in the middle, willing to give anyone a try if what they happen to be selling lines up with what they feel they need at the time. Conservatives have been successful in recent years because they moved to the middle.

They are centrist on some issues - abortion, the economy - but they are the only party that appeal to the Reform crowd. Nobody else is competing for that vote. Their left wing is the old PC end and the right is beyond Reform. Conservatives have never gotten near getting a majority of the popular vote. Most people in this country are to the left of the Conservatives. That is where their paranoia about the media etc. comes from. The BQ compete with them for the xenophobe vote in Quebec.

And who is talking about 'Socialists' here and nationalizing the means of production etc? That's usually a pejorative term for someone to the left of the person using it. There are no big socialist parties in Canada.

Edited October 2, 2015 by SpankyMcFarland

SpankyMcFarland · October 2, 2015

Personally, I think Micheal Chong would make a good conservative leader...

To the topic, Harper has said that he would go if the Conservatives lost even one seat. So I suspect he'll go. He's had a good run, and I shudder to think who will actually take his place at the head of the Cons.

I suspect Muclair will be gone after this election, unless by some chance they win.

Trudeau has a ways to go yet. It would take an extraordinarily bad showing for him to be ousted. (Like being reduced to 2 seats...)

The party machine types would never allow somebody like that to become leader. I would certainly consider voting for them if they did. Edited October 2, 2015 by SpankyMcFarland

angrypenguin · October 2, 2015

Personally, I think Micheal Chong would make a good conservative leader...

To the topic, Harper has said that he would go if the Conservatives lost even one seat. So I suspect he'll go. He's had a good run, and I shudder to think who will actually take his place at the head of the Cons.

I suspect Muclair will be gone after this election, unless by some chance they win.

Trudeau has a ways to go yet. It would take an extraordinarily bad showing for him to be ousted. (Like being reduced to 2 seats...)

You mean with the interview with Mansbridge? No, he said he would cease to be PM if he didn't have the most # of seats. He didn't say he'd go.

Smeelious · October 2, 2015

"My position has always been if we win the most seats I will expect to form the government and if we don't, I won't," Harper said. Mansbridge asked Harper if that would be the case, even if the Conservatives finish only couple of seats behind. "Well, I would not serve as prime minister," Harper said.

You mean with the interview with Mansbridge? No, he said he would cease to be PM if he didn't have the most # of seats. He didn't say he'd go.

Yeah, I must have read that wrong...

angrypenguin · October 2, 2015

Yeah, I must have read that wrong...

It's not your fault at all. The CBC's headline duped me too on that article. Someone then went (to me)...uhh, what are you going on about? Of course he wouldn't be PM!

Damn CBC. Defund that place!

ScottM · October 2, 2015

I didn't realize how old Joe Oliver is. Yeah, he's definitely out...

cybercoma · October 2, 2015

Why? Harper is still young and by all accounts he seems to enjoy governing, if not campaigning. If he wins a majority now (unlikely given the polls) he may well not only stay for the 4 years but lead the party into the 2019 election as well... he's still got a few more terms to go if he wants to set a record for the longest serving PM!

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm under the impression that he has already indicated that he won't run again regardless.

angrypenguin · October 3, 2015

I didn't realize how old Joe Oliver is. Yeah, he's definitely out...

Bit OT, but I really miss the late Jim Flaherty.

That man was a true legend.

SpankyMcFarland · October 4, 2015

If I may, I'd like to add another dimension to this discussion. Should any of the leaders go, who would be their likely replacements?

Christy Clark is another thought I have. She defied expectaions in the provincial election a couple of years ago, so I can't help but wonder if she might be able to do the same think on a federal level. If the Liberals are looking for a leader, they'd probably be coming off of a brutal election, so that kind of thing couldn't hurt. She might also help them grow outside of the Vancouver area.

Of course, that's all assuming that any of those people would even be interested in running for the leadership. I'm just thinking of who I might want to recruit were I in the position of the members of those parties.

She is keeping a very low profile. I am not sure I know which federal party she would actually like to lead, if any. She's a bit ambiguous on that front, a LINO, if you will.

SpankyMcFarland · October 4, 2015

Bit OT, but I really miss the late Jim Flaherty.

That man was a true legend.

There was something very likeable about him. I never felt he was reading from somebody else's script. We have been blessed with good Finance Mnisters in this country for decades.

angrypenguin · October 4, 2015

There was something very likeable about him. I never felt he was reading from somebody else's script. We have been blessed with good Finance Mnisters in this country for decades.

Agreed. Irrespective of party affiliation, we have definitely been blessed.

During a part of Flaherty's funeral, Harper talked directly to his sons. When one of his son's cried, that put me over the edge.

EDIT: Here it is for anyone who wants to see it. There's a lot about Flaherty that many don't know, until they watch the video. He was a true dedicated public servant.

It was a great service to the late Jim Flaherty. That was the best speech I have ever heard from the PM himself. And the best speech I have ever heard in my life.

EDIT 2: Just watched it again, and started to cry

EDIT 3: The late Jim Flaherty. A true legend.

Edited October 4, 2015 by angrypenguin

SpankyMcFarland · October 4, 2015

The drive of politicians is quite extraordinary. How Flaherty managed to keep going with an agonizing skin condition and industrial doses of steroids in one of the most demanding jobs in the country is beyond me.

Edited October 4, 2015 by SpankyMcFarland

ToadBrother · October 4, 2015

Harper's a smart cookie. I have faith that he'll find something to keep him in power.

Like what exactly? If he wins a minority, the new convention growing out of the 2008 prorogation crisis might only buy him a couple of months. If he is defeated within weeks or months of the election, he won't have any say at all, because a loss of confidence demands he immediately go to the Governor General and resign.

The opposition parties have made it clear. They will not support a Tory government, and while there is probably an exception if the minority is very large (say, somewhere in the 160 seat range), if they are serious about bringing the government down at the earliest opportunity, there isn't going to be a long-lived Tory minority.

Harper may be smart, but he is not possessed of unlimited power.

waldo · October 4, 2015

It was a great service to the late Jim Flaherty. That was the best speech I have ever heard from the PM himself. And the best speech I have ever heard in my life.

EDIT 2: Just watched it again, and started to cry

EDIT 3: The late Jim Flaherty. A true legend.

Harper skewed/soured what should have been an emphasis on Flaherty, the man, to instead make all too many overt politicized comments. The service wasn't the appropriate venue to presume to trumpet a perceived legacy, one that many certainly wouldn't agree with, either in entirety or in part. Over time, I've gained a sense of, and respect for, Flaherty's self makeup and how others accepted him, beyond the machinations of politics. In that service, Harper went well beyond that to the point of a self-serving play to the audience/camera. To me, the fitting testament to Flaherty was how he steadfastly supported Rob Ford/Ford family (based on his long-standing ties to the family)... that emotion was genuine and certainly afforded no political favour!

.

angrypenguin · October 4, 2015

Harper skewed/soured what should have been an emphasis on Flaherty, the man, to instead make all too many overt politicized comments. The service wasn't the appropriate venue to presume to trumpet a perceived legacy, one that many certainly wouldn't agree with, either in entirety or in part. Over time, I've gained a sense of, and respect for, Flaherty's self makeup and how others accepted him, beyond the machinations of politics. In that service, Harper went well beyond that to the point of a self-serving play to the audience/camera. To me, the fitting testament to Flaherty was how he steadfastly supported Rob Ford/Ford family (based on his long-standing ties to the family)... that emotion was genuine and certainly afforded no political favour!

.

I'll never agree with you. The service was great, and gave Flaherty the praise he deserved.

waldo · October 4, 2015

I'll never agree with you. The service was great, and gave Flaherty the praise he deserved.

I'll never agree with you... parts of the service were respectful to the life of the man, Jim Flaherty, and to his family... other parts, particularly the Harper eulogy were unnecessarily politicized and demeaned the overall service.

angrypenguin · October 4, 2015

I'll never agree with you... parts of the service were respectful to the life of the man, Jim Flaherty, and to his family... other parts, particularly the Harper eulogy were unnecessarily politicized and demeaned the overall service.

Which part are you referring to?

ToadBrother · October 4, 2015

But isn't that the game they are supposed to be playing? Without a majority, Harper can only stay PM by avoiding a vote in Parliament. What opponent would feel bad about getting rid of such a person?

Sir John A MacDonald did it in 1873 after he was caught receiving bribes (the Pacific Scandal), and was actually rewarded with electoral victory again in 1878.

It's rather ironic, but in the supposedly prudish Victorian Age, people were a lot more forgiving of their politicians' foibles than they are now. Perhaps Sir John A should have counted himself lucky he didn't have Facebook and political web forums!