Canadian Conservatives

[JohnCanada]

Hello,

Recently I've taken a keen interesting in Canadian politics, (I am from the UK) and i want to follow the conservative party race, being as I am a Tory myself, but I was wondering if someone could help me out with some doubts.

-Which is the best right wing Canadian newspaper? Is it the national post? I've been checking it out but it barely seems conservative, it looks as PC and deluded as many lefty publications, although I must say so far I've found the CBC and the likes of the Toronto Star to be nothing short of laughable in their bias. So I'd appreciate if someone could recommend me Canadian right wing papers, magazines, podcasts, tv channels, etc. If you are familiar with British papers, I am a fan of the Spectator and The Telegraph, so something around those lines but Canadian would be great.

-Who are the sort of right wing members of the conservative party? and of those running? I've noticed Bernier is the libertarian, but among the rest, I've noticed little difference between Michael Chong and Clement, they both seem like liberals in disguise, I am a fan of Jason Kenney as he is a great friend of Britain but I know he's running to be Alberta's premier. Is MacKay to the right of the party? or will all candidates be essentially centre-ish?

Looking forward to the answers and thanks for the help in advance!

[eyeball]

The Sun News and Ezra Levant are who you're looking for.

IMO the CPC is far too nice in their handling of lefties - ideologues who should be dealt with no differently than terrorists.

[?Impact]

Eyeball has it right, if you want right wing trash then the Toronto Sun is your place to go. If it is over the board rabid cesspool you love to hang out in then The Rebel is right up your alley.

The one national newspaper you didn't mention is the Globe and Mail, but that might be too much news and not enough sensationalism for your liking.

Other Canadian newspapers of note are The Montreal Gazette, The Calgary Herald, The Ottawa Citizen, The Chronicle Herald, Le Devior, and La Presse.

Edited July 18, 2016 by ?Impact

[Big Guy]

If you want to re-enforce your views and read what you want to hear then stay with Conservative media. If you want to try to understand those who disagree with you then you might try left wing media.

Why would you want to read opinions of people who agree with you?

What would you learn?

[Argus]

Which is the best right wing Canadian newspaper? Is it the national post? I've been checking it out but it barely seems conservative, it looks as PC and deluded as many lefty publications,

There are no right wing newspapers in Canada. There are several media corporations, and the one that owns the National Post also owns numerous other media outlets, and likes to be able to put the same stories in all of them, so it's all kind of bland and centrist. The Post probably has the most intelligent conservative columnists and news editors, but that's not saying much. There is no equivalent of the Telegraph here.

And you have to remember that the term 'conservative' is not easily transferable between say, the US, Canada and the UK.

Only fiscal conservatism is given any sort of voice in Canada. Social conservatism is not considered acceptable by the media, and I'm unaware of any social conservative columnists in any major media outlet.

-Who are the sort of right wing members of the conservative party? and of those running? I've noticed Bernier is the libertarian, but among the rest, I've noticed little difference between Michael Chong and Clement, they both seem like liberals in disguise, I am a fan of Jason Kenney as he is a great friend of Britain but I know he's running to be Alberta's premier. Is MacKay to the right of the party? or will all candidates be essentially centre-ish?

Pretty much, yes. Michelle Rempel is considered more on the small c conservative side. Clement just makes whatever mouth noises he thinks will be well received. McKay is a lefty, a red tory

[JohnCanada]

Eyeball has it right, if you want right wing trash then the Toronto Sun is your place to go. If it is over the board rabid cesspool you love to hang out in then The Rebel is right up your alley.

The one national newspaper you didn't mention is the Globe and Mail, but that might be too much news and not enough sensationalism for your liking.

Other Canadian newspapers of note are The Montreal Gazette, The Calgary Herald, The Ottawa Citizen, The Chronicle Herald, Le Devior, and La Presse.

Thanks for the help although I don't get the hostility, I never said I was looking for sensationalism or tabloids, which seems to be what the Toronto Sun is, that's why I mentioned I like the Telegraph and Spectator, which are very far from our own tabloids like the Daily Mail, Express, etc.

I am familiar with the Globe and Mail, they are pretty much Canada's version of the Guardian, which is very far from actual news.

So the Montreal Gazzete, Calgary Herald, Citizen, etc, are all regional affiliates of the National Post? They all claim to be or have the reputation to be centre-right papers?

[JohnCanada]

There are no right wing newspapers in Canada. There are several media corporations, and the one that owns the National Post also owns numerous other media outlets, and likes to be able to put the same stories in all of them, so it's all kind of bland and centrist. The Post probably has the most intelligent conservative columnists and news editors, but that's not saying much. There is no equivalent of the Telegraph here.

And you have to remember that the term 'conservative' is not easily transferable between say, the US, Canada and the UK.

Only fiscal conservatism is given any sort of voice in Canada. Social conservatism is not considered acceptable by the media, and I'm unaware of any social conservative columnists in any major media outlet.

Pretty much, yes. Michelle Rempel is considered more on the small c conservative side. Clement just makes whatever mouth noises he thinks will be well received. McKay is a lefty, a red tory

Thank you, very helpful answer, so the National Post is my best bet to get decent Canadian news then?

[JohnCanada]

If you want to re-enforce your views and read what you want to hear then stay with Conservative media. If you want to try to understand those who disagree with you then you might try left wing media.

Why would you want to read opinions of people who agree with you?

What would you learn?

I am all for understanding those I disagree with, I used to be a lefty myself until I realised how fundamentally rotten the left was, through books like What's Left, from Nick Cohen, etc. Anyway, the reason I prefer right wing newspapers is because they're the ones who are actually reporting the news as they are, without trying to obfuscate reality and show the world through the lens of delusion of left wing media, for example, with the recent attacks in Nice, you had the likes of the CBC with headlines like "Truck attacks crowd", laughable stuff.

[Argus]

Thanks for the help although I don't get the hostility,

You seem to have expressed a sense of support for conservatism. That automatically makes you an evil, heartless, immoral person in the eyes of this web site's lefties. Why do you hate the poor, John? Why are you a racist and warmonger?

[Argus]

Thank you, very helpful answer, so the National Post is my best bet to get decent Canadian news then?

Although all the big papers are part of chains they will also cater, to some extent, to the home audience. I think you'll find Alberta papers more conservative than those in Ontario, for example. The nationals, like the Post and Globe will straddle the middle but often have some conservative columns as well. The Post moreso than he Globe.

[?Impact]

You seem to have expressed a sense of support for conservatism. That automatically makes you an evil, heartless, immoral person in the eyes of this web site's lefties. Why do you hate the poor, John? Why are you a racist and warmonger?

Confirmed through "how fundamentally rotten the left was...lens of delusion of left wing media"

Yes, the right wing media is all news and no partisanship. I also have a bridge from Manhattan for sale.

[JohnCanada]

You seem to have expressed a sense of support for conservatism. That automatically makes you an evil, heartless, immoral person in the eyes of this web site's lefties. Why do you hate the poor, John? Why are you a racist and warmonger?

Haha brilliant, I guess I triggered a few with my very first post on here.

[Argus]

Confirmed through "how fundamentally rotten the left was...lens of delusion of left wing media"

To be fair, the Left in the UK really is fundamentally rotten.

Not that it's a whole heap better here, in my opinion, but it hasn't reached the levels of stupidity and ignorance we see in the UK.

Yes, the right wing media is all news and no partisanship. I also have a bridge from Manhattan for sale.

Partisanship is expected. Ignoring reality is irritating, though.

[JohnCanada]

To be fair, the Left in the UK really is fundamentally rotten.

Not that it's a whole heap better here, in my opinion, but it hasn't reached the levels of stupidity and ignorance we see in the UK.

Partisanship is expected. Ignoring reality is irritating, though.

Spot on with both points, the left here is plagued with antisemitism and general delusion, the leader of the biggest left-wing party here refers to Hamas and Hezbollah as 'friends', compares Israel to ISIS, sympathises with the IRA, blames terrorism on foreign policy, etc.

I don't think Trudeau is quite there yet, but he isn't much better.

[Moonlight Graham]

Eyeball has it right, if you want right wing trash then the Toronto Sun is your place to go. If it is over the board rabid cesspool you love to hang out in then The Rebel is right up your alley.

Go with these. The National Post tries to hide its bias as best it can.

[dialamah]

the reason I prefer right wing newspapers is because they're the ones who are actually reporting the news as they are, without trying to obfuscate reality and show the world through the lens of delusion of left wing media, laughable stuff.

And yet it was the conservative campaign who admitted, within hours of winning the Brexit referendum that what they'd said wasn't really what would happen.

Nigel Farage told Good Morning Britain it was a "mistake" for the Leave campaign to claim there'd be £350m a week extra for the NHS

Brexit campaigner Dr Liam Fox said: "A lot of things were said in advance of this referendum that we might want to think about again and that (invoking article 50) is one of them.

If people watching think that they have voted and there is now going to be zero immigration from the EU they are going to be disappointed

How do we suppose these 'mistaken' ideas were disseminated to the public well enough to get the referendum to pass? Not left-wing media, I'm guessing.

I think you need to assume that all media has enough bias to result in "delusion", whether right or left wing, depending on who pays the majority of the bills. If you don't want your own inherent bias to be catered to, you need to be aware that when you search, search engines present information that is similar to information you've previously looked at so if you focus on right-wing sites and information, the search engine will present that kind of information to you first, and will suppress the other side. To keep yourself, and the search engines, slightly more honest, you could regularly search both sides of whatever issue you are interested in. Still can't eliminate confirmation-bias entirely since that's an inherently human thing, but it might help a bit.

Or, instead, you could follow this advice:

... seek out safe havens for your ideology, friends and coworkers of like mind and attitude, media outlets guaranteed to play nice.

[Big Guy]

I am all for understanding those I disagree with, I used to be a lefty myself until I realised how fundamentally rotten the left was, through books like What's Left, from Nick Cohen, etc. Anyway, the reason I prefer right wing newspapers is because they're the ones who are actually reporting the news as they are, without trying to obfuscate reality and show the world through the lens of delusion of left wing media, for example, with the recent attacks in Nice, you had the likes of the CBC with headlines like "Truck attacks crowd", laughable stuff.

If you are true to your attempt to hear or read the facts then read and follow the media of the host country. Why would you want the local view of foreign events when you have access to information coming from those on the ground?

[JohnCanada]

And yet it was the conservative campaign who admitted, within hours of winning the Brexit referendum that what they'd said wasn't really what would happen.

How do we suppose these 'mistaken' ideas were disseminated to the public well enough to get the referendum to pass? Not left-wing media, I'm guessing.

I think you need to assume that all media has enough bias to result in "delusion", whether right or left wing, depending on who pays the majority of the bills. If you don't want your own inherent bias to be catered to, you need to be aware that when you search, search engines present information that is similar to information you've previously looked at so if you focus on right-wing sites and information, the search engine will present that kind of information to you first, and will suppress the other side. To keep yourself, and the search engines, slightly more honest, you could regularly search both sides of whatever issue you are interested in. Still can't eliminate confirmation-bias entirely since that's an inherently human thing, but it might help a bit.

Or, instead, you could follow this advice:

Well first regarding the points of the brexiteers, these are quotes which have been taken terribly out of contest, for example with the 350M quote from Farage, he said it was a mistake to suggest that money would all be spent on the NHS, because the reality is the government will have the control of that money, which wasn't the case before, so the government can choose to spend that money on the NHS, or on schools, roads, bridges, etc. Not necessarily on the NHS, although if the elected government wanted to spend all 350M on the NHS, they could. The whole point of Brexit was to take back control.

I am well aware that both left and right wing media have a bias, that's expected. However, the left's new trend is a constant pursuit of obfuscating reality, which is very different, like the example I gave on the Nice attacks, or how major left-wing papers have simply chosen to ignore the worrying increase of rapes in Germany, etc. Right wing media may be partisan, but at least they aren't trying to hide reality. Also it is impossible to escape left wing media, the BBC here is not as shameless as the CBC but they give it a pretty good try, and I usually read lefty posts to engage with different opinions, that being said, when I actually want to find out what's going on in the world, I am better off reading a proper newspaper.

Edited July 18, 2016 by JohnCanada

[JohnCanada]

If you are true to your attempt to hear or read the facts then read and follow the media of the host country. Why would you want the local view of foreign events when you have access to information coming from those on the ground?

That's why I am saying I want to follow Canadian politics through Canadian media, but the way some papers report on foreign events, like Nice, gives me a pretty good idea of how they operate.

[Argus]

And yet it was the conservative campaign who admitted, within hours of winning the Brexit referendum that what they'd said wasn't really what would happen.

The Conservative party actually campaigned against Brexit.

How do we suppose these 'mistaken' ideas were disseminated to the public well enough to get the referendum to pass? Not left-wing media, I'm guessing.

Really? It seems to me Labour is in a mess because so many people in Labour areas voted to leave and ignored the wishes of their leaders. Why do you suppose that was? Because they were reading conservative papers?

[August1991]

Well first regarding the points of the brexiteers, these are quotes which have been taken terribly out of contest, for example with the 350M quote from Farage, he said it was a mistake to suggest that money would all be spent on the NHS, because the reality is the government will have the control of that money, which wasn't the case before, so the government can choose to spend that money on the NHS, or on schools, roads, bridges, etc. Not necessarily on the NHS, although if the elected government wanted to spend all 350M on the NHS, they could. The whole point of Brexit was to take back control.

In Canada, Albertans and people in Saskatchewan (population 4 million or so) give/transfer about Cdn $10 billion (about €7 billion) to the governments of Quebec and the Maritimes (population 10 million or so) every year.

In Europe, adding up the the various bail outs, the German government (80 million Germans) bought Greek government bonds (population 6 million or so) worth about €300 billion in total - in one off deals. (I suspect the Greek bonds will never be redeeemed, and it's not a one-off deal. The Greeks will be back for more.)

======

The annual ongoing transfers between taxpayers in one part of Canada to provincial governments in other regions of Canada are mammoth - compared to transfers/bailouts in Europe.

JohnCanada, we call this "equalization" and according to our current PM, it means that Canada is civilized.

Edited July 18, 2016 by August1991

[JohnCanada]

In Canada, Albertans and people in Saskatchewan (population 4 million or so) give/transfer about Cdn $10 billion (about €7 billion) to the governments of Quebec and the Maritimes (population 10 million or so) every year.

In Europe, adding up the the various bail outs, the German government (80 million Germans) bought Greek government bonds (population 6 million or so) worth about €300 billion in total - in one off deals. (I suspect the Greek bonds will never be redeeemed, and it's not a one-off deal. The Greeks will be back for more.)

======

The annual ongoing transfers between taxpayers in one part of Canada to provincial governments in other regions of Canada are mammoth - compared to transfers/bailouts in Europe.

JohnCanada, we call this "equalization" and according to our current PM, it means that Canada is civilized.

That has absolutely nothing to do with how the EU operates, the EU is not a country and never should be, London gives more money to Merseyside than it receives, no one is complaining about it, New York gives more to Delaware than it receives, that is just how countries are, absolutely not exclusive to Canada btw.

The whole point here is the EU wants to behave like a country, an undemocratic one, and Brexit was about remaining as the United Kingdom, not a state in the United States of Europe. Also, Brexit wasn't about right of left, it was about belief in the country, there were many Tory voters who voted remain, and millions of labour supporters who voted leave, which was the reason Leave won. So I don't know what's the point you are trying to make here.

Edited July 18, 2016 by JohnCanada

[?Impact]

In Canada, Albertans and people in Saskatchewan (population 4 million or so) give/transfer about Cdn $10 billion (about €7 billion) to the governments of Quebec and the Maritimes (population 10 million or so) every year.

In Canada the right wing have a deluded sense of reality. The 'transfer payments' that August1991 is speaking about are paid from general revenues of the government of Canada. 25% of those general revenues are from Quebec, and 38% are from Ontario. It is Ontario that has propped up this nation for decades, and still does despite receiving a pittance from these transfer payments (far less than it contributes). Of that $10 billion, about $2 billion comes from Alberta & Saskatchewan.

b.t.w. up until recently, Saskatchewan has been a net receiver of transfer payments and many decades ago Alberta was as well. How soon they forget.

----

I don't know why you don't consider the Telegraph not a tabloid. Other than the dimensions of the paper it is written on, it is absolute tabloid. Look at the front page of their website, about 50% of the articles are about tweeting, popular culture, swimsuit pictures, Pokeman, etc.

[eyeball]

I don't know what the big deal is here. Judging by the OP I'm pretty sure if you've seen one conservative you've seen them all and I'm sure they feel the same way about lefties.

[August1991]

That has absolutely nothing to do with how the EU operates...

It has everything to do with the way the EU operates.