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Posteritatis

(18,807 posts)
10. The provincial and federal parties can often be quite different as well
Sun Jan 27, 2013, 01:43 PM
Jan 2013

The constitutional setup here is fairly strict about which levels of government can directly manage which things - for example, provincial governments technically have zero say in foreign affairs or national defense, while the federal government (somewhat more technically) doesn't get to be involved in natural resources or education. As a result, a provincial Liberal or Conservative party can sometimes have a fairly different focus than its federal equivalents do.

I still wouldn't vote for the Conservative party in my province (and in fact helped vote them out a few years ago), but I find them dramatically less odious than the federal Conservatives, mostly because they haven't bought into the Republican attitudes quite as badly as the party has at the federal level. (Also, somewhat more cynically, the federal conservatives have active disdain for my part of the country as a primary aspect of their worldview, which results in their butting heads with their provincial partners somewhat regularly.)

Beyond that it can be hard to pigeonhole the Canadian parties relative to the American ones. I would say that a lot of our federal Conservatives are, in fact, trying to steer as far right as the Republicans in the states, owing to so much GOP involvement in the last few elections and the Conservatives' leadership since '03 explicitly setting itself up as the pro-American party, though they aren't quite there yet. The main interests of the other parties are somewhat more hit and miss about aligning with American equivalents, though; something like the NDP simply doesn't exist down there in any relevant manner, for example, and until their recent collapse the Liberals occupied a kind of king-of-the-hill niche that I don't think American politics has ever really had.

Its quite an accomplishment for her, and certainly a first. Joe Shlabotnik Jan 2013 #1
She does have some time UrbScotty Jan 2013 #13
Well she's going to have to pass a budget Joe Shlabotnik Jan 2013 #14
This message was self-deleted by its author alp227 Jan 2013 #2
Should we start referring to the prime minister as president as well? Posteritatis Jan 2013 #3
I disagree - they are not directly elected muriel_volestrangler Jan 2013 #6
Canadian governmental differences DissidentVoice Jan 2013 #8
Canada is sure first in many catagories Trascoli Jan 2013 #4
Johanna Sigurđardóttir Prime Minister of Iceland, 2009. Head of State, much higher office. Bluenorthwest Jan 2013 #7
It's true Iceland deserves credit for electing Jóhanna Sigurđardóttir ponsheki Jan 2013 #11
Good for her...it would be nice, though. if she'd end the right-wing economic and spending policies Ken Burch Jan 2013 #5
The Liberal Party of Canada isn't really "liberal" DissidentVoice Jan 2013 #9
The provincial and federal parties can often be quite different as well Posteritatis Jan 2013 #10
"Dramatically Less Odious"-wow, THAT would be a great campaign slogan. Ken Burch Jan 2013 #16
It depends on the province in that case too Posteritatis Jan 2013 #17
Ontario and Alberta Tories DissidentVoice Jan 2013 #19
Well said. The Liberal Party had some good things going in the Trudeau era. Ken Burch Jan 2013 #15
Breaking down barriers is important -- good on her tomm2thumbs Jan 2013 #12
Yeah, it's good that the barrier has been broken down. Ken Burch Jan 2013 #18
Her sexuality isn't even an issue as far as I'm concerned DissidentVoice Jan 2013 #20
Technical point Joe Shlabotnik Jan 2013 #21
Point taken DissidentVoice Jan 2013 #22
well sort of Joe Shlabotnik Jan 2013 #23
At least it isn't voting for someone you HOPE will vote the way you want DissidentVoice Jan 2013 #24
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