Alliance MP will run as Liberal - CBC confirms - Keith Martin leaves CPC

[Screaming Lord Byron]

http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/01/14/keithalliance040114

OTTAWA - A member of Parliament who ran for the leadership of the Canadian Alliance in 2000 confirmed Wednesday that he will offer his services for the Liberals in the next election, citing disagreements with Conservative Party social policy.

Keith Martin will leave the Alliance caucus of the new united-right party to sit as an Independent in the House of Commons until the next election.

Then the physician will seek the Liberal nomination in the British Columbia riding of Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca that he has represented since 1993.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

1. Update from Globe and Mail

http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040114.wkmart201141/BNStory/National/

“Our new Prime Minister is a person whom I've always respected,” Dr. Martin said. “I've always found him a man who focused on finding big solutions to big problems — democratic reform, revamping our military capabilities, tackling substance abuse, health care reform and other social challenges — under the umbrella of good fiscal management. It is an approach he champions and one I heartily agree with.”

[LeftCoast]

2. I'm not really up on Canadian politics, but

it seems like Canada is becoming a de facto one-party state. Even if they're 'the good guys' it's probably not a good situation in the long term.

What is causing the RW in Canada to do so poorly?

[Minstrel Boy]

3. "What is causing the RW in Canada to do so poorly?"

It's because the "Liberals" have the ideal conservative candidate in Martin.

The Liberals are not my "good guys." Here's my team: http://www.ndp.ca/ And the NDP are coming on pretty strong lately. The Liberals will not be defeated this election, but the socialist NDP stand a good chance of passing the neo-con Conservative Party and forming the official opposition.

[LeftCoast]

5. How's the NDP doing now?

Especially in terms of vote %'s. Also, how 'socialist' are they? Sort of European social democrats?

Looking at their web-site now, but it's hard to get a feel for them since I know next to nothing about them. :)

[Screaming Lord Byron]

6. between 15% and 20% in recent polls, up from 8.5% at the last election

I would call them social-democratic socialists in the European vein, think immediately post WWII Labour, or the French Socialists as they used to be.

[Minstrel Boy]

7. spot on: "think immediately post WWII Labour,

or the French Socialists as they used to be."

They haven't gone "third way." Layton's leadership has reinforced that. And refreshingly, he doesn't tip-toe around the "S" word:

"Socialist? I'm proud to call myself a socialist. I prefer it by far to democratic socialist."
http://www.rabble.ca/rabble_interview.shtml?x=29241

[LeftCoast]

8. Again, please pardon my ingorance

I can only plead "American" :)

Does Canada have proportional representation or is it 1st past post like UK and US? I thought it had 1st past post.

If that's the case, what's a polititian need to get percentage-wise (and in general) to win a seat?

Thanks!

[Screaming Lord Byron]

9. First Past the Post with 301 ridings in a parliamentary system

The lowest winning vote was at 29% (four way marginal) and the highest around 80%. Usual figures are between 40 and 55%

[Frederic Bastiat]

10. Problem with the NDP is...

...they have absolutely no prescence in Québec - zip, nada. How exactly they hope to one day form a Canadian government without representation from roughly 20-25% of the ridings is a mystery to me.

[Minstrel Boy]

11. The NDP's faring better than the Conservatives in Quebec

according to recent polls. The NDP in Quebec is up to 10%, a ten-fold increase over last election. Layton's Montreal-born, fluently bilingual and been spending a lot of time in Quebec. The Conservatives are down to single digits.

The Conservatives won't win a seat in Quebec. The NDP actually could.

[Frederic Bastiat]

15. Haven't seen Layton on the local news or in print

In ages. If he's spending a lot of time here he's not getting the word out. Its also easy to go tenfold if you're starting from nothing, yeah they could win a seat or two in Quebec but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

[Lisa]

16. there are NDPers in Quebec ...

Just no Members of Parliament, at present. (Different thing altogether!)

http://www.ledevoir.com/2004/01/07/44326.html

If the only thing the federal NDP wanted was to form a government, surely they would have given up by now. The party's half a century old, and this has not yet happened -- in reality, I suspect most NDPers see themselves as an opposition/"conscience" party. For example, they would have opposed the Iraq war even if majority public opinion in Canada hadn't been on their side.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

4. They are totally out of step with the Canadian mainstream

don't worry about one-party statehood though, Canada is undergoing a major political realignment, which happens every ten years or so. The left-wing party, the NDP is resurgent, so that's excellent news.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

12. "Conservative Progressive Party" WTF? isn't that an oxymoron?

[JohnyCanuck]

13. You're not the first to have made the remark

that Progressive Conservative seems like an oxymoron. However it is an oxymoron no longer as the "Progressive Conservative" Party has recently folded its tent and piled into a tent shared with the far-right, nut-job Canadian Alliance party under the new name of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Although the word "progressive" has been banished from the name of the new party we are assured by Peter McKay, former leader of the old Progressive Conservative Party, that "progressives" will have a part to play in the new conservative party. That remains to be seen.

Actually by current US standards, I would imagine the recently disbanded Progressive Conservative Party would be considered left of centre democrats.

(OTTAWA) – The Conservative Party of Canada today officially unveiled its new logo – the unanimous choice of the party’s Interim Council.

“For almost 150 years, the Conservative Party has been an integral part of our national history,” said PC (i.e Progressive Conservative /jc) Leader Peter MacKay. “This dynamic, exciting new national logo continues that proud tradition.”

“It’s a very simple but powerful visual for the new Conservative Party of Canada,” said Opposition Leader Stephen Harper. “It also reclaims our national symbol – the red maple leaf – which for too long has been viewed by Liberals as their personal property.”

http://www.conservative.ca/english/index.asp

[Screaming Lord Byron]

14. The PC's were respectable to a point, with some very reasonable people

in their ranks, such as Robert Stanfield and Joe Clark. However, they were no match for the Liberals, who dominate the Canadian Centre, and were never able to recover from the 1993 election when they went from 169 seats to two, due mainly to PM Brian Mulroney's dismal administration.

[Lisa]

17. anybody else hear the rumour re: Sheila Copps leaving the Grits?

There was something on CBC last night that she would have to contest her own riding nomination with a Martin supporter. There was speculation that she might run as an Independent -- or even talk to the NDP!