05.02.2011 10:52 PM

Iggy and us

I just got asked on-air about Ignatieff’s future.

I said he was diplomatic and gracious in his speech, and that he knows that the people of Etobicoke-Lakeshore have now settled the question. I said I expect he will leave in the next few days. He doesn’t have much choice, now.

I said he ran a great campaign, and he did better than anyone expected.

But it’s time for a change in the Liberal Party – from top to bottom.

Oh, and we’ll be back.

104 Comments

  1. Harith says:

    Oh come on Warren. Ignatieff was a huge windbag and too much of a coward to resign.

  2. MattMcD says:

    By “we” you mean as a Liberal-Democrat party I hope?

    • Swervin' Merv says:

      I recall Scott Reid on the opportunity of a coalition replacing Harper after the 2008 election (in the Globe and Mail, Nov. 29, 2008):

      “Stephen Harper is the most dangerous animal lurking in the jungles of Parliament. He is a threat to the future viability of the Liberals…. He doesn’t play to win. He plays to conquer. Under his guidance, the public interest is always subjugated to his personal political advancement. And he poisons Parliament with an extreme, bare-fanged breed of partisanship that has no hope of repair until he is banished. Do not, whatever you do, provide him with an opportunity to extend his hold on power. Because you can be damn certain he will never again be so reckless as to give you a chance to finish him off.”

      • George Webb says:

        I hate to admit that Reid was right because he was one of the players that brought down Jean Chretien and left us in this mess. In my over 50 years as a Liberal I’ve never mixed my faith with my politics but as an Alberta Liberal who has followed his career I’m inclined to pray I’m wrong about Steven Harper.

    • Dr.J says:

      Wouldn’t it be ‘Democrat-Liberal”?

  3. Michael S says:

    Yes, but in what form? The right wing of the Liberal party will have a hard time justifying itself as Stephen Harper does all he can to keep Liberals that went blue. Those voters are gone for a generation.

  4. Michael S says:

    My buddy the dipper insider is already saying the proportional representation is going to be the price of any merger or arrangement.

    • JamesF says:

      Your buddy doesn’t think things through… if there is a merger then why do we need proportional representation? Under a merger Canada essentially becomes a two-party system. Unless he’s really concerned about the 4% Green and Bloc vote.

      • Poor Dead Ned says:

        My preferred scenario would be for all leftish parties to merge, then implement PR, then break up into much more focused parties.

        There is no reason a liberal centrist pacifist should ever have to vote for someone who was for the Iraq invasion. There is no reason an economically right wing environmentalist should have to choose between Harper and May. The current parties stand for too much to avoid vote splitting and not enough to be meaningful choices.

    • Michael says:

      I am sure Stephen Harper, who now controls the House will get right on that.

    • PoliticalStaples says:

      Why? A merged party doesn’t need PR. There would be only two national parties.

      • Michael S says:

        You think it will hold together long term?

        • MattMcD says:

          New CPC has been doing pretty well hasn’t it?

          • Michael S says:

            Just wait: Now that they’ll govern from the centre-right with a majority. The hard Christian right, barely held in by a minority government, isn’t going to get what it wants, and eventually will chafe and bold.

  5. nez1 says:

    Jeezum Crow, I friggin’ hope so!

  6. Africon says:

    A whole lot more classy than Monsieur Duceppe who appeared to have had a few too many glasses of wine.
    Hopefully that is the end of the Bloc.

  7. tceh says:

    Liberal-Democrats? Iggy could have negotiated it from a position of relative strength in 2008-9, now the Liberals must come hat in hand to the NDP. Reality sucks but there it is.

    What really sucks is 4 years of gloating and unbridled arrogance from the Cons. Guess Harper will embrace his election law now.

  8. Paul R Martin says:

    On TV, Bob Rae was sounding like an interim Party leader. It will be a tough slog, but I do expect that the Liberals will be back.

    • JamesF says:

      Nah, he’s not going to be Interim leader, I think he wants the actual job and not the placeholder. No idea who will serve as Interim… Goodale would be my choice. As for the next leader… smart money is on either Coderre or Trudeau IMO.

      • Swervin' Merv says:

        Rae might be a good choice for interim leader and to open, at least, a merger discussion. If the Liberals want to keep their identity intact, smart money is on Dominic Leblanc.

        • JamesF says:

          RE: Dominic Leblanc

          History isn’t on his side. What with the traditional alternating between Quebec and English Canada… but who knows maybe it’s time for new traditions.

    • TofKW says:

      I dunno, that’s what I was saying about the PCs. Unless you qualify getting taken over by the Reformers and winning that way as being back?

    • Christopher says:

      Maybe, it would require an implosion of the Conservatives and the New Democrats. Neither is hard to imagine.

      Bob Rae would a terrible choice, given his history as Ontario premier, but is there anybody else?

  9. Bill From Willowdale says:

    Without the OLO budget and the elimination of the vote subsidy it be very hard for the Liberal Party to rise again.

    • Forget about the Liberal Party — what about the Green’s? Huge cut to their national popular vote – one seat to show for it. Easy financing gone as soon as parliament resumes unless His Harperness is feeling particularly benign.

      Will she be a voice for change, or a shrill voice soon ignored? It’s up to her.

      I am however glad she rid the province of Gary Lunn though.

  10. billg says:

    NDP 104 seats?? Wow!! Love to be a fly on that wall when the Quebec caucus makes its demands…which should be sometime this Friday….

    • Alfred E. Newman says:

      From the look of that caucus the demands might be a keg party. When they get back from vacation that is.

  11. Jeff Taylor says:

    I actually think a Harper majority is the best outcome.

    Stephen Harper can’t blame the opposition for derailing his agenda so that card is gone. He has complete control of the HOC and the senate to do as he pleases and he will.

    And the windbag Jack Layton who boasted how often he stood up to Harper can’t stop any of it.

    When Layton fails to deliver on what he has promised to Quebec then they will slice his balls off and serve them to him for dinner.

    It going to be a hilarious four years.

    I wonder how them NDP supporters feel about Jack the snake oil salesman now.

    You useless pricks can choke on the Harper majority.

    • WesternGrit says:

      I kind of chuckled about similar things myself tonight. At a crowded room at Ujjal Dosanjh’s victory party (he lost, but we still tipped a few), we talked about how the most unlikely people voted Con. I felt for them – since they are the ones who need Harper to lose the most – but they didn’t even think about it. Many didn’t even vote. Myself – I’m not worried about my own financial state – but if you have a conscience, you have to be concerned about the well-being of Canada’s “lower middle classes”, the poor, the “working poor”, and many minorities, who just have no clue what will happen to “their rights” when the Harper Alberta caucus runs rough-shod over Canada.

      Better buckle up – we’re in for ride.

      Whoever said “Tory times are tough times”? Get ready!

    • Bruce Wayne says:

      Stay classy dude.

    • Jehan Khoorshed says:

      Uh… that’s a little much, isn’t it? Couldn’t you just as easily argue that the people who voted Liberal denied this country an NDP government? You’re saying “useless pricks” about a very large number of Canadians who most likely share a lot of your views.

      There may be semantic things separating the Liberals and NDP but trust me, for voters, there’s not much. And there is no victory over of the Harper Tories until the powers that be (including Layton and the NDP – I’m not just putting that on the Liberals) realize that. Without a merger (or at least electoral co-operation in key ridings), we get ten years of this crap.

      So can it on the “useless prick” bullshit.

    • nastyboy says:

      And you wonder why Canadians have turned their backs on the LPC?

  12. Riley says:

    Chantal Hebert made a good point tonight that the NDP didn’t win Quebec, Jack Layton did. If the NDP screws up as official opposition and fails to deliver the goods for Quebec then the Liberals could come back. Remember the ADQ was the official opposition in Quebec and then decimated in the next election because they didn’t know what were doing. And on a happier note Elizabeth May and the Greens are in Parliament. Not an official party, according to the rules of Parliament, true, but now legit. Now they have a base upon which to fund raise and grow.

    • fails to deliver the goods for Quebec

      And the Bloc delivered exactly what, and was once official opposition without having a single member elected in another province and had huge representation in QC for how long…?

      Assuming the NDP merely achieve basic competency out of their QC caucus, there is no reason to believe they will be a flash in the pan in Quebec. Besides, until there is an alternative, or better… unless there is an alternative, who are they gonna call?

      I’d be surprised if the NDP piss away this huge advantage. They don’t strike me as having acted terribly dumb and their electoral record going up against Harper has been steady improvement.

  13. Michael says:

    This is the first majority crafted without major seats from Quebec.

    • TimJS says:

      Depends on what you mean by major. Libs got only 19 of 75 in 1993, with 177 seats overall. If they’d been shut out in Quebec they’d still have had a majority.

    • Reid says:

      This is the first majority crafted without major seats from Quebec.

      No it isn’t. But it is perhaps in the “modern” era.

      Robert Borden won a crushing Conservative majority in 1917 with only 3 Quebec seats.

  14. Greg says:

    The LPC claims to be a party of inclusion, in reality they have alienated large parts of Canada. For short term gains which may have won them an election or a bump in the polls in return they ensure a portion of Canada will never vote for them again. This election isn’t a flash in the pan but 25+ years of making choices that result in large parts of Canada or the population vowing not to vote for them anymore.

    1980: “Screw the West we’ll take the Rest” LPC wins election but ensure west of Ontario they are largly uncompetative.
    1980s: NEP. Reinforces the west won’t vote LPC
    1982: Night of Long Knives. Quebec has never elected a majority of Libs since
    2000: Insult peoples religious beliefs.
    2000s: Sponsoership scandle. Reinforce Quebec won’t vote for you

    Until the libs can be competative in more than 50% of the country they will not win. Since 1980 the libs have faced a united con party 7 times and only won twice. Also in the last 30 years the LPC has only held power 50% of the time. The days of them being the natural governing party are long over.

    • Bruce Wayne says:

      Bingo!

    • que sera sera says:

      “2000: Insult peoples religious beliefs”

      But now we’ll have Haprer’s Office of Religious Freedoms monitoring Canadians and handing out jail sentences to protect those poor, misunderstood thin skinned evangelical xtians campaigning “behind the scenes in Canada, openly in the States, for creatism as part of the public school curriculum and the return of xtian ownership of all women’s wombs. Believe it.

  15. Anonymous says:

    Hey, listen, the Tories were reduced to 2 seats in 1993, and they have now won three consecutive elections. Get the right person. Stop looking for messiahs. Get a normal guy. And for God’s sake, stop splitting the damn vote.

  16. Meany says:

    I hope you’ll be back.

    I am a Conservative, and happy with how my team did today, but still do think that the Liberals overall have been a force for good for Canada the past century. It would be a shame if this is how they went out.

    And Ignatieff wasn’t so bad, but it looks like the Tory warroom did a job on him just like they did Dion. This party used to be able to take AND throw a punch. What happened?

    Anyway, four years to rebuild. Get on it.

    • Alfred E. Newman says:

      The Tory warroom hurt Iggy but lets be serious. Once the election was on, the parties were on equal footing and Iggy had a chance to “introduce himself to Canadians” …. they didn’t like what they saw. When the Cons were running the ads against Iggy the Libs were holding at 26-32% in the polls. They ended up with less than 20%.

      And who’s idea was it to run an infomercial on a holiday weekend? did anyone outside of the Liberal camp watch?

  17. Michael H Anderson says:

    Change from top to bottom? good idea – let’s start with you, fuckstick.

  18. Nasty Bob says:

    Been looking at the results for hours… realized that wasn’t gonna change the results….gonna jump out the wondow now.

    Would someone please feed my cat and post her to the interwebs from time to time.

  19. Patrick Hamilton says:

    Heres a start, Mr. Kinsella, imho…..

    http://cdn.liberal.ca/files/2010/05/change-commission-report.pdf

    First published in April 09…..sigh…..

  20. meta kaizen says:

    If Mr. Anderson, in his charming way, is asking for Warren to take a more prominent role in the LPOC, then I’m all for it.

  21. bruce the painter says:

    For those who are lusting for a union with the NDP, ask yourself a question: Why would they want to join us now? That pipe dream is atleast one or two elections away (4-8 years). Just remember, progressive voices within the Liberal party were unceremoniously silenced before they had a chance to even suggest such a possibility (e.g. “I have no relationship with Warren Kinsella”) For those of us who remain, we must begin the important yet thankless work of broadening the reach of the party in some sort of a coalescence of the left. Harbour no illusions that the NDP will cooperate until after the next reality check election. But remember that even at this darkest hour, our defeat was only one tenth the magnitude of the ’93 Conservatives. And not only is it possible to emerge again I think we will be a much stronger party after this difficult and utter defeat. One caution: As soon as you hear anyone from the liberal party start to resist alliance with the NDP, you should excise them from consideration as part of the real future of this party. What the fuck does Apps have to say for himself?

    • WesternGrit says:

      Do you really think the Harper dream of a two -party dialectic, USA-style, will not be dominated by the “business-class” right wing party? The Harper model is to follow the model of the US’s “natural governing party” – the Republicans, who have dominated US politics, and control private media, which continues to feed the beast with partisan reporting.

      I would suggest “cooperation” at first – NOT running against them, or them against us. THEN, see what happens.

      I just really strongly feel that Harper’s dream would be realized if we join up…

      • bruce the painter says:

        Well WG, in the end I am just looking for a future. My ideas are not predicated on fullfilling anyone else’s dreams but my own. If Harper was honest with himself he would acknowledge that his party is NOT the historical Conservative party of Diefenb., Mulr., ect. It is simply the “Bloc Alberta ” writ large. If you dont believe me just get David Orchard to remove his shirt and show you the scars on his back. All I am saying is that the conservatives campaign from the right and then promptly govern from the left. To my mind, we need a leader with enough foresight to reach out and become a party who gets things done. If you even have to question a merger, you are going to find yourself left behind. Its coming – Alea Iacta Est.

  22. James says:

    The problem with the Liberals is their members. They don’t campaign very hard. They feel they are entitled. Iggy wasn’t a bad leader, his team failed him.

    • James Curran says:

      The leader failed the members. AS in there are hardly any members left. As in when I joined his team in February 2006 I asked him about democratic reform within the party itself. He promised me he’d do it. He forgot that task and the internal democracy of the once great party went for a shit and literally thousands of the grassroots were ignored. Those who put forward a new ideal for the party in 2009 at a coronation in Vancouver. Those who spent hundreds of hours writing the Change Commission, The Renewal Commission, The Red Ribbon Report, The Axworthy Report….must I go on? When you piss so many off how the hell can you ask them to save your life?

  23. ottawacon says:

    Surprised to see Ignatieff already making noises like he is trying to stay on…dude, you just lost Etobicoke-Lakeshore. What, you want Ottawa-Vanier as your seat?

    He should have stayed quiet on the issue. I actually think he could have ridden it out as Libs had their sobering look at the situation, but instead he has kicked off the next campaign.

  24. JH says:

    If I was a mover and shake within the Liberal Party I’d be advocating they get to work right now, rebuilding away from the Parliament Hill spotlight. The NDP hierarchy and people in general are going to sour pretty quick on most of this new crowd from Quebec. They are for the most part being directed by back room bloquists/nationalists along with some string pullers from the Parti Quebecois. They saw how the wind was blowing and simply moved over to the NDP for cover. They’ll have the same demands as always for Quebec and cause Jack and Mulcair as many problems as they caused Mulroney. They’ll probably ensure another Tory majority in 4 years, but will have torn the NDP apart by the time the election after that rolls around. Mark my words – you target 8 years from now to be ready and you’ll have your chance.
    But then again what do I know? The usual experts will soon be here to set me straight.

    • Ian Young says:

      I’m thinking the same.

      I don’t see 8 years, though. Quebec wouldn’t be on it’s best behavior that long.

    • Meta Kaizen says:

      JH,

      since the current LPOC plan turns out to have been to challenge Osama Bin Laden to a “roughest start to May 2011” contest, I think your vision deserves some consideration from the grassroots.

    • fritz says:

      “But then again what do I know?”

      ^Can’t argue with that.

    • Michael says:

      This is definately a two election process, at best.

      Let’s give the NDP credit for their historic showing. But let’s not make it more than it is. Outside of their 59 new MPs from Quebec, in the rest of Canada they are at pretty much the same level of support and seats as they were before the election.

      The NDP will be hard pressed to deliver the goods in Quebec. They are now a party that can boast of having a Quebec MP that does not speak French. How well is that going to go over? By the time the next election rolls around Quebec will be ripe for the picking.

    • Pedro says:

      Actually JH, and I’ll grab that expert designation you’re giving, I think you’ve nailed it.
      A rebuilding away from Parliament Hill as you’ve described is an excellent idea.
      The success of Pearson and Trudeau Liberalism was built on revolutionary new policy.
      That the Liberals had young, charismatic turks to peddle the policies was the reason they were able to build a movement.
      The Liberals of the past 20 years depended on personalities and forgot policy.
      Onatrians especially rejected the strategy of personality over policy.
      Good luck as young intellects are probably more attracted to the NDP these days.

  25. jack says:

    Ohhhhh, the liberals will be back. When the kind had a majority with 40 percent, there was still another 20+ percent of left center to left votes. Harper has 40% right and right center votes and he has a problem. He has to move more right to keep his base happy and more left if he ever wants seats in Quebec. He won’t pull this off. His ideology won’t let him. Add that to the US still hurting big time and prices going up and payroll taxes up, people will not have money. Big time pain especially if he sticks to jets and jails. He will break his promise on health care and buddy up to private health interests. In four years we will still be in deficit and heath care will be moving private.

    In four years the battle will be between the ndp and libs. Minority government will result.

    And Canada will be changed completely, and not for the good.

    You may not believe this now but archive this post. I believe people, especially in Ontario did buy the economy line from harper. Those in manufacturing are hoping for similar jobs from harper, not McJobs. This Sony happen. Canadian business has become foreign owned since 2006
    While the competition is welcome, the jobs won’t be there. Finally, with jails being built, provinces will have huge increases in operating costs for them, and what will provinces cut to pay for that increased cost. You guessed.it, health care. More free trade, more foreign ownership, more debt, provincially and federally. Some stuff will be good, more will be bad.

    First thing I want to see is if he sets the next election date.

    Get ready for an interesting ride, lots of protest and more contempt.

    Archive this.

  26. Mike London says:

    The Liberals need to get rid of Bob Rae. The reason so many Ontario seats went Tory and not NDP was the memory of his disasterous NDP government. He has not only destroyed the Ontario NDP, but had a significant hand in destroying the federal Liberal party.

  27. Dean C says:

    There is a road back to government that does not pass through a merger with the NDP. To put it short and sweet, there has always been room for 3 parties in the Westminster system and there are plenty of people like me who will never climb into bed with organised labour.

    We have a Con majority, if they implode a la Mulrouny as may be possible depending how right they turn we can be back to #2 after the next election, then 4-8 years away from power.

    We need a leader who has broad appeal, and must appeal to the west to catch the western implosion when it occurs. We don’t need a savour, just someone steady, a centerist who is willing to build slow like Jack did, but without wedging the country on selective issues. Greg’s comments above have some truth to them. Iggy is the right guy but I don’t know how he can do it without a seat.

  28. R says:

    sometimes is easier to change mentaliy and behaviour and matter of approach
    than keep change people
    fix people is not easy job as public need the same direction need to fix and change view of public not
    need to ignore or isolate them or abuse them or put them down or
    just
    Fire them all

    as long as you do not know what you looking for
    if you know direction then you can choose right person
    if have bad policy never work change people not realy affected

    like all embargo and subidiy to farmer and keep so many country in hunger

    or keep food for change oil
    how about let 5000 kids in Iraq dieing of embargo because of war
    or force politic to change or I kill your civilan
    put embargo and food for civilan is crime in world politic

    as long as you care about every inncoent human being inside or aboard or ouside canada
    you have good political pary otherwise who ever support embargo is corrupted country I bleive nesaqfco

  29. Patrick Hamilton says:

    I think you are spot on…..Personally, I want no truck nor trade with the NDP, or do I say salon socialists……Jack Layton with a combined salary of 350k+ lived in subsidized housing(which I guess now continues)

    And having worked in retail, some of the most difficult people I ever had to deal with were NDP’ers, the worst, a Federal candidate(so much for being at one with the working masses)

    A Reform majority and a gauche caviar opposition…..Lord help us all……

  30. Lord Kitchener says:

    Dominic Leblanc –> Leader

  31. Derek Pearce says:

    The Centre-Left is in for a bit of wandering in the wilderness, because a merger has to be held off until this rooky-NDP Opposition is tested for a while. If it’s made of up mostly sovereigntests by a new name in Quebec, the party will implode and all bets are off again next election. The Libs have to give it at least one more election. Ha! “Ha” on myself that is, as I literally said here or at Macleans in the past 6 months that the Libs couldn’t possibly do worse than they did under Dion, and I am duly fully f-ing humbled. Hmmm, the green-in-experience NDP against a HarperCon majority is going to be furiously, patriotically, social-justice-fueled all kinds of LOUD!! And ineffective.

    • Michael S says:

      They get four years of practice instead of another five years of nostalgia. Don’t count them out.

  32. Reformatory says:

    My analysis

    – The Conservatives definitely benefitted from vote splits. Tonight was a Chretien like victory for them. The middle of the road voters that went to him as a result of being spooked by the NDP also helped tons. That being said…. cudos to Harper and the conservatives for mobilizing and stroking their base. They have rebuilt a formidable machine. The Liberals can certainly consider and remember the job they did considering their 2 seat days – from not long ago. Reflecting on that can certainly help them lick their wounds while they rebuild. The Conservatives may have a Mackenzie King in their midst with Stephen Harper.

    – Ontario seems to be a bell-weather province. They seem to swing with the consensus when deciding how to vote. I suppose their slipping status in the federation means they want to tie their horse to Alberta this time- where more economic action is.

    – The Liberals – What can I say. What has transpired is certainly not a result of the last 30 days. The erosion has started during the Jean Chretien days. They have never been fixed and now perhaps they can get it underway. If there was ever a time for another Wilfrid Laurier to re-emerge to serve them- this would be that time. Rebuilding for them has to start with their next leader from Quebec to help them re-build there. The result of this election certainly does not reflect or attest to the strengths of that party. They are much stronger than their seat count and Canada is poorer today for their diminished status. They will be back, and should not be counted out. The good thing is that they have a blank slate to build in Quebec and lots of time to plan and plot. For now- I would suggest a 2 year interim/caretaker leader such as Bob Rae to help them in parliament and to possibly help with a potential merger. Hopefully all the egos in the backrooms of this great party can finally be humbled and get to work for the greater good of the party. They may be in the wilderness for possibly 8 more years. Hopefully only 4 more. Money and spirits will be low.

    – NDP/Liberal Merger – If it is possible- it must be explored from the grassroots up. There definitely is evidence of vote splitting. If the party can merge and take place at the moderate centre of Canadian politics – it might work. I would think the Liberals and the NDP both have something the other wants and they both can learn from eachother and cooperate. It is not a done deal though- and if the merged party strays too left.. it will not have the flavour of the Liberal Party and might not be successful. The blue Liberals will bleed and they are an important faction in that party. If this happens- the conservatives might become the new natural governing party. Layton’s attitude in the discussions will also be important. If he lets this victory get to his head, and if he does not read his results for what they are- parked Quebec votes– the merger is a dead deal and the Liberals will work around him. One thing for sure– the populist and progressive roots in the NDP are alive and welcome in the possible merged party – but the left fringe and even labour elements in the party might not. Consider how Labour in the UK had to sell it’s soul in order to win.

    – NDP- A Hollow victory and more of a Jack Layton victory than an NDP one. Thanks to JacKO – they helped Harper get back in with a majority. The vote splits they caused directly resulted in more conservative seats. In fairness to them though- they did not really instigate those splits- the surge was really not their doing- but a result of Quebec Bloc supporters hijacking their party. They really benefitted by Quebecers parking their vote with them. The NDP that won tonight is both stronger in numbers but weaker in parliamentary presence. Jack Layton has less power and influence today than he did in the last parliament. He will be held accountable for not being able to hold Harper accountable. Harper’s job has become a bit easier today with Jack Layton in the OLO. The Quebec members will eventually implode in the NDP. The next leader of the NDP will have to be Thomas Mulcair or somebody from that Quebec Caucus – or somebody else that emerges from Quebec in an NDP/Liberal merged party. If this does not happen- Quebecers will throw the NDP under the bus when they are finished with them and will opt back to the Liberals in due time.

    – Quebec- finally back in action. The party that can seize their trust and votes will reap the rewards. Right now all 3 parties have that chance. My thoughts are that the Liberal party is best positioned to reap those rewards and either re-build themselves around Quebecers or the newly merged party the Liberal Democrats can take that position. Harper is no fool though- and I’m sure he will also spend some time courting Quebecers.

    – Canadian Voters – I suppose in the end nobody can predict what they will or will not do. Harper’s incrementalist approach obviously worked. In the end.. the one’s in power have an easier time swaying opinions than the one’s vying for power. Canadians in the end opted to choose the party that was best ready and able to step in and worry about plodding forward to what matters to them. Jobs, Lower Taxes, and the Economy. They seemed to be bothered by the politicking and sideshows in parliament. I do know that Canada has veered more right in the last 20 years and this result is a product of that shift.

    Polls- Bad news and they should be banned during the writ period. They distort and sway people in negative ways. The media focuses on them too much and democracy suffers.

    Me- This site has been fun. I’m officially retiring my “reformatory” name. Will not be using it anymore since I don’t feel it is suitable or required anymore. I will post under a new name soon- and the new name will reflect my thoughts on the NGP.

    Over and OUT!

  33. Reformatory says:

    Forgot one last important point to mention about the Liberals….Both the NDP and the Conservatives might work like Heck to move their policies more and more to the centre and try to squeeze them out. They will try to force them to become irrelevant like they have in the UK. Any thoughts on how the Liberals can counter this?

  34. R says:

    igantieff as Jack Layton mentioned was he missed so many lecture and missed so many issue
    such as Harper pull Calgary and give more faovr to city because he want to get elected but
    iginitiff did not give more favor to city she born

    harprer make calgary beter and weak the toronto and allow Mayor ford come to mess with this city
    therefore

    home work of iginatff done well but not complete and not have enough time with deadline
    when you are politician homework is daily job and consdier people daily not just
    occasionally write book and be politican are two different views

    ignaitff may be good writer and get one occasion best person int his campiong to analyze well but in
    other month he did lazy job and this did caused him to lose election sorry for him
    but again

    Canada need united and raher follow hate specch agianst each other in parlment to find positive way to find solution

  35. R says:

    Ignatieff job can switch to W.K

  36. R says:

    This is unbelievable Conservative won the election in MAJORITY

    how come??

    what is going one?

    Is death of Ben Laden caused sudden vote for Conservative to win majority

    that is reason they call Harper control frick he already control all seat before enter to this game of majority

  37. gray says:

    I agree with much of what JH says. The large group of so-so qualified Quebec NDP MPs and those whose ties to social democracy are 2nd to Quebec Regionalism are going to cause Layton considerable headaches and not do much good for the NDP brand. This swing in Quebec is not a permanent thing at all. But we are looking at a 1/2 generation, at least, of Tory majorities

  38. Brit Grit says:

    Hey, there’s a Liberal gain in Beaches-East York to be had in 2015…

  39. Dennis Wilson says:

    I was hoping Justin Trudeau would lose his seat. I fear some Liberals are looking to him for salvation of the party. I think that would be a disaster.

  40. I do think that the Liberals will return if they pick the right leader who will help the party increase its donations and memberships. I don’t think it will be Bob Rae leading the Liberals.

  41. AndrewOpala says:

    Just in time for Spring cleaning! I’m not a card carrying liberal, but I was painful to watch all the parties work. I do think the conservatives were better organized. But in the end, the thing that happened is that people decided differently than they used to decide. Knowledge of this change comes from opinion polling. The liberal party used to be the best at morphing around the middle to be the party that people wanted. Starting from Dion though, the party seemed to be the party that the politicians wanted (maybe even a little beginnings at Martin – but there was an actually policy void then – it was more a suicidal instinct).

    Success for the liberals will be in either merging with the NDP or rebuilding its populist nature. You can move the country in one direction or another in your second majority. But populism has to get you there first.

    Anyway I think that Ralph Goodale would be a better leader than Bob Rae. … oh wait, Bob plays the piano!

  42. Craig Chamberlain says:

    I among others said early on that this election could see one vote collapse into another, and it seemed at first that fortunes would have the NDP collapsing into the Liberals. I stood against merger talks because I felt it was a distraction for voters from the Liberal brand, and it was delaying the NDP collapse.

    I think there is some confusion about what Quebeckers were voting for in voting for Jack, and I doubt they were expecting the Liberal vote to collapse the way it did in Ontario.

  43. If the Liberals had waited another two years before attempting to defeat the government, the Liberals would have still lost. It’s better for the Liberals to cut their losses now, and rebuild for six to eight years from now.

  44. AndrewOpala says:

    BTW of the major polls, the Harris-Decima Poll from May 1st using their regional distribution and projected changes in riding percentages would have projected the closest truth to election day.

    Maybe the Liberals could consider them and their polling methodologies when they start rebuilding. But the party, if it is rebuilt, we be rebuilt by hobbyists. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think hobbyists shouldn’t be running things in Ottawa. We have a lot of NDP and Conservative hobbyists there right now!

  45. Rick T. says:

    Nice talk, JERK.

  46. Philip says:

    Just some random observations from last night. From my numbers at the poll I captained the liberal vote just didn’t come out. Went neither NDP or CPC but just didn’t bother to show. Also dismal voter turn out altogether. Just slightly over 35% turn out at my poll, despite being well marked and in the center of a large high rise complex. Liberal and CPC canvassers hit that area at least twice each with door hangers. I’m not sure about the national voter turn out level but I am desperately hoping it met or exceeded 2008.

  47. James says:

    Hey Warren, I wasn’t too far off in your prediction contest. I said Conservative majority with 160 seats and 41% popular support. So are you buying me a drink??

    Once again, The Voters proved everyone wrong: the assorted journalists, pundits, pollsters, self-important armchair critics, etc. The Voters always have the last laugh.

    Throughout this blog, I’ve been pretty much right about most things (even though I’ve been slagged for being a confident conservative): Conservative majority, Liberal implosion, Bloc fatigue, remarkable Conservative gains from ethnic constituencies, Rob Ford-style victories in “Fortress Toronto”. Leftists/socialists on this blog like Namesake need to re-examine their perceptions of reality; you’ve all been delusional.

    As for people who say that Harper’s majority is somehow “undemocratic”, well just remember that Chretien formed his majorities with even lower popular support.

    I’m absolutely thrilled that the Liberal incumbent in my riding of Don Valley East, Yasmin Ratansi, was finally defeated by new Conservative candidate Joe Daniel. Way to go Joe!!

    It’s been a blast!

  48. Craig Chamberlain says:

    Warren, you were right, but you were wrong. I was wrong, but I was right.

    The question of a merger needed to be sorted out at the ballot box, tested with Canadians. This election was akin to Canadians flushing the toilet when it comes to our parties.

    How would Liberals react to having a so-called American pushing them into an American style political system? By uniting with the Socialists? Wasn’t going to happen without these election results.

    And it seems a core of some would-be Liberal voters gave a strong indication of where their vote would go if there was a merger. Perhaps with reflection on the results, we’ll see that this was a direction Liberals weren’t ready to go. Had the results been a Conservative minority with all “progressive” votes flowing to the NDP, there would have been a mandate for a merger.

    But what we got was a Conservative majority. With the help of Liberals.

    What I see is Liberals parked their vote with the Conservatives, that voting for Harper — at least for some swing voters — was a less horrible outcome than an NDP government.

    Four years is a short time. Liberals need to test a renewed brand with a “new” leader before packing it in. Someone who is a tried and true Liberal, who is not a reformed Conservative or NDPer or whatever. Someone who is not an academic. Someone Canadians already know. Someone who can win Quebec, when they become disenchanted with Jack’s crew.

    For the time being, Liberals need to slow down and hurry up. They have the space to rebuild while Jack and friends flounder as an Official Opposition.

  49. fritz says:

    First let me congratulate the CPC and their supporters here. They got their majority and now we get to see what happens next.

    What happened?

    For the most part it was the vote splits in the ROC. It looks, to me anyway, like many in the Manley/McKenna wing of the LPC assumed Harper wouldn’t get his majority and voted CPC because they feared the NDP would gain power in a post election deal. they were wrong.
    In Quebec the surge was more massive than expected. Even in the seats the NDP lost they came second in all but a a couple.

    What now?

    We get to see if Harper moves to the center or goes back to his Reform roots. My guess is some of both. On the social side; gay rights, abortion etc.; I don’t think he will do much in legislation but won’t stop private members bills from moving the country to the right socially.
    On the economy we can expect to see the Reform agenda of the 1990’s enacted, for better or worse.

    Where I see real damage being done is in the democratic front where Parliament will sidelined and virtually all decision making will come out of the PMO (as if it isn’t now). If I were on a social, environmental or cultural agency or board I’d get ready to see my funding cut big time. As well those watchdog agencies and the FOI are about to be sidelined.

    What about a Liberal/NDP merger?

    It needs to happen but I’m not sure it will. The NDP are at their apex as a party and can only go down from here.

    The Liberals need to rebuild but unless they merge with the NDP the Tories will remain in power for a long time. A Liberal Democratic Party (my choice for the merged party name) needs to happen and soon. The Liberals need to accept the first leader will have to be Layton or the NDP won’t do it. If they accept that and realise that Layton is unlikely to fight another election a merged party could win a majority in the next election.
    My worry is that they are too proud to merge and feel they are the natural ruling party. They need to know that parties, even 100 year old parties, come and go (see the PC party) and that ruling is what it’s all about.

    Am I apprehensive of what’s to come?

    Yeah a bit. It feels a little like 2000 when GWB won in the US. The only difference is Harper can have a direct influence over how I live day to day. But I know we survived Bush and we survived Mulroney so I guess we can survive Harper. I hope so anyway.

    Lastly Thanks to Warren for allowing us to rant away for the last few weeks when he had more important things to do than read comments from people he didn’t know or remotely agree with.

    • fritz says:

      Gord the PMO and Harper are the CPC. They and a small group of advisers, wrote the party policy book and they will rule (not govern) the county as they see fit.

  50. Trent says:

    I’ll tell you what happened last night; the LPC tried to manufacture an issue, contempt, that no one understood (I know the LPC said first time in history blah, blah, blah, but what specific numbers did ythe LPC want?) and then expected Canadians to get really mad when the LPC showed fake indignation. That is not the way politics work. The public tells the politicians our issues and concerns, not the other way around.

    What also sunk the LPC was that they completely ignored blue collar Canadians and instead catered to drug addicts and hippies. I heard about LPC’s carbon tax and plans for safe injection sights clear across Canada, but name one LPC policy directed at truck drivers, carpenters or plumbers? And if you think: “child care”, you’re wrong again.

    My advice for the LPC is this: learn the matters of importance to truck drivers, carpenters, plumbers, waitresses, cooks, farmers and cab drivers then use that information to form your policies before the next election. Or ignore us again. Maybe last night was a fluke?

    • Pedro says:

      Trent,
      Here’s my view of how your comment might see the light of day:
      Liberal member asks girlfriend: “Hey honey, your cousin works for the conservatives no?”
      Girlfriend: “Yeah, Soomin. Why?”
      “I have this comment from a website recommending what we might do to connect with voters but I can’t make hide nor hair of it. I was hoping she might put me on the right track.”
      “Sure. I’ll ask her what she can do for ya.”
      These are just too easy today.
      Funny how the main stream media didn’t have as many “where did we go wrong” stories about the cons and Kim Campbell in ’92!

      • Cliff says:

        I think it was pretty obvious to all why Kim Campbell and the Tories went down in flames in 1993.

  51. Paul R Martin says:

    Trent has some very good points. In my opinion, the Liberal platform and campaign was an elitist response to what Rosedale and Westmount Liberals thought would resonate with the voters. It was a well run campaign, but the message did not engage a lot of voters. As far as the comments about low turnout among “Liberal” voters, this has been going on in successive elections in the 21’st century. The Liberal Party is not giving people a reason to vote for them other than loyalty to the party.

  52. Randy says:

    I see numerous references to a “2 party system like the US”. Isn’t it a lot more likely that we will see us ending up more like the Brits than the US?

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