Musings —10.19.2015 11:52 AM
—Did you vote? Who did you vote for?
Uncharacteristically for me, here’s a serious attempt to do an online exit poll – with the party names in alphabetical order, plus didn’t vote and buzz off and spoiled it options.
If you voted, I’d love to know which door you picked. And, if you have comments to add, about why you voted a certain way, feel free to comment away in the appropriate space. And thanks in advance!
I covered my face when I voted but, I swear it was me.
sorry…covered my face when I voted in your online poll…
Not ready to admit defeat yet, but, should it happen all will be ok my little conny friends, sun will come up tomorrow and Canada will still be a great place to live, as it has been the past 50 years.
Hey, we had 10 years, maybe it is someone else turn.
If on the off chance that the sun does not come up tomorrow.I want to go on record and say I told you so!
that’s some funny stuff there Joseph…laughed o lot
I voted Liveral (oh cowardly me) because their office saved my skin last year with some cpp issues. The staff were awesome so that sealed it. I did find it strange when the nice lady beside the voting booth handed me a can of Raid. I thought that was a bit much and oh of the 25 or so people voting at least 15 were under 30.. small sample size but still.
so that was you in the anonymous mask. cool 🙂
Andrew Coyne just resigned. I really admire this guy.
He also voted for the NDP. Just when you thought this election couldn’t get weirder.
kept the columnist gig though….why would you do that if your so principled? He hasnt been the same since Chantal Hebert put him in his place on CBC discussion …
Not really all that weird. He says on Twitter that he voted NDP to try to keep the Liberals from getting a majority — a plausible choice in midtown TO, where several ridings seem to be tight between the the NDP and Liberals, and it’s conceivable that a few NDP could keep the Liberals from a majority.
I’m in the None Of Your Beeswax camp. It’s something I take seriously. Drive my wife crazy because I’ve never revealed my vote. But I am a member of the federal Liberal Party in Beaches – East York…
strategically voted NDP … now to go throw up.
Matt Grant in Calgary Confederation. I actually voted at the Elections Canada office a few weeks ago.
Even though Craig Scott will most likely win Toronto Danforth ( I can live with that) , I voted L to increase the overall count.
I live in Toronto Danforth too, and did the exact same thing for the same reason. If there were ever any worry about the Conservative candidate winning (not in one million years here) I’d have been more strategic. But the NDPs position on the Clarity Act still sticks in my craw so couldn’t vote for them.
I held my nose and voted Conservative. Why?
Because the NDP is too rigidly left-wing for me, despite Mulcair’s best efforts to make it more centrist.
Because I think the Greens are still a wasted vote at this point in time, fairlly or unfairly.
Because, although I’m most at home in the Liberal camp, I cannot bring myself to vote for a party led by someone with no business experience, no government experience, no military experience and/or, if we’re being honest, no real world work experience for any legitimate period of time. I don’t vote for “celebrities”.
The Liberals will likely rejoice tonight. But I maintain that if they had run a more serious candidate, they’d probably be looking at upwards of 200 seats.
Conservative. Your surprised, I know. A guy threw a hissy at the polling station when asked for ID.
“The voter card is my ID”
“No it’s not sir. It clearly states the voter card is not ID”
“It is ID”
“No it isn’t. Do you have a drivers licence? That’s all I need to see to verify your address, even a piece of mail…….”
“The voter card is mail. It verifies my address. I’m not showing you my drivers licence”
“Sir…….”
“KEEP THE GODDAMN CARD. I’M NOT COMING BACK!!!”
First thought was you’re a douche. People around the world would kill to be able to vote. Then I thought maybe he was trying to use someone elses voter card.
I mean you’re surprised.
Thank you for volunteering your time at a polling station Matt.
Its these things that need to be recognized and lauded.
Dave.
Voted back on the 10th in the advance polls, went with team Blue. Although I think team Red will get a minority and team Orange will be back at there normal seat count. We will be back at this after the budgit comes down next spring and Harper has his “walk in the snow” moment. If Harper retires, then in 2017 after CPC picks a new leader
Hey your exit poll seems at least within the ballpark of what pollsters were reporting last night– Cool that your not-blog doesn’t skew too far to one political tribe.
Grit.
Because this country is in dire need of federal funding for infrastructure renewal and this is the right time to do it.
And because I’m in Ottawa South and David McGuinty will make a helluva Minister of the Environment!
I’d like to see a second poll – If you voted, did you vote strategically or not?
I can’t vote as an ex-pat Canadian as Harper went out of his way to appeal the court decision and got my right to vote taken away once again.
Lots of time left for voting.
Hope the Dipper supporters realize a vote for the NDP is a vote for the current gov’t.
Just ask Andrew Thomson. Real change, eh?
It depends where you live. That would be true in Eglinton-Lawrence, where the NDP really could play a spoiler role. It’s not true in most of downtown TO, where the races are entirely between the Liberals and the NDP and the Tories have as much chance of winning as you or me.
Why I Voted Conservative:
I don’t think my family doctor should have to pay more tax so that I can pay less tax…
I’d rather save for my retirement on my own terms. I don’t want to pay more for a government managed retirement plan (CPP)…
I don’t think interest rates will stay low. I’d sooner pay off debt, rather than return to deficits…
P.s. love the blog, see you again for election 43
Was it ever nice to see a ballot without the name Telegdi associated with the Liberals and not have to vote for the candidate most likely to defeat him.
Voted Lib, strategic anyone but Harper Vote.
Liberal because I’m in Vancouver Quadra and Joyce Murray deserves re-election. It helps that I, for some reason, have heaps more faith in Trudeau than Mulcair. I don’t bloke almost anything about the current form of the Conservative Party, so they’re not an option for me.
“bloke”
Autocorrect strikes again. “like”
I think the Globe got it right. Yes to the Conservative PArty, no to Harper.
I suspect that the Globe and Mail will go 0-2 tonight as their recommendation is rejected by the voters of Calgary and the voters of Canada.
I voted NDP, but it’s the safest NDP seat in Toronto. If I lived in a neck-to-neck Con vs. Grit race, or with a Con incumbent, I would vote Liberal in a heartbeat.
Thanks for all your analysis, Warren.
Green.
A responsible, Chretien Liberal, who wishes Trudeaus didn’t spend money that our grandchildren will be paying interest on and maybe our great, grandchildren will pay off, because we refuse to pay our own way (like our grandparents did). Really hypocrites, claiming to be concerned about what we leave behind for our grandchildren.
A minority please. It will be the best of three undeserving choices. Just because you are Not Harper, does not make you deserving.
I voted Green. Caveat: I would have voted Liberal, but the Liberal candidate in our riding withdrew after being outed as a 9/11 truther, but is still on the ballot after withdrawing too late to get another candidate on board. So that left me with a choice between the incumbent dipper or the greens if I wanted to stick it to the conservatives. As close as we are to Elizabeth May’s riding, this area is in play for the greens but not for the tories. So green it was.
A little pissed the grit candidate was vetted so poorly, though. Would have preferred to vote that way. And there are probably going to be thousands of votes going to waste on the withdrawn candidate in our riding, too.
I remembered the videos of Greeks lining up to withdrawal their daily limit of $60 (maybe euros) this summer and for the first time in 20 odd years went and actually voted in Calgary. Though I’m pretty sure my riding will go Blue (as always), I believe the only chance Liberals have of getting a majority is to pick up some surprise seats and due to the closeness of the polls, the risk seemed too high to sit this one this out.
I’ve never believed a western government can make the economy stronger, but I do believe a government can make an economy weaker.
I voted Green. I’m privileged to live in an orange riding, with a strong red opponent, so I voted with my heart and believe Elizabeth May is the best choice for Prime Minister. I can’t stand behind the Liberal economic plan to increase my family’s taxes when we work like dogs, have huge student loans, and a young family. (We are certainly not millionaires, and already feel we pay more than a fair share in taxes). At its heart – this plan is classist and I can think of many, many ways to achieve the same effect. Mulcair lacks charisma (as does Harper). Regardless, do like Trudeau’s energy and hope we see ‘Real Change’ tonight.
Normally NDP but I voted Liberal in Calgary confederation. I was unimpressed with the NDP aligning themselves with the Tories in backing out of the consortium debate. This was a strategy of liberal party voter suppression. I just don’t buy the official explanation that they (tories and NDP) were trying to advance freedom of the press. The fact that these two parties are now complaining about the networks not broadcasting the debates after the fact shows their basic stupidity – as it was clear the networks were not going to broadcast these debates for their own reasons. Tom Mulcair could have agreed to the other debates provided that Harper show up at a televised debate and Harper would have shown up. This cynical shenanigans does not deserve support from any voter.
Get real and grow up- you are not running against the TV consortium – you are supposed to be running for parliament!
Conservative protest vote.
In my riding the Liberal will win, and he seems like a perfectly good candidate; I’m sure he’ll make a decent MP. I would have voted strategically for him if there were any danger of the NDP winning, though their candidate frankly seems like the best politician.
This time, however, there’s little danger of an NDP upheaval; and though I’m pretty disgusted at the shenanigans the Conservative party has been up to (both in general, and during the campaign — especially at the end), I’m even more disgusted at the vitriol and filth that’s been emanating from HDS types. I have no confidence in either of the other party leaders. I hate the NDP’s “Sherbrooke Declaration”, and I’m appalled at Trudeau’s determination to lead us back into a deficit under the guise of “investment in infrastructure”.
So this is my small way of protesting the insane hatred so unfairly directed at the Conservatives, and reminding the Liberals that they should stay humble, even if they win big.
Green – usually vote NDP but 50% + 1 is unsupportable to as the basis for breaking up the country. Eve Adams and then Gagnier made it impossible for me to vote Liberal.
Stephen Harper via the Court of Appeal didn’t want expat riffraff like yours truly and Donald Sutherland to vote. Under different circumstances, I would have voted for my Liberal candidate in Calgary Confederation. On the bright side, a good American born friend who has just become a Canadian citizen has voted in that riding. So perhaps the universe balances out. Meanwhile in Airstrip One, I voted Labour in 2015 and Lib-Dem in 2010 (a mistake I will never make again).
Liberal. I’m a card-carrying Liberal, and mostly have voted Liberal every election. Won’t vote for a twit, however, so if the Lib candidate is one, I look for someone who has integrity and a backbone. Worked for Marion Dewar when she ran in the 90’s. She lost – the Lib, who was a twit, won. Too bad. We’re the worse for that.
But yeah, Liberal. We have an excellent Liberal candidate in our riding, as well as an excellent sitting NDP MP. An embarrassment of riches, you might say.
THE EVIL OF MANY LESSERS
I’m not enamored with any of the 3 main leaders. No point in going into any reasons, all have been covered here ad infinitum but basically there’s zero chance I’d ever vote for Harper, and in this case my choice between Trudeau and Mulcair was a coin toss. I may have voted for my Green Party candidate but he pissed me off a few weeks ago because his campaign called me 2-3 times a day for over week. I had to publicly shame him on the Green Party Facebook and Twitter accounts to get them to stop.
Ultimately I decided to vote strategically and picked the Liberal candidate. I had said to myself frequently over the last 2 months that I wouldn’t do that but when it came time to mark my X the thought of Harper’s cold dead eyes staring at me from my TV or my computer compelled me to do otherwise.
I voted CPC , Voted early in Saskatoon West.. We will do more than survive no matter who gets in , we will thrive.. I talked to a young person who seemed nervous about voting , not knowing what to do.. I told her the only real error that can be made on election day is to not vote.None of us have crystal balls , if we regret our choice we have a do over in no more than four years..I do feel that this election was the meanest in my 44 years of voting , and that all parties insist its the other guys doing it , the absolute hatred out there is spread throughout all the parties , its a cancer to our system ..
I voted NDP. They don’t have a chance in my riding, Fredericton, where the Liberals are favoured but vote splitting be damned, I’m voting with my conscience. Mulcair’s stance against Bill C-51, when it was popular, and against the niquab, to the determent of his campaign, showed courage; I admire that. Plus, I don’t think Trudeau is qualified to be PM, and I’m not eager for the spending spree he’s proposing. I doubt my stance will win me many friends here, but there it is.
Addendum: Fredericton may be a riding to watch tonight. As I said above, the Girts are favoured, but I don’t think the Tories holding it is out of the question. The Liberal candidate is young, and the Tories having been playing up the unpopular provincial Liberal government of Brian Gallant and their rhetoric of Trudeau cancelling senior’s income splitting to some effect. They’ve been aided in this by the Gallant government’s boneheaded (and recently rescinded) decision to raise fees on seniors homes.
But it may not come down to just Grit vs. Tory. The NDP won’t win, but the Greens have an impressive candidate who may surprise. It’s a university riding and the provincial leader pulled an impressive victory in last fall’s provincial election. The Green candidate has gotten a lot of positive buzz, and I’ve seen a lot of Green signs around town. We’ll know tonight.
I want a new category. “I voted for the ‘insert party here’ NOT in my riding.
Live in a riding with a competitive three-way race, although the Libs always come out on top. I voted Lib, because their candidate in my riding is top notch. Smart, involved in the community, great for constituents, dedicated and still full of energy after many years of public service. I wasn’t warm to Trudeau for a very long time, but he impressed me during this campaign. And I like their platform. Balancing economy and environment, open for trade, transparency, better relations with the provinces and municipalities, support for families, investing in infrastructure renewal, and respect and a positive attitude. Best one of the bunch.
I voted Conservative…I hemmed and hawed during the election…at one point I seriously thought I would vote NDP. In the end, I just couldn’t come up with enough reasons to vote NDP to justify that choice. As for the Liberals, I dislike my local Liberal MP and cringe when I think of so many of Justin Trudeau’s dumb or saccharine quotations – he is just not a serious thinker.
Liberal.
I began the campaign as a disaffected Liberal that was planning to vote NDP, for strategic reasons and C-51.
But the Dipper platform sucked. Trudeau won me back.
The NDP dip in the polls helped me with that decision a great deal.
Driving around Ontario it’s amazing how there is such a lack of Orange signs compared to the last election (which were all over the place by the end, not just in traditional NDP ridings).
I’m wondering why you didn’t offer a place for those who vote Bloc, although I didn’t vote for that candidate. You have followers in Québec, Warren. I voted NDP because he was the incumbent and the Liberal was an unknown who is in 4th place in the polls. My experience seemed to be shenanigan-free.
After much soul-searching, I voted Conservative in what is likely to be a Liberal pickup from the Conservatives (Winnipeg South-Centre). The Globe’s editorial stated my position far more elequently than I could have. My 2 year old simply can’t afford to pay back what Trudeau wants to spend. My hope is for a Liberal minority, get rid of Harper, and see the Conservatives back in power before Trudeau blows through his first $10 billion in overdraft.
I’m a lifelong Conservative and have always voted PC or Conservative. I had mixed thoughts going into this election but ultimately figure that Harper would leave tonight and the party could have a leadership race to renew itself.
ABC: Voted Liberal because they are the party most likely to beat the Conservatives in my riding plus we have a great local candidate –Maryam Monsef- in Peterborough-Kawartha. If I lived in France, Germany, or any of the Scandinavian countries, I could have voted for my best local candidate and my best prime minister. Much better than our system.
I voted LIB for the first time since 1997, mainly because of the OAS eligibility. That bothered me even though I’m 27 years or so from 65 anyways.
It will be sad to see Harper go, he did a lot of good things for the country, and proved that a complete introvert could become PM of a great country.
Liberals: 163
Cons: 119
NDP: 48
Bloc: 7
Green: 1
I voted NDP for strategic purposes.
Didn’t vote. First time in 27 years of eligibility. I’ve never been so disgusted by a section of leaders or candidates in my life.A pox on all their houses.
http://www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com//full-comment/jen-gerson-worst-election-ever
Liberal, in the advance poll last week. Megan Leslie really honked me and the wife off last year, made it impossible for us to hold our noses for her (well, if the CPC candidate has any real chance of running up the middle I might have, but since that is not an issue I went with my conscience). Going into Fillmore headquarters in an hour so as to get assigned to a polling station to scrutinize votes, same as I do in all elections I can. Will be looking forward to see how the results have been coming in when I finish at that station. One of the nice things about being a vote counter is that it helps pass the early part of the time while the votes first start rolling in, especially if you re in the Atlantic region.
Conservative. Seriously considered Liberal (am a lifelong Conservative voter) but could never in a million years envision Trudeau on a world stage dealing with leaders. He really is not experienced enough and his past history shows he has a hard time staying with his decisions.
We do have a winner here with Michelle Remple though!E9pA
Voted Liberal. Hope beats fear.
I’m wondering if this election will confirm something I’ve noticed. The “Shy Tory” effect is real, but there’s another effect I’ve observed.
I call it the “Front Runner” effect. A portion of people want to vote for the winner, and will look at the polls near election day and vote for the party with momentum, because they want to be on the winning side.
They don’t care much what the parties stand for. They care more that the party they voted for one.
I think it accounts for a few percentage points nationwide, and a larger percentage in Ontario.
I’m wondering if this election will confirm something I’ve noticed. The “Shy Tory” effect is real, but there’s another effect I’ve observed.
I call it the “Front Runner” effect. A portion of people want to vote for the winner, and will look at the polls near election day and vote for the party with momentum, because they want to be on the winning side.
They don’t care much what the parties stand for. They care more that the party they voted for won.
I think it accounts for a few percentage points nationwide, and a larger percentage in Ontario.
I voted Conservative. This is a very important election for me. If Harper wins I’m putting naked pictures of myself on my blog. If Trudeau wins I’m joining the Nazi Party of America. If Mulcair wins I’m joining Al Qaeda.
“We really cannot have another four years of government by a sadistic Victorian schoolmaster.”
Conrad Black
Hard to disagree
I think it is going to be a very good night for the Liberals. I work at a university with the much wanted for the Liberals age 18-24 vote. My unscientific polling would indicate that a lot of them voted this time. Didn’t ask them who they voted for, though. Haha
“It was as if the once unbeatable Liberals were allowing themselves to be guided deeper into the political wilderness, led by a name instead of a leader. A good argument can be made that Justin Trudeau was an agent of change. A better argument can be made that he will be its first victim.”
-Peter C. Newman
Bon Appetit, Mr. Newman…..