2019 Canadian Federal Election

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Perhaps, but.........
An October 2011 poll conducted by the Citizen Society Research Lab at Lethbridge College found that 72.1% of Albertans supported same-sex marriage, while 27.9% opposed it.

Same-sex marriage in Alberta - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

When one looks at a broader scope of social issues, we see this comparing Alberta to Quebec.

Abacus Data | HOW BIG ARE CANADIAN REGIONAL DIFFERENCES ON QUESTIONS OF MORALITY?

abacusdata.ca

It shows Albertans are pro-choice 2 to 1; and more pro-doctor-assisted suicide than Quebecers.

Support is one thing - but are they going to vote against a party for not supporting these things? The result of the provincial election is telling. It is clearly not a hard red line.

AoD

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

Is it time for Elizabeth May to step down and the Greens get a new fresh face?

I don't know.

But I do think it is time for the Greens to seriously plot how they can wrestle control of Victoria, Esquimalt-Saanich, and central Vancouver Island from the NDP, and reinforce their gains in Atlantic Canada.

For all this talk of Western alienation, the region that has been actually ignored by both Liberals and Conservatives for decades is Atlantic Canada. If everyone is falling into camps of regionalism, maybe it is the Greens that will find advantage. Is Elizabeth May the leader to do it?

 

[kEiThZ]

Perhaps, but.........

An October 2011 poll conducted by the Citizen Society Research Lab at Lethbridge College found that 72.1% of Albertans supported same-sex marriage, while 27.9% opposed it.

Same-sex marriage in Alberta - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

When one looks at a broader scope of social issues, we see this comparing Alberta to Quebec.

Abacus Data | HOW BIG ARE CANADIAN REGIONAL DIFFERENCES ON QUESTIONS OF MORALITY?

abacusdata.ca

It shows Albertans are pro-choice 2 to 1; and more pro-doctor-assisted suicide than Quebecers.

That's all well and good. But their voting doesn't reflect any of those social attitudes. And very specifically, the conservative politicians who come from Alberta are particularly opposed to abortion, euthanasia, etc.

And then when you get to issues like climate change, you get this:

The survey showed Alberta residents are the least likely to believe the Earth is warming. When asked the same question, 52 per cent of those surveyed said there is conclusive or solid evidence to prove it. Sixteen per cent of Albertans said there is little or no evidence to suggest the Earth is warming.

Albertans are least likely in Canada to believe in climate change: survey | Globalnews.ca

A new survey conducted earlier this year suggests Albertans are the least likely of all Canadians to believe in global warming.

globalnews.ca

So very much a stretch to argue that they're more politically liberal than Democrats and compare them to California. There is zero doubt in mind that if Alberta was in the US, it would be a red state. Maybe not as deep red as Wyoming or Mississipi. But a reasonably reliable Republican state nevertheless.

 

[JGHali]

I don't know.

But I do think it is time for the Greens to seriously plot how they can wrestle control of Victoria, Esquimalt-Saanich, and central Vancouver Island from the NDP, and reinforce their gains in Atlantic Canada.

For all this talk of Western alienation, the region that has been actually ignored by both Liberals and Conservatives for decades is Atlantic Canada. If everyone is falling into camps of regionalism, maybe it is the Greens that will find advantage. Is Elizabeth May the leader to do it?

I think it's time for her to go. And while Vancouver Island has a natural granola-Green constituency, it also has the uniquely class oriented BC political culture that structures things differently. I'm not surprised that the Greens made no further gains there.

In Atlantic Canada, only Newfoundland really has a strong enough sense of grievance and "distinct society" mentality to become more regionalist. The Greens definitely aren't the party for that. They already are doing better in NB and PEI, though, and time will tell how enduring that is. Other things being equal, the NDP should have done better in NS, but I expect there's still much local rebuilding to be done there following their stint in power there. Nova Scotian political culture is too apathetic for much regionalism, except that is for Cape Breton vs. the rest of the province.

 

[JGHali]

So very much a stretch to argue that they're more politically liberal than Democrats and compare them to California. There is zero doubt in mind that if Alberta was in the US, it would be a red state. Maybe not as deep red as Wyoming or Mississipi. But a reasonably reliable Republican state nevertheless.

Eh, I don't think we can extrapolate much. It wouldn't be California, but it would be more "purple" than red or blue. Plus there would be "Redmonton" to address.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Eh, I don't think we can extrapolate much. It wouldn't be California, but it would be more "purple" than red or blue. Plus there would be "Redmonton" to address.

Austin TX vs. TX at large.

AoD

 

[PinkLucy]

And then when you get to issues like climate change, you get this:

But then you have Mayor Nenshi saying that Albertans are unfairly characterized as being opposed to anything to do with climate change.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

But then you have Mayor Nenshi saying that Albertans are unfairly characterized as being opposed to anything to do with climate change.

The question is - what does "doing anything" actually meant? So far I don't see any particular aversion towards technological solutions - but who does? It's like the CPC promoting miracle-tech as a way to avoid concrete reduction targets.

AoD

 

[PinkLucy]

It was actually kind of amusing (to me anyway). He seemed so affronted, but hey, they are the economic engine of the country ... or something.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

It was actually kind of amusing (to me anyway). He seemed so affronted, but hey, they are the economic engine of the country ... or something.

To be fair, it's hard not to be sympathetic to their plight - but at the same time, theirs is a resource economy and no one complained when world oil prices were high and fortunes were fettered away. Their public sector spending per capita is among the highest in the country (but with one of the youngest population), with zero sales tax - and worked themselves into a budget deficit hole. Worse, hardly any of the natural resource windfall was saved. It ain't Norway - it's Saudi Arabia.

AoD

 

[W. K. Lis]

Is it time for Elizabeth May to step down and the Greens get a new fresh face?

Why? The Green TRIPLED their numbers of ridings. From 1 riding in 2015, to 3 ridings in 2019.

 

[PinkLucy]

They also almost doubled their percentage of the popular vote, they need to focus on areas where they did well and continue to grow. May has done well, but she has been there a long time. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her step down.

 

[Richard White]

I'm really curious if this election actually prompts some soul-searching in the CPC. They can be Canada's conservative party or Alberta's front. Can't be both. Time for them to choose.

Honestly, the CPC is the new Reform Party. Once they merged with the Canadian Alliance they became a separatist party.

 

[Videodrome]

In terms of fringe parties, the Christian Heritage Party got 18,816 votes in total, an increase from last time. The other Maxime Bernier of the Rhinoceros Party got 1084 votes!

 

[Northern Light]

Apparently a record 98 women elected to our 43rd parliament.

That's 29% of the House of Commons, up from 26%.

While I'm not a quotas person, I do think parliament should, ideally, look like the citizenry it represents. As such, I'll see this a progress, if a bit less so than one might have hoped.

But I note that the Conservatives are clearly the reason there wasn't more progress, every other party has 33% or more of its MPs being women; while the Conservatives managed a meager 18%.

I haven't seen anything yet on visible minority representation; hopefully that has improved as well.

A record 98 women elected to Canada's 43rd Parliament, but equality advocates say that's not good enough

When newly elected and reelected MPs convene in Ottawa to form Canada’s 43rd Parliament, there are going to be more women filling the seats of the House of Commons than ever before.

www.straight.com