So I met with the returning officer this morning. He is the face of Elections Canada in the riding, with the power to approve candidates and the authority to run the entire electoral process in the district. Al is a nice enough guy – and a biker to boot – but he is also obviously a man that few details get by easily.
He went over my nomination papers – all 27 pages of them – carefully, and is obligated to let me know within 48 hours if I pass or not. One challenge every candidate faces is to have at least 100 signatures of voters included in the nomination package – names which the authorities then research to see if those people actually exist and live in the riding. I am sure there is a reason for this, but it completely escapes me.
Another challenge is the snowbird vote. Given the timing of this election, there are significant numbers of people who will not be here for the January 23rd vote, or even the advance polling days in mid-January. So, for them there is a write-in ballot. That was probably a simple idea until the bureaucrats got their hands on it. Now, if you are leaving the country in the next few weeks, you have to get an application form, fill it out and provide photocopies of ID, then receive a ballot on which you write in the name of the person you wish to vote for, put it inside a special envelope which you must sign, which then goes inside another envelope to mail to the returning office, where it will be counted on election night.
Now, imagine you are 75 years old, don’t have a photocopier in your house, and have a hard time reading small print. Ah yes, The System. One of the topics in our campaign meeting tonight, 60 minutes from now, will be to find ways to make this Byzantine system actually work. The reality is, of course, that the overwhelming majority of snowbird voters are Conservatives – since people tend to get more reasonable and intelligent as they age 
. So, we will ensure no vote goes uncast.
Well, we did another giant canvass this afternoon – the better part of four polls, all in relatively new areas of Burlington. In these neighbourhoods the houses are just a couple of years old, relatively modest, with single-car garages and owners generally in their thirties with a newborn in almost every home. This is a crowd that tends to know me a lot less than the Baby Boomers, but the reaction was still above normal. Between Paul, Doug and myself, we got more than a dozen new lawn sign locations, and identified a slew of supporters.
However, I did round one corner and received a giant shock – a shiny red lawn sign for the local Liberal! It was the first one I’d seen, and I rushed to the door to find out if there had been a mistake made. Alas, nobody was home, so I left a note: “There is still time to convert! Call me – Garth.â€
Actually, this neighbourhood yielded far more Liberals than I have encountered in any other. Of the 180 doors I did this afternoon myself, with maybe half the people not home, I found five people who said they were voting Liberal and there was nothing I could do to talk them out of it. They did not even want to divulge the issues that drove them to that belief, with one saying she was a relative of the Liberal MP in the Oakville riding to the south.
Now five may not seem like a lot, but this is the biggest single concentration of Grits my canvassing has yet uncovered in Halton – with one of them bold enough to have a lawn sign, to boot. So, I am sticking by my observation and deep belief that the Liberals have won this riding in past elections, not because people here love Liberal policies, not because the Liberals have put forward outstanding and thoughtful candidates, not because of Jean Chretien or Paul Martin, but because there was not a credible alternative. It is just that simple. And so is the solution.
The Conservatives, and the leader, had a great week. We wiped the floor with the competition and stole the headlines. Now all we have to do is keep it up for 49 more days.
34 comments ↓
OK, so something’s up Garth, I can’t get back to the “Day Two” page for some reason, but I do generally remember what was there when I was last able to pull it up and I do want to continue …
Sorry Garth, no I can’t let the same sex marriage thing go. I find it very interesting that you’ve taken the position that you have — that you do not agree with the Conservative Party plan to reopen the SSM issue and that you will not vote to recind the current legislation. I see from other posts that your constituents want you to hold a “town hall” so they can tell you how they feel you should vote (I assume with the rest of the party). I think you need to be very clear on this issue Garth. You’ve been clear with me, but obviously not all those who plan to vote for you know your position on the issue and how you plan on voting. There is no mention of your position on this issue in the materials you left with me when we spoke. Are you hiding something? I see this issue is very prominent in Conservative election materials, yet it is not in your materials.
In fairness, I know you know I don’t plan on voting Conservative because of his issue, even though your Liberal opponent is also just as eager to not toe the party line.
David: What do “most” constituents want regarding the SSM issue? If what they tell me is any indication (after 8,000 doors now knocked on), it is that they couldn’t care less about same sex marriage, and fail to understand why politicians are spending so much time on the issue. Frankly, count me in that group. This is why I do not devote space in my literature to this, since economic, crime and health care issues seem so much more relevant to most people.
Some, however, like you, can’t seem to let it go. So, write this down: Vote Garth and your MP will not act to overturn the current law and revoke a right that has already been recognized. Vote the other guy and turn back the clock. — Garth
If the older generation is so reasonable and intelligent then why are they the one demographic that consistently gets taken by internet and phone scammers? (just a devils advocate question) Wisdom, on the other hand, is a commodity that cannot be bought.
It is reprehensible when a system that is founded on free votes and democracy foists a burden upon the electorate that is untenable. Retired persons, from my perspective, are the most responsible in taking part in democratic processes. They were not that far removed from a time when the luxury of freedom was in peril from outside sources. They could be in peril now by our own doing. Vote. If you have to suffer some minor inconveniences to get that X marked, so be it. It’s only a fraction of time compared to four years of power given to a party with minimal public support.
Hey Garth, it’s not how one starts, but how one finishes. I am sure the Liberals will finish stronger than the Conservatives. The Conservatives always find a way to implode.
Is that a criticism, or are you just omniscient? Or Liberal? — Garth
I would not be surprised to find that a large percentage of “undecided” voters will actually vote Liberal. It is not that they are really undecided; they are just ashamed to admit their voting intentions publicly – and with just cause.
It’s too bad nobody can prove themselves a worthy alternative. But for me it’s simple, vote against right-wing policy at all cost. Look South, like it?
That’s an interesting point, Jack. I guess some people do feel somewhat guilty for supporting a government that is proven to be corrupt, and is essentially putting Canada well down the path of a one-party state. What I always like to ask of these people is, would it really be that bad to give the Liberals a time out and give someone else a chance? At least this would give another party a chance to prove themselves and show Canadians that whatever the Liberals say of them simply is not true.
wiped the floor with the competition?
Hmm guess the polls haven’t caught up with that development.
But y’all have picked up another endorsement. Turns out the NRA loves Mr. Harper! You should get Stephen to work that into more speeches, nothing more Canadian than legal ownership of an AK-47!
Salvage: Stop being a malicious malcontent and a Liberal hack. Of course a poll published on Sunday night did not measure an entire week in which Harper announced a GST cut, waiting time reduction plan and drug strategy, and in which Paul Martin whined in response, and bought a $240 wreath for his door. Just wait. Let’s hear your tune on January 24th. — Garth
Easy G, like I said, the polls haven’t caught up. And unless things change (i.e. no chance of Harper winning) I’m not voting Liberal so you accusations of hackery are misplaced.
I just can’t help but notice that there doesn’t seem to be an Tory Traction is all.
But I got a question for you about the 2% solution, this is one of those economic deals that I am woefully undereducated to fully understand maybe you can edify me.
When the GST was introduces I was working at a canteen at a Bingo Hall. I asked the manager if he was going to reset the cash to have a GST button.
“Hell no.†he said.
“Oh, we have to work it out ourselves?â€
“Nope, I’m raising all the prices 9% and telling the customers that the GST is built in.â€
“Hurmmm won’t they notice?â€
“Yeah, they’re going to sit down and work out the difference of 2% on their tuna sandwich.â€
“Ah. You never got the Jiminy Cricket symbolism of Pinocchio did you?â€
“Huh? Clean the scum out of the meat fridge.â€
So what I learnt was that some individuals who sell goods and service will take full advantage of any change in pricing. Which leads me to wonder what would stop manufactures, distributors and dealers from raising their prices 2%? In essence wouldn’t the supply chain eat the 2% before it got to the consumer making the tax cut look good on paper but in reality putting nothing in the pockets of Canadians? Doesn’t the market set the price at the maximum that it thinks consumer will pay keeping the taxes in mind? If everything gets 2% cheaper won’t they think “Well I can then raise my prices 2% and not lose any sales because that’s what they were paying before?â€
Like I said I don’t know any of this stuff, heck I barely understand fractions but I’m curious to see where I’m wrong.
Oh and what on Earth happened to the front of your website? It went from clean, clear and professional (and this is something I do know a little about) to a 1999 GeoCities cacophony. What I’d call an eye poke. I’m guessing that stuff a party template or something?
In actual fact, Garth, a poll released Sunday did track voters’ opinions throughout the first week of the election. Stangely, it found support for the Conservatives losing support as the week went on. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if some opinion polls do turn around based on last week, particularily with Harper’s voter-friendly (if economically unsound) GST thing.
Wes and Jack;
I think it’s pretty poor to seriously suggest that somebody’s too ashamed to admit who they’re voting for. But since you brought it up, then I’d feel pretty ashamed if I voted for a party just so I could get a lower mortgage rate, cheaper gas for my Hummer, and one percent off the GST, knowing full well that party wouldn’t do jack about helping the homeless, the environment or poorer nations. That’s where I’d feel embarrassed.
Actually, pb, the most recent poll did not include most of last week’s campaign announcements. Besides, those who feast week-to-week on polls during an election campaign will probably be fried by the end of it. As I said, let’s review the poll on January 23rd. — Garth
“…it found support for the Conservatives losing support as the week went on.”
Damn. I thought I proof-read that.
Salvage, quit being so hard on 1999 GeoCities users.
As someone who faithfully supported the Progressive Conservatives for many years, I am tremendously frustrated with this election, much as I was in the last. My options are rather bleak, as they are for many moderate conservatives.
Do I choose to support a Conservative Party whose values seem to echo those of the American ‘Moral Majority’ and one whose merger between the Alliance and PC parties was built upon a bold faced lie by Peter Mackay? A potential PM whose priorities are to impose the Notwithstanding Clause and who had the audacity to apologise on ‘our’ behalf for keeping out of Iraq?
Do I choose to support a Liberal Party – advocates of patronage and the status quo? How can I place my vote for a party who I see as the overseers of the steady erosion of Canadian influence and respect in this world?
Do I vote for the NDP? Layton claims he will take a stronger stance in asserting Canadian interests in NAFTA, but how does he feel his position will improve in the next parliament? His party has held the balance of power during the past year and this is the most realistic ‘victory’ the NDP can expect in 2006. I fail to see what real gains the NDP stand to make by risking an election whose only clear outcome at present will be a Bloc victory.
Most Canadians wish for change, but obviously many do not wish to exchange it for the uncertainty of a political party who wishes to push the beliefs of our socially conservative minority upon the rest of the country. As no Federal party truly represents the moderate Canadian conservative any longer, I am uncertain where my vote shall be cast. One thing is for certain though, it will not be for my local ‘Stephen Harper Representative’.
Um, Adam, did you just join us from the potato patch, or have you taken the time to read the previous 200 articles on this site? Or, worse, have you been letting that pesky media make up your mind for you? Sounds suspiciously like it. So, take some time, read the material below, and find out what the Conservative party is actually about . — Garth
Garth, I agree, polls are just polls, and there’s only one that matters. I don’t know which “the most recent poll” was, but the one I was talking about was an EKOS poll published in the Saturday Star, and was conducted “by telephone from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1.” As I said, I’m sure we’ll see other polls with varying results from last week…
Um, Garth, thanks for the patronizing remarks. I think I’ll take my opinions off this blog and back to my “potato patch”.
Maybe you could do a little research first, and then form an opinion. — Garth
Garth – you’re fighting an uphill battle for a good reason. The conservative party is going to have a hell of a time convincing canadians that it is a moderate/compassionate conservative party (free votes on rights issues don’t resonate well). Kudos for your ability to remain positive in the face of this, and for your stand on the gay marriage issue. I’m convinced that you would win in a landslide IF the voters of halton knew for certain that Harper would not be in any way empowered by that (either leading a minority gov’t; breaking a liberal majority or minority gov’t by one seat; and even keeping his hold on the party leadership).
Oh, and you might want to suggest to the party brass that copying the Republican party’s website template isn’t the best way to bring around Canadians.
Sorry Eddie but GeoCities is the baseline for bad… at least he doesn’t have any rainbow dividers or blink tags.
Adam – Garth is very much the old school Tory that you would feel good about voting for alas his party has embraced the American style “moral majority” in an effort to rebuild. It’s the same Reform Alliance that lost the last two elections giving the Liberals the political safety net to go hog wild with tax payer cash in an orgy that would have made Boss Tweed blush.
My fevered hope is that when this election ends with a Liberal minority Tories like Garth will get together purge the Reform Alliance infection and we can go back to having parties that represent Canadians not GOPidians.
One challenge every candidate faces is to have at least 100 signatures of voters included in the nomination package – names which the authorities then research to see if those people actually exist and live in the riding. I am sure there is a reason for this, but it completely escapes me.
“Anyway, it turned out that most of the signatures on his nomination form were phony, but (in those days) once accepted by Elections Canada you couldn’t challenge the nomination. So, because of Sa Tan we actually changed the rules so officials must verify the voters on the form before the candidacy is complete.”
http://www.conservative-cfc.ca/blog/
Day 4 (continued)
So we get some loonies running for public office – what else is new? The point it, the more onerous, complex and expensive it is for citizens to become candidates, the more we guarantee only wealthier people will find their way through the mainline party system to get their names on the ballot. Is that the goal? — Garth
The problem, Adam, is that the opinions you are voicing play right in the hands of the Liberals — “advocates of patronage and the status quo”. Is no change really the right answer? Do you really believe the Liberal party talking points about Conservatives being evil Americans? You don’t seem fully convinced since you say that they “seem to echo those of the American ‘Moral Majority’”. It’s time to stop being manipulated by fear fabricated by the media and the liberal party. It’s time to invoke change, or run the risk of being governed by liberals for decades more to come. Is that what you want?
Personally, I tend to lean towards the Conservative side. The problem is, Harper has turned a lot of us off- not just during this campaign (so far), but throughout his public career. It’s not that he’s scary (in my opinion) – there’s something else – it’s an arrogance that only he knows what’s right. His stance against the Liberals seems too extreme too – a little over the top. Put another person in as leader of the Conservatives (well maybe not just any person) and they’d do a lot better. I work on Bay street, and there’s a lot of former Conservatives who feel the same way I do. I also happen to believe that Martin did a good job as Finance Minister (just an OK job as PM – but he was saddled with dealing with a very fractured party and government).
After reading day after day, I stand firm on what I said a week or two ago. I think Garth will win if the people vote with the riding in mind and probably not if they vote for the guy running the country.
Salvage, in his convoluted,uninformed and critical comments reveals a lack of education on certain vital issues:( Of course he isn’t the only one, the media sees to that..not the least the bogus ‘polling’ done ad nauseum):
The last two elections were more ‘stolen’ with our tax dollars than ‘lost’ by the Conservatives.
We would do well to have a government using those tax dollars the way they were intended to be use: For roads, education, health care and other programs approved by the citizenry instead of re-routed to benefit the liberal party and their friends.
The liberals have used the national treasury for their own ‘slush fund’ to pay for all sorts of chicanery for the ends of the liberal party.
One fundamental difference is that the liberal party is NOT Canada. As much as the liberals act as though they are entitled to steal our money and do with it what they want, it is a crime. It is illegal and no matter of twisting and turning can make it any different.
In Ontario , in particular, there is a base of liberal support that never wavers. I lived there for many years and know people who have the mind set that their family have ALWAYS voted liberal and always will. Issues do not matter. Crime and corruption simply do not matter to these people.
For others, and in particularly those in Quebec, the liberal party is an outrage, an affront to all that is decent ( you see THEY were paying attention during Gomery as opposed to many others in this country)
Gomery stood to unite this entire country until it was bastardized by Paul Martin in his attempt to make his den of thieves look legit. There is NO honour among thieves and Paul Martin and his martinites within the liberal party have made it crystal clear by their example.
But it won’t matter to some in Ontario.
Hopefully enough of us in the rest of the country and in the majority in Ontario will realize that this election was a long time in coming, delayed as it was by Martin and is one of the most important in our history.
We are in a global struggle that Canada has ignored for the most part.
We do have troops in Afghanistan, but the major struggle has been bypassed by us thanks to the politicking and skulduggery of Chretien and those whose real power lies with banks and UN Oil for Food scams.
As in the tainted blood scandal, there are hidden forces at work to ensure that the Canadian public do not know what is really going on and what is at stake in this truly global struggle.
We live in a fools paradise, really thinking that we are masters of our own fate and that we can take a separate road from our real allies.
Economically, militarily, philosophically we are tied to the United States. We lost loved ones on 9/11 too. We should be front and center with this struggle and we should be supporting those who fight and die for US. For that is what they are doing. They are fighting our fight for us, not just in Iraq but economically.
I read and hear so many negatives about the Bush administration, fostered by a media dedicated and determined to undermine everything they do.
Yet it is they, their steadfast determination to support and defend the United States and it’s people that we have to thank for our own ease of life.
Overtaxed we most certainly are. Uninformed and ignorant of what this global struggle means and the role we have to play in it.
When the Conservative Government forms on January 24th I look forward to tax cuts, economic renewal with the relief that will bring, and a new understanding of what we owe our friends to the South of us and why it is necessary to join with them on many fronts.
Thank you snowy, you make my points for me.
Snowbunnie, you’re right: more than one person here “reveals a lack of education on certain vital issues”. Why, someone even suggested that 9/11 was an argument supporting Canadian involvement in Iraq. Oh, wait, that was you.
Gee. I wonder why Conservatives are making no gains.
So far the Conservatives have announced:
1. They will ignore the will of the last Parliament and reopen the gay marriage issue.
2. Their GST reduction plan is condemned by most economists as inflation causing and therefore any gain by taxpayers will be wiped out by raising interest rates. In fact it may cost tax payers more!
3. No one believes Harper has a magic wand that when waved crime simply disappears. Building more prisons hasn’t slowed the rise of crime in the U.S.
4. Private delivery of health care is just a step to private health care, the hidden plan of Conservatives. Voters will choose a health card and not a credit card to pay the hospital when they are sick.
So 4 Harper Announcements and 4 reasons why we can’t vote Conservative.
I don’t mean to minimize the accusations of corruption against the current government, but to be honest, they are penny-ante compared with the corruption that exists, not just in our national government or the state of Florida, but even on the local level in my county and city.
I’m not a Canadian, although I have visited many times, lived in Montreal for four years and was actually a landed immigrant in my teens. But, as a U.S. citizen anguished by the tragic and utterly unjustified war in Iraq, the radical right agenda of arguably the worst president in our history and the rapid intrusion of fundamentalist religion into our government, I am scared. What scares me is the prospect of Stephen Harper becoming Prime Minister and joining the ranks of Bush poodles Blair, Berlusconi and Howard.
Canada may not be a perfect society, but the “peaceable kingdom to the north” persists in protecting civil and human rights and protecting itself from the sort of creeping religious despotism that the founders of the U,S. republic guarded against. I saw Harper speak – rant would be more accurate – against a “culture of entitlement,” but you won’t see desperate Canadian families sponsoring bake sales to raise money for an otherwise unaffordable operation to save a child’s life. Canada has joined the REAL war against terrorism in Bosnia and Afghanistan, while declining to join the U.S. in invading countries such as 2003 Iraq and 1964 Vietnam that had no links to international terrorism. Elections in Canada may be hard-fought, but you never hear of them being stolen.
The Liberals may be far from perfect, but right now they are all that stand between the people of Canada and a right-wing demagogue who shows signs of wanting to damage and betray the best that your nation stands for.
Snowbunnie, thank you for helping the liberal cause in Ontario.
“Maybe you could do a little research first, and then form an opinion.”
Garth, just curious: if elected, is this how you’ll speak to upset constituents?
So, what do you have against research? — Garth
FC
You’re obviously a NDP supporter, and you’ve definitely got Jack’s talking points down. I have one question for you: In 1997 the NDP ran on a promise to reduce the GST and eventually eliminate it, calling it “a good tax for business, but a bad tax for individuals”. Why the change of tune?
Wow. The liberals sure are magical. They even have our good American friend Richard convinced that Harper is an evil Republican in disguise!
With such amazing powers of pursuasion, they could do things like, oh I don’t know, solve trade disputes such as softwood lumber! Instead they use their magical powers all for themselves, instead of average Canadians (unless they happen to be liberals in on the scams and slush funds). Their only goal is to stay in power, reward their friends, and destroy their enemies.
You’re right Richard — we don’t need to hold bake sales to raise money for a child’s lifesaving operation…we just force them to wait in a line long enough that it either makes the situation worse, or in some cases, results in death.
Why the fear of change?
Bottom line is that we cannot reward a government that has so blatantly misappropriated taxpayer dollars to line their own pockets. A democracy only truly works when there is change and renewal in government. Salvage and others, please read the current issue of The Economist for more on this.
I don’t know what else you Conservatives can do to get a boost in the polls, Garth. From an impartial perspective, I can see that your party had an very good week and are dominating the issues in the campaign thus far. Having said that, I still see no movement in the polls toward the Conservatives. What else could you guys possibly do to pull more votes your way? We have a corrupt party in power, people want change (according to the same polls), Martin looks tired and sounds like a broken record when he attacks Harper, Harper has an excellent week of campaigning, and you’re STILL behind the Liberals in the polls! I just don’t understand it.
> the situation worse, or in some cases, results in death.
Really? Can you show us any cases where this has happened?
RM
You’re right, a shorter version of the theory espoused by my father was “Throw them out before they can do any damage” keeping politicians on the hop is both healthy for them and the country of this there is no doubt.
Which is why I am so disappointed that the Tories have presented us with yet another unelectable whack-job.
It’s not a question of “rewarding” anyone, the Liberals certainly don’t deserve to win but of all the choices they are, sadly, frustratingly, irritatingly the only ones.
That’s why my fevered hope is after Harper loses the Tories kick him and his Reform Alliance buddies to the curb. I want the election results to be the same as they were 18 months ago, the Liberals in a minority, the NDP with a bit of leverage and the Tories in opposition only I want them to become an effective opposition representing average Canadians rather than the angry silly minority (hey snowy I’m looking at you!) who gets worked up about two men sharing health benefits and think we need to go off to Iraq. There is a massive pool of voters who are going to hold their noses and vote Liberal, give them the Joe Clark / Brian Mulroney Conservative Party and they will win the next election in a cakewalk.
agreed. i’d also like to see harper, mackay, and rahim jaffer all lose their seats too, but i doubt that will happen. this party needs rebirth, renewal. it needs to become what the pc party represented before all the cries of western alienation. until the party can change enough to convince the people of canada that it is no longer the reform party in disguise, we will be stuck with a liberal government – be it a majority or minority.