Apparently The Toronto Star Forgot About September 6, 1990

Because their editorial board has clearly lost their f*cking minds. Because if there is one thing Ontarians remember most when it comes to politics, it is the feeling they had on September 7, 1990. That, "holy shit! What have we done?!" feeling. The one they've never, ever, ever forgotten.

The Star? They've forgotten.

The Name Jack Layton's 100 Seat Contest

I've been on a couple talk shows lately asking where these prognosticators are predicting this Orange Surge to take place. Because, says I, you can't get there from here.

I still laugh my ass off when I hear the preposterous pundits telling people Jack Layton can win 100 or more seats. Let's start with the ridings he couldn't win if he was at 45% and work our way through this shall we.

I'll start the fun. My own riding. Burlington ON.

Team Jack garnered a whopping 6600 votes last election. Libs had 20,000 and the Cons had 28,000. So, no, the orange surge won't be "surging" here anytime soon.

See how easy this contest is?

I'll keep the fun going and then you can pitch in.

Jack will also not be winning Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Niagara West Glanbrook, Ancaster Dundas Flamborough Westdale, Oakville, Halton, Halton Hills, Missisauga Streetsville, Mississauga South, Brampton Springdale, Brampton West, Brampton Gore Malton, Mississauga Streetsville, Toronto Centre, St. Pauls, Willowdale, Eglington Lawrence, Simcoe Grey Bruce, Barrie, Newmarket Aurora, Ajax Pickering, Thornhill,Markham Oak Ridges,London North Centre, Guelph, Kitchener Centre, Brant, Haldimand Norfolk. That's 30

And that's just southern Ontario. See how easy this contest is? Feel free to continue the list. I'll add Papineau to start off the Jack-won't-win-this-one fun in Quebec and Wascana to start the Sask fun. That's 32. Continue on oh Saturday morning armchair experts.

The Morning Nanos

Nik on the Numbers

The national ballot remains relatively stable with a five point lead for the Conservatives over the NDP at this point in the campaign. NDP numbers continue to trend up in Ontario and also showed an increase in support in British Columbia.

Conservative support nationally stands at 36.4% followed by the NDP at 31.2%, the Liberals at 22.0%, the BQ at 5.7% and the Greens at 4.0%.

A review of the regional sub samples suggests that Atlantic Canada remains a statistical tie factoring the margin of error of the research.

Support for the New Democrats remains steady at 41.4% in Quebec with the BQ at 23.6%, the Liberals at 16.1%, the Conservatives at 15.8% and the Greens at 1.9%.

Conservative support is trending down in Ontario although still in the lead. In Ontario, the Tories are at 36.3%, followed by the Liberals at 29.8%, the NDP at 28.5% and the Green Party at 5.1%.

Tory support has increased in the Prairies to 60.0%, while the NDP are in second at 22.8%, the Liberals are at 13.3% and the Greens are at 3.9%.

Although the Tories maintain their support in British Columbia at 43.0%, the NDP registered a noticeable increase in support to 35.2%, followed by the Liberals at 18.2% and the Greens at 3.7%.

Party platform remains the top vote driver at 48.7%.

The Morning Nanos

Nik on the Numbers

Please note that this three day tracking report is based on polling completed on April 24, 26 and 27. No calling was conducted by Nanos on Easter Monday and this track includes one day of calling from the holiday weekend, plus calling on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Momentum in the federal election campaign continues to favour the NDP. Support for the Layton New Democrats continues to go up in Quebec and is now also on the increase in the province of Ontario. As a result, the Conservative advantage nationally has narrowed to six percentage points. Support for the New Democrats continues to move into uncharted territory.

Conservative support nationally stands at 36.6% followed by the NDP at 30.4%, the Liberals at 21.9%, the BQ at 6.0% and the Greens at 4.1%.

Atlantic Canada remains a statistical tie factoring the margin of error for the regional sub-samples.

NDP support in Quebec has hit 42.5% followed by the BQ at 25.1%, the Liberals at 15.0%, the Conservatives at 13.5% and the Greens at 2.4%.

West of the Ottawa River the Tories continue to enjoy an advantage over the opposition parties.

In Ontario, the Conservatives enjoy a comfortable lead over the Liberals and New Democrats, but support for the Tories is trending down while the NDP is trending up. The Tories have 41.1% support, followed by the Liberals at 27.9%, the NDP at 26.1% and the Greens at 4.5%.

The Tories continue to lead in the Prairies at 53.8%, followed by the NDP at 26.0%, the Liberals at 14.6% and the Greens at 4.9%.

In British Columbia, the Tories are ahead with 45.3% support with the NDP and Liberals statistically tied (26.9% and 23.1% respectively).

One of two Canadians continues to identify party platform as their top vote driver at 49.0%, followed by party leader at 26.0% which is trending up.

Martha, Get the Life Rafts

Nik on the Numbers

Please note that this three day tracking report is based on polling completed on April 23, 24 and 26. No calling was conducted by Nanos on Easter Monday and this track includes two days of calling from the holiday weekend plus calling on Tuesday.

The Harper Conservatives maintain a 10 point lead but support for the NDP continues to trend up with the NDP in second, followed by the Liberals in third.

Nationally, the Tories have 37.8% support, followed by the NDP at 27.8%, the Grits at 22.9%, the BQ at 5.8% and the Greens at 4.7%.

Factoring the margin of error for the regional sub-samples, Atlantic Canada is a three-way tie.

The NDP have a clear advantage over the BQ in Quebec. NDP support in Quebec stands at 36.5%, followed by the BQ at 24.2%, the Liberals at 20.3%, the Conservatives at 13.6% and the Greens at 2.0%.

West of the Ottawa River the Tories continue to enjoy an advantage over the opposition parties.

In Ontario, the Conservatives enjoy a comfortable lead over the Liberals and New Democrats (46.9%, 25.7% and 21.0% respectively) but Liberal support continues to trend down while NDP support moves up.

Although the Tories have a 20 point advantage in the Prairies, the New Democrats have surpassed the Liberals in popular support in that region (CP 49.6%, NDP 28.2%, LP 17.7%, GP 3.8%).

In British Columbia, the Tories are ahead with 40.9% support with the NDP and Liberals statistically tied (27.7% and 24.8% respectively).

One of two Canadians continues to identify party platform as their top vote driver 49.2%, followed by party leaders at 24.0%.

Today I Voted for Alyssa Brierley, Liberal, Burlington

And if you live in Burlington, you should too! She is the only one that can beat the Conservative incumbent Wallace.

Good Gawd Says Ekos New Poll

Liberal Senator Smith Gives Iggy the Kiss of Death

Next to Alf Apps, Senator Smith is the king of stupid things said on the campaign trail.

Senator Smith still likes to dream of believing he was the mastermind behind Chretien winning 96 out of 97 seats in Ontario back in 1993. He wasn't. But that's an argument for another day.

Last election Smith went on CTV with Craig Oliver the last weekend before the vote and Craig asked what Stephane Dion's chances were. Smith's answer? "When you wish upon a star". Today, when asked by Craig what Michael Ignatieff's chances are, Smith, in his infinite wisdom, chimed "Hope springs eternal". Wow. What a ringing endorsement for his hand chosen leader.

While I'm on a roll here - the new Liberal ad against the NDP sucks. And who decided to send MI to that hockey game in Mississauga? WTF! Talk about a party that looks like they're panicking. Get a grip people! Suck it up and stick to the original message.

A Conservative Super Majority...Congratulations Jack

Paul Martin was supposed to get a super majority back in 2004. He ended up with a minority. The press like people....the ones that used to almost act like journalists say its all over but the crying in election 2011. Maybe it is.

I, for one, am not of the same opionion as the used to be journalist types. Then again, what do I know?

An analysis of the results of the latest Ipsos Reid poll of national party standings suggests the Conservatives would win 201 seats — the largest majority in the House of Commons since Brian Mulroney's record 211 seats in 1984.


The Liberals would end up with 53 seats, the NDP with 48 and the Bloc Quebecois would sink to four, according to a seat calculator developed by Fair Vote Canada. The Green party would remain without a seat.


Findings of the poll, conducted this week for Postmedia News and Global TV, gave the Conservatives 43 per cent of decided support, compared to 24 per cent for the New Democrats and 21 for the Liberals. The Bloc Quebecois attracted six per cent support nationally and the Greens had four per cent.


To produce the seat projections, Fair Vote Canada — a group campaigning for voting-system reform — used a matrix that predicts how a party's supporters in a previous election will vote in the next election.


The method assumes a party polling above its previous popular vote will, on balance, keep all of its voters and capture some from other parties. Conversely, a party polling below last election's popular vote will be losing some of its voters to other parties.


Ottawa Citizen

Jason Kenney And Harper Outright Lying About Immigration

And getting away with it too....

It's worth reprinting from the The Star

Don’t vote Conservative, immigration lawyers warn newcomers
Published On Wed Apr 20

In an unusual move, a group of Canadian lawyers and legal academics are urging voters not to support the Conservative Party in the May 2 election.

“The Conservative Party has been telling visible minority immigrant communities, which it calls the ‘ethnic vote,’ that it is improving the immigration system,” said the group in a statement released Wednesday. “A review of their record shows the contrary.”

The group, made up of leading immigration lawyers and professor across Canada, said the Conservative Party has misled the public, especially immigrant voters, by making twisted statements about the state of Canada’s immigration and refugee system, in order to win newcomer votes.

Among the group‘s claims:

• The annual visa quotas for sponsored parents and grandparents are down — not up — by 44 per cent from 20,005 in 2005 to 11,200 in 2011. It now takes nine to 30 months longer to process these sponsorships, depending on the visa post.

• The backlog of skilled worker applicants waiting for a decision has gone up — not down — from 487,000 in 2005 to the current 508,000.

• Instead of getting tough on smugglers, new legislation introduced by the party target the victims of smuggling, the refugees, by mandatory detention, denying permanent residency and making it more difficult for refugees to reunite with their families.

• The party claims to be sympathetic to genuine refugees who do not flee their countries illegally, but just announced plans to cancel the only program allowing Canada to protect refugees applying from within their own country.

“It is one thing for the Conservatives to say we make our decisions, our policies and live with the consequences,” said lawyer Lorne Waldman, one of the group’s initiators. “Voters need to make informed choices based on facts and not be misled by misleading statements.”

The group also points to a $53 million cut in settlement services funding — $43 million from Ontario alone.

Despite claims by Conservatives that new laws will crack down on marriage fraud, the groups said it won’t stamp out bogus spousal sponsorships, but make reunification with mostly legitimate spouses more difficult. Worse, the conditional two-year permanent residency will trap spouses in abusive relationships, it added.

Forty-six lawyers and professors have endorsed the group’s claims so far, including lawyers Barbara Jackman in Toronto and Mitchell Goldberg in Montreal, law professors Donald Galloway of the University of Victoria, Queen’s University’s Sharryn Aiken and University of Ottawa’s Peter Showler, former chair of the Immigration and Refugee Board.

However, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said he is proud of the Conservative government’s record on immigration and its effort in reaching the highest levels of immigration of any government in Canadian history.

“I know that defenders of the status quo, like many immigraiton lawyers, have been opposed to all of our efforts to improve Canada’s immigration and refugee system, like our balanced refugee reforms, and our efforts to cut the backlog in the skilled worker program,” Kenney said.

“The Harper Conservatives have had a more generous policy towards legal immigration than any government.”

Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is renewing his push for a better immigration deal from Ottawa.

The province wants more say in which immigrants it takes in to help boost the Ontario economy and a freer hand to provide better services to new Canadians settling here, McGuinty said, following up on resolutions passed in the Legislature recently calling for a new deal.

With files from Rob Ferguson

The Morning Nanos

Nik on the Numbers

As Canadians enter the holiday weekend, the Conservatives enjoy a comfortable lead but their current level of support would make it difficult for them to form a majority government.

The Conservatives continue to enjoy a 12 point lead, but factoring the margin of error for the research the Liberals and NDP are statistically tied. National support for the parties stands at 37.8% for the Conservatives, 26.1% for the Liberals, 23.7% for the New Democrats, 7.4% for the BQ and 3.5% for the Greens. NDP support has moved up for the third night in succession.

Factoring the margins of error for the regional subsamples, Atlantic Canada is now a three way statistical tie between the Conservatives, the Liberals and the NDP, and the Bloc is statistically tied with the NDP in Quebec.

Support for the parties in Quebec stands at 31.8% for the BQ, 26.3% for the NDP, 18.6% for the Liberals and 16.7% for the Conservatives (the Quebec sample has a margin of error of ±6.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20).

For the third day in succession the Conservatives lead in regions west of the Ottawa River with a 6.8 percentage point advantage over the Liberals in Ontario, a 23.5 percentage point advantage over the New Democrats in the Prairies and an 18.7 percentage point advantage over the NDP in British Columbia.

Of note, NDP support has trended up in the Prairies over the past three nights and in British Columbia over three of the past four nights. In British Columbia the NDP have surpassed the Liberals and ballot support stands at 47.8% for the Tories, 29.1% for the NDP, 19.0% for the Liberals and 3.6% for the Greens.

Party platform was identified by one of two Canadians (50.8%) followed by party leader at 21.2%.

For those Who Still Think Harper is Not Going to ban Abortion

I make yet another case.

OTTAWA—Pro-life supporters successfully influenced an as-yet unannounced government decision to deny funding to Planned Parenthood, says a Conservative seeking re-election.

Brad Trost, incumbent for Saskatoon-Humboldt, addressed the Saskatchewan Pro-Life Association’s annual convention Saturday and thanked its members for their help in killing federal funding for the group.

In a recording of the speech, obtained by the Liberals and provided to the Toronto Star and Le Devoir, Trost claims a number of parliamentary victories for the pro-life movement, including a decision to deny funding for the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

Trost said he and “many” other MPs helped spearhead efforts to round up petitions “to defund Planned Parenthood.”

“Let me just tell you, and I cannot tell you specifically how we used it, but those petitions were very, very useful and they were part of what we used to defund Planned Parenthood because it has been absolute disgrace that that organization and several others like it have been receiving one penny of Canadian taxpayers dollars,” Trost said.

Interrupted by applause, Trost went on to tell the audience to step up their efforts.

“You should know, they’re still trying to get their snout back in the public trough,” he said.

“There’s going to be a lot of vigilance and pressure and if you and your groups hear anything, please help us as members of Parliament because we’re going to be on the lookout as they try to get in there. I’ve got reports that they’re trying to get grants and again we will be pushing back from the other side.”

The organization, which provides sexual and reproductive health programs worldwide, had applied for $18 million and had been waiting for over a year for word whether the Canadian International Development Agency would approve the grant.

Could SunTV Be Considered a Third Party Advertiser

in Election 2011? Just asking.

The Morning Nanos

A review of the three day election tracking by Nanos for CTV News and The Globe and Mail suggests that one possible new scenario is that the Ottawa River could emerge as the new political dividing line in Canada. The Conservatives as of Tuesday night were leading, outside of the margin of error, for the regional sub samples in Ontario, the Prairies and now in British Columbia while they lag in Quebec and are statistically tied with the Liberals in Atlantic Canada.

Nationally, Conservative support remains at 39.1%, about 11 points ahead of the Liberals who have 28.4%, followed by the New Democrats at 19.8%, the BQ at 7.7% and the Green Party at 3.9%.

The Conservatives lead the Liberals in Ontario (44.9% to 36.9%), in the Prairies (55.3% to 24.0%) and as of last night in British Columbia (41.8%). In BC, support for the Liberals stands at 25.9%, while the NDP are at 24.7% and Green Party at 6.8%. BQ support in Quebec stands at 32.5% with the NDP at 25.4%, the Liberals at 20.9% and the Conservatives at 16.6%. Gains for the NDP in Quebec over the past few nights of tracking have largely been realized at the expense of the BQ and the Conservatives.

One in two Canadians identified party policy as their top vote driver at 52.2% while party leader registered at the top driver among 21.7% of Canadians.

Stephen Harper. Economic Steward My Ass.

Ridiculous inflation numbers are in. Read 'em and weep.

The Morning Nanos

The national ballot continues to remain stable with the Conservatives enjoying a comfortable lead over the Liberals.

Compared to a week ago, the Conservative numbers in Quebec continue to cycle down. BQ support in Quebec remains at 36.2%, followed by the NDP at 23.0%, the Liberals at 21.0% and the Tories at 15.4%.

In British Columbia, where the Conservatives enjoyed a comfortable advantage for most of the campaign, it is now a statistical tie with the Conservatives at 36.4%, followed by the Liberals at 34.1%, the NDP at 23.8% and the Green Party at 4.9%.

Battleground Ontario features a nine point advantage for the Conservatives where they stand at 46.0%, followed by the Liberals at 36.9%, the NDP at 12.5% and the Greens at 4.6%.

Party policy continues to enjoy a comfortable lead as the number one vote driver at 53.2% followed by party leader at 22.4%.

Election stalls report into ex-integrity watchdog

No wonder Harper wanted an election. How many more reports will we never see?

Among the complaints against Ouimet is that during her three-year tenure as integrity commissioner, she found no cases of wrongdoing in the 228 complaints to her office.

Mario Dion, the interim integrity commissioner, hired Deloitte to conduct a study of all of the complaints filed with the commission, which is responsible for protecting civil servants who are attempting to disclose government wrongdoing.

Dion's office said the review was supposed to be finished on March 31, but he "will not release any information relating to the content of the report until after the election campaign."

'They are influencing the discussion by keeping the report secret, that influences the discussion. You can't have the discussion with the full information if you don't have the full report.'
— Duff Conacher, Democracy Watch

Pictures Surface Of Guelph Ballot Box Obstruction

Is that Mr. Sona blocking the ballot box?


H/T to this blogger!

Con Justice Minister Nicholson Abused Position

Can these Conservatives abuse Parliament anymore than they already have? Seriously? It's becoming a joke.

Canadians should begin to take this election more seriously.

April 18, 2011

MONTREAL - Liberals are demanding an investigation into Justice Minister Rob Nicholson’s abuse of parliamentary resources following revelations that Mr. Nicholson sent a letter to his constituents on House of Commons letterhead explicitly asking them to vote for his then-riding association president who was running for a seat on the municipal council.

The letter – which features the House of Commons’ official coat of arms and is prominently emblazoned with “Hon. Rob Nicholson, M.P.” – asks recipients to support Regional Councillor Barbara Greenwood in her re-election to the Niagara Regional Council. The letter is addressed “Dear Supporter” and was therefore likely targeted at voters who were identified as Conservatives during the last federal election.

At the time the letter was sent during the municipal election, Ms. Greenwood was the President of Rob Nicholson’s federal Conservative riding association. Ms. Greenwood stepped down as President of the Niagara Falls Electoral District Association in January 2011. Before her election to the regional council, she served as Mr. Nicholson’s Constituency Assistant (Niagara Falls Review, October 27, 2006).

“It’s bad enough that Mr. Nicholson would use parliamentary resources to endorse any municipal candidate – he knows that’s against the rules,” said Liberal justice spokesperson Marlene Jennings. “But this was his riding association president at the time. Abuse of power doesn’t get more brazen than that.”

Ms. Jennings stressed that the law in these matters is clear. The Parliament of Canada Act authorizes the House of Commons’ Board of Internal Economy to establish by-laws for the use of Parliamentary resources. Those by-laws are explicit. By-Law 301 prohibits Members of Parliament from using Members’ or House of Commons resources for printing or copying of “provincial, municipal or local election campaign material” (Members’ Office By-Law 301 3(g)).

“It would be hard for Mr. Nicholson to claim he was ignorant of the rules. He is a Minister and one of the longest-serving Conservatives in the House - having also served as an MP and Minister under Prime Ministers Mulroney and Campbell,” added Ms. Jennings. “The Justice Minister should be setting the example for all Canadians – not breaking Parliament's rules himself.”

"The Justice Minister of Canada, who has so often wrapped himself in accountability, has shown a clear disregard for the law with words that show complete contempt for ethics and accountability," said Bev Hodgson, Liberal candidate for Niagara Fall.

Ms. Jennings said she will file an official complaint with the House of Commons Board of Internal Economy and all other appropriate authorities.

Yay! Guelph Student Votes Count

Now my question is why isn't the Conservative that tried to steal the box under investigation?

CBC report here.

Stephen Harper in His Own Words

Michael Ignatieff Channels Yves Larock

Rise Up People!!!!





But really...it's Springsteen folks.

The Morning Nanos

The Harper Conservatives hold a 10 point advantage over the Ignatieff Liberals looking at the three day tracking ending April 14. Overall, support for the NDP continues to incrementally improve over the past six nights. The improvement has largely been driven by an increase in NDP support in both Ontario and British Columbia.

Tory fortunes continue to slide in British Columbia although the Tories still enjoy a lead. The ballot numbers in BC stand at 38.7% for the Conservatives, 26.6% for the Liberals, 23.0% for the NDP and 11.0% for the Green Party of Canada.

Battleground Ontario remains a tight race with the Conservatives at 39.7% and the Liberals at 39.0% followed by the NDP at 18.2% and the Greens a 3.1% while the Tories continue to have a commanding lead in the Prairies with 56.5% support.

In the wake of the French leaders' debate the BQ enjoy a comfortable lead while the three federalist parties are statistically tied.

York University Students Won't be Voting Either say The Cons

Twitterverse is a wonderful thing. We now have a copy of the letter sent to Elections Canada by Cassels Brock asking for the Guelph University ballots to be ruled null and void.

Click here to read it.

Conservatives Move to Have Ballots Destroyed

This story continues to get more and more bizarre.

Several University of Guelph students claim Michael Sona, the communications director for Guelph Conservative candidate Marty Burke, attempted to put a stop to voting at the special ballot held Wednesday.

The students say Sona approached the Elections Canada balloting site claiming that the process unfolding at the location was illegal and at one point reached for but never took possession of a container with ballots.

“He tried to grab for the ballot box. I’m not sure he got his hand on the box, but he definitely grabbed for it,” said Brenna Anstett, a student, who at the time of the reported incident was sealing her second of two envelopes containing her vote.

Student Claire Whalen was just about to receive her ballot just before 5 p.m. when the episode unfolded.

“That’s when a guy came up and said it was an illegal polling station and that he was confiscating the ballots. And then he tried to take (the ballot box),” Whalen said.

Conservatives Obstructing Advance Polls

UPDATE: Cons move to have ballots declared null and void

This beauty was posted on Facebook last night.

Conservative Attempt at Thwarting Democracy in Guelph Advanced Polls ???

Today, while in the middle of voting, there was a big disruption at the polling station. As I was sealing my envelope to place into the ballot box, a guy came up making a huge scene stating that this polling station was illegal and tried to grab for th...e ballot box. He claimed that the station was not affiliated with Elections Canada and that he had talked to a representative from Elections Canada who said that the polling station was illegal. Upon trying to take the ballot box, the people working at the polling station confirmed that an elections representative was coming to check things out, and the guy got on his phone again with someone. The guy and a couple others were asked to stop making a scene and to move off to the side while they figured everything out. A girl that was voting at the same time as me told me she had seen two of the guys at events put on by the Guelph Campus Conservatives, and once researched, it was confirmed that the guy claiming that the polling station was illegal was Michael Sona who is in fact a part of the Guelph Campus Conservatives. The other individual was wearing a blue zip up jacket/sweater, and I do not know his name. I found this to be disruptive and disrespectful, as many students were in the line at the time to vote. It was clearly a LEGAL polling station, as there was Elections Canada, Special Ballot written on all of the documents present. I am unsure of what happened after the calls were made, so if anyone has any other information on this issue, please feel free to add on and please tag as many people as you can- I don't know who I've missed!! This was ridiculous, but don't worry Harper, WE ARE STILL VOTING!!See More
By: Bren Anstett

The Morning Nanos

The first night after the leaders' English debate has the Conservatives with an 8 point advantage over the Liberals and the NDP trending up to 18.3% support nationally. Support for the Tories stands at 38.9% followed by the Liberals at 31.1%, the NDP at 18.3%, the BQ at 7.5% and the Green Party at 3.1% nationally.

In the wake of the English debate, the Conservatives opened up an advantage over the Liberals in Atlantic Canada outside of the margin of error for the regional sub-sample with support at 49.3% for the Tories compared to 35.6% for the Grits (NDP support stood at 14.0% in Atlantic Canada).

Over the past three days in BC, Conservative support has slid while NDP support has increased although the Conservatives still lead. The ballot support in British Columbia is at 40.8% for the Conservatives, 28.7% for the Liberals, 22.4% for the NDP and 7.3% for the Green Party.

Guess Who Else Didn't Show Up for Work? Stephen Harper!

Dear Mr. Layton,

Once again you are full of shit. Last night you claimed the Liberal leader missed 70% of his days at work. What I think you meant to say was that he missed 70% of the votes since the election of 2008. I know how much you like to engage in letting the facts get in your way so I just want to correct the record if I could.

First, it's common knowledge that the leader of the government and the leader of the opposition are pretty busy guys....unlike the leader of the 4th place party in the House. In fact, the top two guys that missed the most amount of votes in the House were Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff.

Second, both of those leaders, much like yourself (sometimes), know what their parties stand for and how they are voting on bills. Bills, most of which, are not condidence measures. That is why they have House Leaders and Party Whips.

Finally, because one is not present for the vote in the House does not mean one is not in Parliament working. You know and I know that that is probably closer to the truth sir.

With that in mind, the real # of missed votes for Michael is 58.5%. Not 70. For Stephen Harper it is 45.6%. I'm sure you can round that one up to an even 60%.

Abortion! There! I Said it!

This is what else you'll enjoy with a "stable, national, majority Conservative Government". You'll get Rob Bruinooge and his re-introduction of his abortion killing bill. So, if you're a pro-choice supporter, sorry about your luck.

The Morning Nanos

By the end of the week the three day rolling average will give a clearer picture of the impact of the debates on the shape of the campaign, if any impact at all. The ballot box trends remain stable night over night with the Tories at 39.9%, the Grits at 30.4%, the NDP at 16.3%, the BQ at 9.1% and the Greens at 3.8% nationally.

Support for the Bloc Quebecois has increased over the past two nights and is now at 38.6% support in Quebec, followed by the Conservatives at 23.1%, the NDP at 17.9% and the Liberals at 16.0%. Liberal support in Quebec has dropped for three days in succession. The Conservatives and Liberals are still tied in Ontario and Atlantic Canada while the Conservatives lead in the Prairies and BC.

Policy still tops the list as the key factor in the vote decision of Canadians at 52.7%.

Debate Reviews in Their Words

Bulletin from the cause: Liberal Party of Canada
Go to Cause
Praise for Michael Ignatieff's performance in the English language Leaders' Debate
Des éloges au sujet de la performance de Michael Ignatieff lors du débat des chefs en anglais

(Quotes are included in their original language/Les extraits sont transmis dans leur langue originale de diffusion)

“[Ignatieff] firmly established himself as Mr. Harper's strongest and most relevant opponent, helped by a performance by NDP Leader Jack Layton that at times verged on amateurish.” (Adam Radwanski, Globeandmail.com, April 12, 2011)

“Ignatieff strong and forceful critiquing Harper.” (Chris Waddell, Director of the School of Journalism and Communication, Carleton University, CBC Radio One, April 12, 2011)

« À son premier débat télévisé comme chef, il a fait preuve d'aplomb et d'assurance. … Il a trouvé le ton juste pour se présenter comme un premier ministre tout en critiquant Stephen Harper. Il était dynamique sans avoir l'air enragé. Le chef libéral a prouvé qu'il peut débattre efficacement. Après le débat de mardi soir, Ignatieff est certainement en meilleure position que deux heures plus tôt. » (Marco Fortier,
Rue Frontenac, le 12 avril 2011)

“[Ignatieff] proved himself to be a very strong debater, a fierce opponent of Mr. Harper and his policies.” (Globe & Mail, Editorial, April 12, 2011)

“I thought [Ignatieff] showed some street vernacular. I thought he showed himself very articulate, I saw that on the foreign policy and on the parliamentary democracy side I thought he showed some passion.” (Allan Gregg, CBC, April 12, 2011)

“Impassioned criticism of Harper on issues of democracy and respect for Parliament.” (TorontoStar.com, April 12, 2011)

“Rankings: 1) Ignatieff 2) Harper 2) Layton (tie) 4) Duceppe” (Don MacPherson, Montreal Gazette, Twitter, April 12, 2011)

“Ignatieff est particulièrement efficace sur la politique étrangère des conservateurs.” (Gilbert Lavoie, Chroniqueur politique au SOLEIL, Twitter, le 12 avril 2011)

“I thought that Michael Ignatieff did indeed exceed expectations. He needed to do that and he needed to give a combination of who he was… created narrative about his family, immigration, and he was able to get his values, and focus on the platform, and I think he did a very, very good job of that." (Barry McLoughlin, media analyst, CTV, April 12, 2011)

“Ignatieff strings together Facebookgate, prorogation, contempt, respect for Parliament--I think this is a strong attack.” (Colby Cosh, Macleans.ca, Twitter, April 12, 2011)

« les thèmes les discours non-scriptés de sa campagne ont peut-être porté fruit. On a entendu certaines de ses lignes les plus efficaces, c’est un procès de la bonne foi de M. Harper. » (Emmanuelle Latraverse, RDI, le 12 avril 2011)

“Ignatieff got the jabs at Harper. He also appealed in rather eloquent ways to Liberal values – the story about Kenya, justice, [how] prison makes everyone worse, we’re the only party with a food policy… a real appeal to humanitarianism.” (Dan Tisch, President of Argyle Communications, CBC Radio One, April 12, 2011)

Debate Review.

Fail. What now?

Watch a Conservative Become a Green Party Member

And he even destoys his Con membership card.

More of Why I Hold Jack Layton in Contempt

What a bunch of self righteous bullshitters the NDP are. Can't wait for all the Dipper blog trolls to explain this. Cue Leftdog, Janfromthebruce.

Remember this when Jack Layton stares at the camera and bullshits about how "we've been calling for an inquiry all along"

The Morning Nanos

Canada Trendline

Conservative 39.7% -1.5
Liberal 31.2% +0.8
NDP 16.8% +1.6
BQ 7.8% NC -
Green 4.0% -0.6

And From Tony Clement's Twitter Account???

Update: And after we heard from Baird, he's back.

Crickets. Now why is that? He's the king of Twitter. Rambling on everyday. All day. Suddenly. Silence.

And Why IS This Election About Contempt?

One more good reason. Harper, you got some splainin' to do.

The Auditor-General says the Harper government misinformed Parliament to win approval for a $50-million G8 fund that lavished money on dubious projects in a Conservative riding.

And she suggests the process may have been illegal.

The findings are contained in a confidential report Sheila Fraser was to have tabled in Parliament on April 5.

The Morning Nanos

Leading up to the federal leaders' debate the Conservatives lead by 11 points. Support for the Tories is at 41.2%, while the Liberals are at 30.4%, the NDP at 15.2%, the BQ at 7.8% and the Greens at 4.6% nationally. The Conservatives continue to lead in the Prairie provinces while the three federalist parties are within the margin of error of each other in the province of Quebec. Of note, support for the Bloc Quebecois stands at about 32% for the second day in a row.

In battleground Ontario the Conservatives are at 43.6% followed by the Liberals at 36.6%. In British Columbia the Tory advantage over the Liberals continues but is diminished.

Over the past week, support for the Conservatives and the Liberals has been relatively stable with the Conservative advantage moving anywhere from between 8 to 11 percentage points.

It's YOU I Find in Contempt Jack Layton

Yes YOU sir. YOU are the one that killed National Child Care, along with Kelowna and Kyoto. YOU voted FOR killing all those measures in 2005 JACK. For you to stand there today and lie to Canadians is just disgusting. YOU are responsible for this monster known as the Harper Government. YOU sir!

The Morning Nanos

Nationally, support for the Tories is at 39.5%, while the Liberals are at 31.6%, the NDP at 14.7%, the BQ at 8.1% and the Greens at 4.8%.

The Conservatives enjoy a comfortable lead in the Prairies and British Columbia. Over the past five nights of tracking Liberal support has increased in the province of Quebec. The NDP slide over the past few nights of tracking has abated.

The Liberals and Conservatives are tied in battleground Ontario at 40.3% and 39.7% respectively. In Quebec, support for the BQ stands at 32.6% followed by the Liberals at 27.4%, the Conservatives at 21.7% and the NDP at 15.1%. The Liberal numbers in Quebec have trended upward for the past four evenings of research. From about 17 to 27 percent.

Harper Buys Jets that Can't Fly and now Torpedoes That Won't Fire

What kind of morons are running the department of National Defense. What's that? Oh, Peter McKay's responsible? Well he is amunitions expert. Worked for Thyssen, No? Not sure why that explains why we buy US torpedoes for British Subs.

The Morning Nanos

Whoa! The NDP!


Canada Trendline [PDF]

Conservative 40.5% -0.1
Liberal 31.7% +0.6
NDP 13.2% -1.7
BQ 9.2% +0.5
Green 4.0% +0.6

Let's Talk about Real Important Stuff...Iggy Pop on American Idol

Bruce Carson Trumps Rahim Jaffer's Busty Hookers

Man oh man. This story really is just incredible.

The Morning Nanos

Canada (n=1,009 committed voters)
Conservative 40.6% (+1.0)
Liberal 31.1% (+0.7)
NDP 14.9% (-2.3)
Bloc Quebecois 8.7% (+0.4)
Green 3.4% (+0.2)

*Undecided 16.0% (-1.7)

Steel Worker Crashes Harper Rally

Con Rallies: In London, Students Out. In Brampton, Criminals In.

CP's Jen Dichburn has the story here.

Conservatives: "We don't have that kind of poverty in Canada

That's what the banks tell us. Sure Mr. Alexander. Sure.

The Morning Nanos

Canada (n=989 committed voters)
Conservative 39.6% (-0.1)
Liberal 30.4% (+0.5)
NDP 17.2% (-0.2)
Bloc Quebecois 8.3% (NC)
Green 3.2% (-0.6)
Undecided 17.7% (-0.6)

Mayor Ford uses Gay Jewish Woman to Defund Pride

If PT loses funding, Vaughan puts the blame squarely on the Toronto Sun’s Sue-Ann Levy for stirring the pot and “campaigning for Pride’s destruction.”

“I think that Pride will be punished. It’s been identified as a target by a very influential member of the media, influential at least in terms of the Ford family,” he says. “She’s decided that the community needs to be taught a lesson for some reason, so she’s prepared to whip up a campaign and the Fords are prepared to support her. And there are others on council who will fall into line.”

Did I mention that I detest Sue Ann Levy? No. Are you sure?
XTRA has obtained emails from Sue Ann. Have a look. (Also note where longtime Liberal Earl Provost has landed himself)

-----Original Message-----
From: Sue-Ann Levy
Sent: Tue 29/03/2011 3:21 PM
To: abenlolo@fswc.caabenlolo@fswc.ca mailto: abenlolo@fswc.ca
abenlolo@fswc.ca ; LRudner@on.cjc.caLRudner@on.cjc.ca mailto:LRudner@on.cjc.ca
LRudner@on.cjc.ca ; BFarber@on.cjc.caBFarber@on.cjc.ca mailto:BFarber@on.cjc.ca
BFarber@on.cjc.ca
Cc: martin@gladstonelaw.camartin@gladstonelaw.ca mailto:martin@gladstonelaw.ca
martin@gladstonelaw.ca
Subject: City funding of Pride

Good afternoon Gentlemen:

I had an interesting discussion this morning with Earl Provost, Director of Stakeholder Relations in Mayor Rob Ford's office. He is very concerned that unless the Toronto Jewish community gets on board and starts sending mass e-mails to ALL 44 councillors, the vote to defund Pride this year because of QuAIA's involvement will fail.

He told me that while the mayor is very supportive of keeping QuAIA and hate speech out of the parade, he is ONLY ONE VOTE on council. There's no doubt in my mind that the supporters of QuAIA -- including Xtra and QuAIA's new friend Rev. Brent Hawkes-- are working behind the scenes to ensure there's enough votes to overturn the motion.

This is the time for the Jewish community to speak loudly and clearly. If we sit on our hands with a mayor in power who supports us, we will pay the price of missing an opportunity to put an end to hate speech.
Make no mistake.

The Rev. Brent Hawkes tour of Jewish media and basically whomever will listen to him is only about one thing: Saving face, keeping bums in the seats of his church and promoting the image of himself, Rev. Hawkes, as the self-appointed leader of Toronto's gay community.

Rev. Hawkes does not speak for me. He does not speak for Martin or for any of our Jewish gay friends. I highly doubt he speaks for most of the gay community, many of whom have written to me saying that he and his panel should have banned QuAIA outright.

He speaks for a fringe group only.

Despite all of his talk about there being a process in place to ensure hate speech is not in the parade, you have to ask yourself one thing.

Will QuAIA march this year?

The answer is an unequivocal yes.

Please take Earl's concerns to heart and I urge you to get the e-mails going.

Cheers,
Sue-Ann


Sue-Ann Levy
City Hall Columnist
Toronto Sun
416-947-2393

Toronto Sun Breaks Cardinal Sin and Drags Iggys Wife, ex-wife and Kids into the Campaign

What a scumbag Godfrey is. Geez, I wonder if the Conservatives just might be sitting on her file. And by the way Mr. amateur reporter, her name is spelled Zsuzsanna Zsohar.

Happy Trudeau Day Everyone

For it was on this day in 1968 Pierre Trudeau was elected leader of the LPC on the 4th ballot.

Stop Conservative Facebook Creeping! Spread the Word

The Morning Nanos

Canada (n=981 committed voters)
Conservative 39.7% (-0.1)
Liberal 29.9% (-0.3)
NDP 17.4% (+0.9)
Bloc Quebecois 8.3% (NC)
Green 3.8% (-0.2)
Undecided 18.3% (+0.5)

Harper RCMP Appointee Elliott Screened Bruce Carson

Well isn't that just convenient. The current RCMP boss screened Carson for PMO job prior to his appointment by Harper.

Ignatieff Coming to Hamilton on Thursday Night

NO I.D. Required. Facebook it if you like.

When: Thursday, April 7 · 7:00pm - 10:00pm

Location: LIUNA Station
360 James Street North
Hamilton, ON

Winslow Wheeler: F-35s will Cost at Least $148M Each!

Good Gawd! Tune into Evan Solomon.

Harper Afraid of Iggy...So Baird holding a Presser @ 2:30 today

Update from Twitter: John Baird to attack "Just Visiting" Michael Ignatieff for daring to imply Harper's actions were "unCanadian

I can't wait to hear what bullshit lies come out of Baird's mouth. Let's hold our breath for it.

HarperGod Denies Access To Guelph Students Now

Getting to be a little ridiculous at this point isn't it. Students vow to vote en masse as a response.

The Morning Nanos

Canada (n=990 committed voters)
Conservative 39.8% (-2.5)
Liberal 30.2% (+1.8)
NDP 16.5% (+0.1)
Bloc Quebecois 8.3% (+0.3)
Green 4.0% (+0.2)
Undecided 17.8% (NC)

Harper Turfed Veterans From Halifax Rally

Last night we learned students weren't allowed at The HarperGod rally in London. Today we learn last week veterans weren't allowed access in Halifax.

Let's just start a tally sheet shall we. 1. Students not wanted. 2. Veterans not wanted. Yep. Sure is looking like HarperGod's Canada.

Harper Turfed Students From London Rally

Way to encourage that youth vote there HarperGod.

Why'd You Lie....Why, Why, Why?.. Apropos of Nothing

NFLD Tories Spent $180K Advertising Against Harper Tories

And now they want to Newfoundlanders to vote for that same Harper? h/t to Bond

Harper Denies Access to Rally

I received an email this morning from a Conservative friend (not from my riding) who was in attendance. He told of reporters not being permitted to ask many questions. There were massive security checks and people were tossed out of the venue for their relations to the Liberal party. People were turned away for not having identification. He said that was it for him. He had been experiencing difficulty with the Harper approach in the last couple of years but the rally convinced him it was time to move on. He doesn’t know how, or if, he’ll vote in this campaign, but he can no longer support the PM.

The Morning Leger Poll

Leger found that, among decided voters, 37% would vote for the Conservative candidate in their riding; 26% would vote Liberal; 18% would for Jack Layton's NDP and 8% would vote for Elizabeth May's Green Party. In Quebec, Gilles Duceppe's Bloc Quebecois is on top with 39% support; the Conservatives and Liberals are tied at 20%; the NDP is at 15% and the Greens are at 6%.

Morning Nanos

Canada (n=986 committed voters)
Conservative 42.3% (+1.6)
Liberal 28.4% (-1.0)
NDP 16.4% (-0.5)
Bloc Quebecois 8.0% (NC)
Green 3.8% (-0.2)
Undecided 17.8% (NC)

Like his Campaign, The Harper Tour Bus is Broken Beyond Repair

The media is having a great ole time in the southern Ontario sleet and snow tonight. First bus #1 has broken down with a disfunctional wiper. Then they pile all the TV media into the print media bus #2. Many of them standing, which breaks almost every highway and traffic Act rule re: buses. Then, to add insult to injury, bus number 2 is now lost in St. Catharines.

Looks good on Rick Dykstra. Dimitri Soudas' response: "notice it was the left wiper and not the right."

Morning Nanos

Conservatives 41.3

Liberal 30.3

NDP 16%

Bloc 8.5

Green 3.7

Ignatieff Slaps Harper in the Face with the White Glove

Will Little Stevie (sorry Stevie Wonder)take his toys home and go back to his sandbox? I'd wager yes.

Open letter to Stephen Harper / Lettre ouverte à Stephen Harper
[LE FRANÇAIS SUIT L'ANGLAIS]

For Immediate Release
April 1, 2011

Dear Mr. Harper:

I am writing about the one-on-one debate that you challenged me to two days ago.

You will recall that when you issued your challenge, I immediately responded, accepting it with enthusiasm.

As you stated, there are only two people who can be Prime Minister after May 2nd: you or me. Canadians truly deserve to see us go face to face in a contest of ideas, values and very different visions for our country. That is what democracy is all about.

Like many Canadians, I was disappointed and puzzled when you reversed your commitment, and tried to back out yesterday. I don't understand why you have gone back on your word, or why you would wish to disappoint Canadians.

However, it is not too late for you to rectify the situation. Since our original exchange on Wednesday, many invitations to host the debate have come in from prestigious organizations across Canada. So there are any number of venues and times to choose from.

Perhaps I can make this easier for you. I will meet you at the time and place of your choosing. There is no need for complicated or convoluted debate formats. Just two podiums – and you and me. A true, honest-to-goodness battle of ideas and visions.

This is the kind of contest that Canadians are yearning for. I know because I have been meeting ordinary Canadians of all ages, backgrounds and political allegiances at events across Canada. It’s absolutely exhilarating. In fact, I would recommend that you try it.

In closing, I urge you to reconsider your reversal and stick to your word. I strongly believe our fellow Canadians deserve this chance to see the different visions of leadership between the only two people who can become prime minister of this country at the end of this election.

Sincerely,

Michael Ignatieff
Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
-30-
Contact:
Liberal Party of Canada
613-783-8888
media@liberal.ca

The Biggest of April Fools Jokes Perpetrated on Canadians

You can always tell when this guy is lying. He either puts his head down, turns away from whomever asked the question, turns from the camera or reaches for a glass of water or a mug. He'd be an easy mark in a poker game.

Today's Nanos

Canada (n=953 committed voters)
Conservative 39.4% (+0.3)
Liberal 31.7% (-1.0)
NDP 16.1% (+0.2)
Bloc Quebecois 8.5% (-0.2)
Green 4.4% (+0.7)
Undecided 20.5% (-1.2)