Does Canadian Politics ever....

interest Americans, as we do tend to keep an eye on what's happening down south..*just wondering.. 🙂

Hey, thanks, workinprogress.. 🙂 it's much appreciated.. As far a Harper goes, yes, he does seem to be siding with Bush more and more now. i myself like both Bush and Harper. They both have strong personalities & stronger convictions & stand up bravely for what they believe in til the job is done. The war will never end, if they turn-tail now, although i think there needs to be some adjustments to keep on top of things. Harper is more of a traditonalist, and can be very stubborn about certain issues; ie...'gay marriage, Quebec as a seperate nation, although he has softened somewhat on that issue.'

:as far as political parties go, the basic ones are Conservative, Liberal, Bloc Quebeois, New Democratic party (NDP)

Yes, we do have national universal healthcare system which is 'very' much valued here. Although you still need some seperate insurance here for certain things, but no one would ever be turned away from a hospital or emergency medical care here, i've never had to pay a dime in the hospital for anything.. *although some politicians on a provincial level may want to slowly phase in 'some' selective private care. But there is alot of equal resistance..and even then, only under the strictest of rules of the canadian healthcare act, but i don't think it will come to pass, i am hoping..

...the only real sticky point i have with Bush is his own rules when it comes to 'free-trade'...ie..with B.C. softwood lumber trades/tariffs and the like..Canada has lost millions over that already. Even with a 'World Trade' court ruling, favoring Canada, he still is stubbornly on the fence and people are losing more & more money and jobs...a large percentage is already supposed to be paid back. *it's just not fair, but Bush is so powerful, he seems to have the last word even with Canada at times...*i just hope Harper stays strong on this issue. ...thanx...s~

Oh yes, there are alot of lesser know parties that are registered here...LOL* The Marijuana Party! 'never a bad day for them..! right, and even the Marxist-Leninist Party, how could i forget! 😉

i like Harper though, i hope he stays in for awhile...

yes, good point branh..lol*

here's a quickie bio of Harper:
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) Taurus-stubborn, right! that's good! is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. He became Prime Minister after leading the Conservatives to a minority government win in the January 2006 federal election, which ended more than twelve years of Liberal government!

The Conservative party was elected to a minority government on January 23, and at 6:45 p.m. Governor General Micha?lle Jean asked Harper to form a government. He was sworn in as Canada's 22nd Prime Minister on February 6, 2006...

* The Liberal party is also going to lose all of their power soon enough.

Ummm no. Where do you get your information?

The Harper government is unpopular here. The only reason they won last time was because of corruption scandal in Quebec. Even then, they couldn't win a majority government.

The last time the Progressive Conservatives were in power they did such a bad job they broke the party. They couldn't even get enough seats in parliament to qualify as a party. (I think the magic number is 10 seats to be an official party. I think we have 308 seats in the house.) They were the most hated government in Canadian history. The party broke and a new conservative party was born called the Reform party. They two parties later joined into the Conservative Party which is so full of wingnuts that Harper won't let most backbenchers talk to the media. This is completely unheard of in Canadian politics.

Conservatism especially fiscal and social conservatism does not speak to the hearts of Canadians. Canadians tend to believe in social liberties like gay marriage and marijuana use. During the summer of legalization most of our politicians including our Prime Minister openly stated that they had smoked up. It isn't a big deal here. BC even went on record saying BC pot is their biggest crop and was keeping their economy afloat. The Iraq war is terribly unpopular here something like 90% of people are against it when the Americans went in.

Also the Conservative government sunk us deeply into dept. The Liberals managed to balance the books for something like 7 yrs.

Americans can't have our healthcare because you don't tax heavily enough. All your money goes into funding wars and even that is sinking you deeper and deeper into debt. How many times has the Bush government raised the level of debt the American government is allowed to carry? Trying to sell off your ports to the Middle East? come on. (sorry little stupidity rant there.)

Also Americans tend to view private and public very differently than Canadians. Americans don't trust government institutions whereas Canadians do.

In general, Canadians tend to believe in tolerance and tend to be left leaning. We tend to be free thinkers and believe in government, equality, and live/let live.

The fact that the Conservative government does not understand that this is the Canadian identity is why they will continue to bang their heads anywhere outside Alberta. Their policies are simply not what people want. They are outdated. Canadians are progressive in social policy not regressive like Americans.

We also have a separation of Church and State. Most Canadians are not religious and thus tend to think outside the box more, question more, and are generally more tolerant of differences. When religion plays such a heavy roll in society, it is harder to question right and wrong as it is dictated from birth.

The Liberals will win a majority government in the next election.

For those asking the major parties are: Liberals, Conservatives, Le Bloc, New Democratic Party, and the Green Party. There are a begillion other parties but those are the biggies. The Green Party does have weight but no seats.

I think it is hilarious that the conservatives argued the only reason they kept losing was because they were splitting the right yet the left is split into several peices and continues to beat the crap out of them.

There are few things less popular in Canada than George Bush and American policy.

Actually Americans tend to argue morality and "family values" more than Canadians. Depending on how you look at it, Canada is actually the land of the free especially when compared to America. We place a much higher value on social liberty than America does: gay marriage, stem cell research, abortion all jump to mind.

* your personal prejudices that you find religious people unable to think outside the box.

Actually, not a personal prejudice. I have two friends doing PhDs in this field and have read quite a bit on the subject. Why do you think everyone talks about the power of the religious right in American politics? If you come from a very religious background you are taught not to question because to question proves a lack of faith. When you have a high percentage of your society taught not to question and you apply it to politics, you get a very interesting phenomenon.

I do agree security is very important to Canadians. We tend to believe in a social safety net and leaving no one behind. It is also probably why we have such strict gun control.

(The guns of America are very interesting. Talking to Americans everyone knows someone with a gun or owns one. I don't know anyone who has one. No one I know, knows anyone who owns a gun unless they are a hunter.)

I also agree that part of the Canadian identity is to not be American. I do think this is changing as Canadians and Americans part ways more and more when it comes to social values and religion plays less and less a role in Canada and more and more in the States.

I actually see, and I think most Canadians see, Americans as very different. We seem to have few values in common. Canadians very Americans as very hot-headed. Americans see Canadians as very plodding and slow to action, which is true.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the future.