Canada Ping!
Posted on 04/13/2013 12:52:36 PM PDT by Squawk 8888
It is often stated as conventional wisdom that the United States is a right-of-center country and Canada, with its state-supported healthcare system and greater state-run operations, is left-of-center. In real life, it is far more complex—as we saw when U.S. President Barack Obama handily won reelection last November while the right-wing Conservative Party of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has won the last three general elections in Canada.
Occasionally, a book surfaces about a new political paradigm, leading many to question existing conventional wisdom. One such book has just hit the newsstands in Canada. It is called The Big Shift, co-authored by the CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs, Darrell Bricker, and the respected Globe and Mail newspaper columnist John Ibbitson. I happen to personally know both authors and can attest to their impeccable professional credentials. Their book covers new ground, challenges existing conventions and offers a highly provocative treatise about the new politics in Canada.
The book’s basic thesis deals with an emerging new coalition of voters—anchored in resource-rich western Canada and in suburban Toronto—who share more conservative values and views about the role of government, the economy and law and order. Using recent census data, they point to a fluid demography where many new immigrants are arriving in Ontario and western Canada from East Asia and South Asia. Ibbitson and Bricker speak of an immigration inflow that is equivalent to the size of Canada’s largest city, Toronto, every ten years. The result is a new, more Pacific-oriented Canada that is more polarized along the conservative-progressive divide than ever in its recent history.
(Excerpt) Read more at americasquarterly.org ...
Canada Ping!
Yes, and thank G*d it has!
From where I sit it has.
As a bitter clinger to my Canadian citizenship, I’d like to know there’s an alternative to Obamaville. The article doesn’t provide much solid evidence.
Canada moved right, and we are ruled by a Marxist Muzzie.
No. We’re a bit schizophrenic. On social issues such as homosexuality and abortion, the younger generation is shifting to the left. On economic issues there has been a move to what I view as simple common sense; i.e. that you cannot spend more than you bring in. The move to a balanced budget happened under the previous Liberal Party administration (although they relied too much on tax increases) and continued under the current Conservative Party. But it is still a form of soft socialism. Even the pseudo-conservatives stupidly engaged in “stimulus” spending after 2008 and the federal books have been in deficit every year since, although on a per capita basis the Canadian annual deficit (and the accumulated debt) is much, much smaller than the US deficit and debt. There has also been a bit of a shift toward a more law and order philosophy. The majority of Canadians still support parties that call for more social liberalization and more spending, but our proliferation of political parties has permitted the Conservative Party to remain in power for 7 years with much less than 50% of the vote. Our provincial governments are still in much worse fiscal condition than the federal government, as most of them have serious deficits.
Ironic, ain’t it?
My older bro moved to Toronto 30 years Ago. He got the last laugh : )
I think it has, too.
One of my daughters and her family are now living in Calgary, and they love it!
Canada’s immigration policy focuses on allowing only those with the required skills to become Canadians.
The US allows any criminal willing to cross the border to become citizens of this once great country, and collect welfare benefits for the rest of their lives.
They only need to vote for their democratic representatives periodically to keep their sweet gig.
” Canada’s immigration policy focuses on allowing only those with the required skills to become Canadians.
The US allows any criminal willing to cross the border to become citizens of this once great country, and collect welfare benefits for the rest of their lives.”
Good job.
Even Toronto is shifting; two years ago we elected a mayor who ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility.
"More polarized" means the "progressives" don't always automatically win everything.
You must remember that Canada has voter integrity. We don’t.
Very true. On a couple of occasions I worked as a scrutineer for a candidate and the process is both civilized and transparent. I have never had any reason to suspect that a count was not honest.
The elections are clean here and there is what you call "voter integrity" You must be on the voter roll and you must show photo ID to vote. When you vote, your name (with your address) is crossed off the list. Simple paper ballot, no machines, no judicial orders to keep the polls open until the vote can be cooked. Poll watchers from all parties are present in polling places. The paper ballots are numbered sequentially and they better match the number of voters crossed off the list when they are counted. It's not that hard.
The problem in the US is that not everybody wants a clean election, too hard to elect democrats that way.
Moving to the right is a natural consequence from the failure of the left. It is no secret the white middle class has stampeded away from leftist policies, you see it in voting patterns and in housing, education, etc. choices. The lowlife stays with the left (and the left desperately tried to attract more lowlife) because they’re the ones too stupid and selfish to see how they’re being used and abused.
This makes immigration policy somewhat easier to enforce.
My experience was before photo ID and mobile phones. Every poll had a Bible so that a voter not on the list could take an oath, and the only time there was any acrimony between the poll watchers was during the race to the only phone to report the results to campaign HQ- first to the phone had to buy a round for the rest of us.
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