Flag on my Backpack

Which Canadian Political Party Should you Vote for?

Your Result: New Democratic Party

Social Democrats, Democratic Socialists.

Fact: Have never won an election, but have played key roles in instituting policies, like universal healthcare. Canada’s governmental structure was originally established by the British parliament through the British North America Act (now known as the Constitution Act, 1867), but the federal model and division of powers were devised by Canadian politicians. Particularly after World War I, citizens of the self-governing Dominions, such as Canada, began to develop a strong sense of identity, and, in the Balfour Declaration of 1926, the British government expressed its intent to grant full autonomy to these regions. Thus in 1931, the British Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster, giving legal recognition to the autonomy of Canada and other Dominions. Following this, Canadian politicians were unable to obtain consensus on a process for amending the constitution until 1982, meaning amendments to Canada’s constitution continued to require the approval of the British parliament until that date. Similarly, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Britain continued to make the final decision on legal issues until 1949. As well, because of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and rulings of courts on legislation, Canada is becoming more like a constitutional democracy, as opposed to the parliamentary democracy of its design. The politics of Canada function within a framework of constitutional monarchy and a federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. Many of the country’s legislative practices derive from the unwritten conventions of and precedents set by the United Kingdom’s Westminster parliament; however, Canada has evolved variations. For example, party discipline in Canada is stronger than in the United Kingdom, and more parliamentary votes are considered motions of confidence, which tends to diminish the role of non-Cabinet Members of Parliament (MPs). Such members, in the government caucus, and junior or lower-profile members of opposition caucuses, are known as backbenchers. Backbenchers can, however, exert their influence by sitting in parliamentary committees, like the Public Accounts Committee or the National Defence Committee.

Green Party Liberal Party Bloc Quebecois Conservative Party Which Canadian Political Party Should you Vote for?
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From Lois Corbett National Campaign Manager, Green Party of Canada.

I have to admit that when I asked you for $19,000 in 48 hours to run a full-page national newspaper ad, I wasn’t entirely sure it could be done.

Weekends are usually a challenging time for fundraising. People are running errands or relaxing with their families—not reading last-minute appeals from campaign managers.

But true democracy lovers are clearly a different breed.

As soon as my email started hitting inboxes just after midnight, the contributions started flowing in. Some 57 people had given before 7:00 AM rolled around.

I guess you couldn’t sleep. The injustice of Elizabeth’s exclusion from the debates is keeping me up at night too.

The momentum started by my fellow insomniacs only grew as the day wore on. It’s now 4:30 PM, and I am thrilled to announce we have surpassed our target.

What can I say but thank you. Thank you for defending our democracy. Thank you for going above and beyond not just for Elizabeth but for all Canadians.

Thank you for allowing me to dream even bigger. Because once we passed $19,000, I started thinking about what we could do with $38,000.

It’s still in the planning stages, but I can tell you now that the next phase of our campaign to include Elizabeth will feature rallies across the country. If we double our goal, we can run another national ad to promote the rallies and bring out the greatest number of people possible.

I don’t have a picture to show you yet. We didn’t think we’d be able to afford it. But if your enthusiasm for this effort continues at this level, we’ll have an ad designed and ready to run in support of the rallies.

Thank you again for everything you’ve done already. Let’s keep at it.

As I write this message the energy for the “We’re Voting CBC” campaign is building. Our strategy is to launch grassroots campaigns in key ridings where the margin of victory in the last election was slim and therefore will have the attention of some of the most senior political leaders in Canada.

Our shared efforts are vital for the future of public broadcasting in our country.

Please make a special investment in the “We’re Voting CBC” campaign right now.

As you know, we have thoroughly documented the Conservative hidden agenda for public broadcasting and cultural sovereignty. The most recent evidence of this hidden agenda are Dean Del Mastro’s “Maybe it’s time we get out of the broadcasting business” or Jason Kenney’s “the CBC lies all the time”.

Only three outcomes of the forthcoming election appear plausible: a Harper minority, a Harper majority or a Liberal minority.

In the case of a Harper minority or majority, our priority is to ‘deter’ him from doing what we know he would love to do – “get out of the broadcasting business”. In a Liberal minority scenario, encouraging a new government to invest in public broadcasting is extremely important.

This will involve a sign campaign, all candidates’ meetings, coffee parties and a range of other grassroots actions to raise the profile of public broadcasting.

The goal – to make sure that the newly elected MPs arriving in Ottawa share a strong sense of the importance of a strong and independent CBC to voters back home.

To do this effectively we need your help. As one supporter recently told me “it is only with engaged citizens that we have a truly functioning democracy!”

Please join me in making a special investment in FRIENDS’ WE’RE VOTING CBC grassroots campaign.

Throughout the campaign we will keep you closely informed on our success and invite you to participate in e-actions to bring CBC and cultural sovereignty to the attention of candidates of all stripes throughout the country.

Everyone’s talking about Elizabeth May being blocked from the leaders’ debates by the so-called broadcast consortium.

Twitter is abuzz. Facebook is filled with comments from outraged voters. And our online petition has 112,750 signatures and counting.

But the media bosses aren’t budging. So we’re taking our campaign from the virtual world to the real world.

I wanted to give you a sneak peek at the first of our full-page newspaper ads that will run in two major centres on Monday. It will help us reach a broader audience, and enlist more Canadians in the ongoing battle to get Elizabeth in the debates.

As you know, newspaper advertising isn’t cheap. So I’m also asking for your help. To get this ad in papers across the country next week, we need to raise $19,000 this weekend.

I know that seems like a lot, but our fundraising team has done the math and told me we can meet that goal if:

• 7 people donate $1,100,
• 20 people donate $400,
• 45 people donate $50, and
• 100 people donate $10.

The leaders’ debates are just 10 days away. I hate to have to ask you for another donation, but the situation is urgent.

Elizabeth must be allowed to debate. We must do what it takes to make that happen. We must demand democracy.

Thank you so much for everything you’ve done so far. We’ve just got to persevere a little longer, and keep the pressure on those media bigwigs.

It’s time.

mcbek:

I don’t have a lot of people following this blog BUT … to any of the Canadians who by chance follow me … PLEASE spread word about this.

I realize it’s only on Facebook but it’s a start. We need to get people voting. We need to tell people that hey, your vote matters.

We’re on what … election 4 in how many years?

Vote, Young Canadians!

No matter who you vote for, Green, NDP, Bloq, Liberals or fuck, even Conservatives … just VOTE.

Definitely have to agree.  All Canadians have a voice, and we need to make it heard.  If we don’t, then that ideology called democracy just doesn’t work.