Is Canada becoming more liberal or more conservative? (school, taxes)
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[SIZE=2]Canada, overall, is becoming more conservative. Liberal population is bit by bit shrinking, partially because they've been without the "right" leader in quite some time and partially because people have become sick and tired of the consequences of some of the "out there" stuff that's been passed in the last few years. The resulting hyper-political correctness that's gone along with the more recent laws is beginning to bite itself in the behind and, where so many people were saying a few months ago "you've gotta be kidding, the human rights commission is paying attention to *what?", is now showing to be a problem that needs to be corrected soon.
You being in the States find out about these "human rights and free speech" incidences (debacles) by way of tabloid type news, and I realize it's been giving Canada a less than favourable reputation amongst conservative people and others down there. Normally Americans claim they don't think about Canada at all, when in reality a lot is paid attention to when it's not good. I spent most of my life 15 minutes from the border with close American ties so this whole thing saddens me greatly (but that's another story).
We have a Conservative Prime Minister but they got in ('06) on a minority vote so his hands are tied to do much with Canada's situation as it is. At the risk of being flamed by liberals who may read this.. they've *got to get a majority vote this coming election. A lot of people dislike Stephen Harper but from what I've seen he not only is doing the best he can and has done well by us through this recession, but he's actually made some upstanding moral moves that may cost Canada a seat in the UN.. and will definitely cost him votes from one of Canada's minority groups in favour of another minority group with only 1/2 the population in this country.
I'm in Alberta, which has been predominantly conservative anyway, and it seems to be spreading beyond western Canada, mainly in the form of what's called small "c" conservative. ....... BTW the political parties in Canada work differently than the Repubs and Dems in the States so, if you're interested, it might help you out to do a mini research via Wikipedia.
I don't really get the sense that Canada is becoming more conservative at all. Keep in mind that most Canadian "conservatives" (at least here in Ontario) are more liberal than American Democrats.
Canadian politics haven't changed much in the last 20 years.
The conservative parties in Canada have received 35-40% of the vote in every post 1980s election with the exception of 2004, the year the Progressive Conservatives merged with the Alliance (Reform) party . Many supporters of the more moderate "Progressive Conservatives" were reluctant to support the merged party headed by the more conservative former "Alliance/Reform" politicians, though it seems that Harper has now earned their trust.
Many former supporters of the Liberal Party have recently sided with the more liberal NDP and Green parties, though the Liberals have lost some support to the Conservatives as well.
Overall, I don't see much of a shift in preference, but the left is certainly more fragmented.
If Harper gets his majority, and it doesn't look likely (latest polls show the Liberals and Conservatives in a dead heat), he will have to appeal to the moderates.
I would love to hear more input on this thread from Canadians. I lived in Seattle which is only 3 hours at most from Vancouver B.C and I don't think I have heard one thing about Canadian politics in the news ever in my entire life while living there. It is quite sad that most Americans including myself don't know more about Canadian politics considering they are our closest ally and our neighbor.
Could someone tell me what some of the major political issues in Canada are at the current moment?
Canadian politics will never be featured in American media. However, it's all over the Canadian media. If you want to know what's up in Canadian politics, I suggest checking out the CBC online:
And just a side note. If you really are interested in learning more about Canadian politics, my advice is to simply seek out some Canadian websites and forums where the majority of the users are Canadian. This forum is great - I love City-Data - but it's an American website with a predominantly American audience. Until this website starts to cater to Canadians, you're probably not going to find many Canadians contributing.
For me to be able to attempt an answer, you'd have to define more clearly what you mean by liberal and conservative. With two political parties laying claim to those names, Canadians I think tend to respond to what party they favour politically, which is not necessarily the same as what an American might mean.
If you mean is gay marriage in danger of being cancelled or could the death penalty could be brought back, or universal health care coverage abandoned, then no, Canada is liberal.
If by "conservative" you mean what the Republican party in the US used to stand for before it got hijacked by the nutjobs, in terms of being the big business party and wanting lower taxes for big businesses and fewer social programmes, then that would be something else. I'm going to guess that that is what nanasonlight might be meaning when he says he thinks Canada is becoming more conservative. Personally, I don't find that to be true but Alberta has always been different.
Harper seems to have caught on that Canadians are going to remain opposed to the war in Afghanistan, and we will have to wait and see whether he actually has the stones to remove our troops with the US saying today that it wants Canadians to stay.
I assume that generally in the US being against the war would be defined as liberal but I don't think those definitions line up as neatly here since there are plenty of small c conservatives who are also against the war.
For me to be able to attempt an answer, you'd have to define more clearly what you mean by liberal and conservative. With two political parties laying claim to those names, Canadians I think tend to respond to what party they favour politically, which is not necessarily the same as what an American might mean.
If you mean is gay marriage in danger of being cancelled or could the death penalty could be brought back, or universal health care coverage abandoned, then no, Canada is liberal.
If by "conservative" you mean what the Republican party in the US used to stand for before it got hijacked by the nutjobs, in terms of being the big business party and wanting lower taxes for big businesses and fewer social programmes, then that would be something else. I'm going to guess that that is what nanasonlight might be meaning when he says he thinks Canada is becoming more conservative. Personally, I don't find that to be true but Alberta has always been different.
Harper seems to have caught on that Canadians are going to remain opposed to the war in Afghanistan, and we will have to wait and see whether he actually has the stones to remove our troops with the US saying today that it wants Canadians to stay.
I assume that generally in the US being against the war would be defined as liberal but I don't think those definitions line up as neatly here since there are plenty of small c conservatives who are also against the war.
It's also interesting to note that following the recent Liberal Party think tank (sic), leader Michael Ignatieff announced the Liberals would defer the proposed corporate tax cuts currently being scheduled by the governing Conservative Party.
That dichotomy is fairly predictable; the interesting part is that the 2 parties are neck and neck in national opinion polls.
I dont believe the political landscape has really changed in decades.
the vast majority of the population votes for left wing parties. I would consider Canada Center-Left and staying there. The conservatives get something like 30% of the popular vote and even their more fiscally conservative than Socially.
The terms Liberal and Conservative are not as polarizing as in the US. To call oneself a liberal stateside is still seen by many as shameful, whereas in Canada, I would guess that the majority of the population would describe themselves in that way. The rhetoric of the US (which shocked me once I moved here from school) just doesn't exist in Canada.
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