Stephen Harper is in the process of building the Conservative Party of Canada into a formidable political party which is capable of matching the formidable Liberal Party of Canada. This is one more indication of it.

More and more the Liberals are finding that their Conservative opposition knows how to play the political game almost as well as they do, and in some areas, fundraising for example, they know how to play it better.

I know some Liberal cheerleaders in the press find this development worrisome, but for objective observers of Canadian democracy, having two competitive political parties is a welcome development. For a while, this country was at risk of becoming a defacto one-party state.

I think media exposure of what all parties (as well as the government) are or are not doing to woo targeted groups is good.

Harper’s strategy has been to work behind the scenes on ethnic groups, sending them personalized religious cards, gathering a large data base on people’s religions/ethnic origins, meeting with them privately, shunning media attention. It is better for Canada if these things are out in the open and if there is pressure for political parties to be open and transparent. Media attention to this issue is good.

If the Tories are “gaining ground,” why are they still locked out of Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto? Isn’t that where one finds the largest concentration of ethnic votes?

It makes sense that more immigrants are voting Con because that’s what they are. Very few immigrants from Orient/Asia are progressives who support high tax rates and libertarian social policies.

And now that Libs can’t use public money to bride the different immigrant groups like they use to, the newbies are looking at party policies and deciding who is best.

Hi Boudica,

In Toronto years ago, most of the so-called ethnic votes used to be found south of Steeles Avenue–essentially within the boundaries of what is now the City of Toronto. Today, many non-Waspyish Canadians are moving to the suburbs. Generally, these Canadians tend to be socio-economically better than their brothers and sisters living within the city limits. In the suburbs, families mostly live in single detached homes. They share similar socio-economic values as their white-bread neighbours (who may live in different suburban enclaves).

The Conservatives have been selective about which ethnic groups to get support. Jews, Hong Kong Chinese, Amadiyan (sp?) Muslims, and Hindi-speaking Hindus are high on the list. Tamils and other Muslims are low-priority. There may be other groups that may or may not be priorities. I just didn’t list them all.

I do think that there is a subtext in how the Liberals and Conservatives approach so-called ethnic families: The Liberals imply that they will help people preserve their cultural identities; the Conservatives imply that they will help people shape their cultural identities.

“Any WASPs want to play lawn bowling?”

“Tamils and other Muslims are low-priority.”

That should have meant non-Amadiyan Muslims. Most Tamils are Hindus.

Gerard Kennedy was asked by Dion to head up organization, ask him why Liberal organization on the ground particularly among ethnic communities was a catastrophe.

Hi Paul,

I think the Globe and Mail had a column on how the Conservatives were trying to get support from particular ethnic groups. I just can’t find it.

“You have some good points. I will only guess that people who were outreached by the Conservatives voted the way they did because of a mix of outreach and a lackluster Dion campaign.”

Skinny, if that’s the case, wouldn’t you agree that those so-called “gains” are quite fragile?

Remember Quebec? If Quebecers were indeed embrassing the Tories and if it was true that Harper had won them over, how is it that upon scrutiny of some of his more benign policies, that support all but evaporated?

Harper has not won over women, immigrants or Quebecers. Harper was in a free fall in the polls up until the Holiday weekend and rebounded.

That last minute bounce might be due to effective attack ads, CTV’s spectacular breach of ethics with the Dion footage or God only knows what.

What I do know is that Harper didn’t win another term in office because of his policies or his vision for our country. The man didn’t even bother to show us his platform until the very last week.

All this to say, the man didn’t make any gains. He turned out his base , benefitted from vote splitting on the left and a very large war chest to get him over the hump.

“What I do know is that Harper didn’t win another term in office because of his policies or his vision for our country. The man didn’t even bother to show us his platform until the very last week.”

Again, this is the kind of wise advise Liberals should be heeding. Harper fluked. That’s all there is too it. Canadians hate him and his ideas. Especially in Quebec.

Personally, were I a Liberal, I would go on a long vacation and come back to the next election well-rested. A good tan is all that keeps the Liberals from their rightful place heading up a majority government.

http://blog.macleans.ca/2008/10/24/le-vote-ethnique/

Ti-Guy, ;-)

Although, this topic, sadly, does not seem like a laughing matter. In the US, their massive political data banks can predict how you will vote based on the cereal you purchased last month (with Airmiles entering you into the databank, or some such thing) and the car you bought last year. I suggest Canadians grow their own veggies in their backyard, don’t buy anything more complex than a bicycle, and, for goodness sakes, never congregrate with any identifiable ethnic, religious, or other type of group, if you want to escape the Cons databanks.

Ti-Guy,

you got me. Must control the sarcasm.

But, I would suggest that folks who want to figure out how to win should look at the winners and ask themselves, “what have they done that I could do?”

Doesn’t mean they should follow those strategies or that those strategies will lead to your opponents success in the future. But for folks who think we right-wing fanatics are fluke-kooks are probably setting themselves up for many cycles of disappointment.

And yes, Tories will double their seat count in the next election here in my belle province.