Categories: Polls

Who would benefit the most from a Liberal-NDP coalition?

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by macleans.ca on Monday, June 7, 2010 2:21pm - 40 Comments

Sean

I'm confused. Do you mean a post-election coalition? If so, how could that benefit the Conservatives in the course of that election?

Or do you mean attempting to form a government if the Conservatives lose confidence, but without an election (something I don't think anyone is seriously suggesting).

Or do you mean the acknowledgement of a coaltion as a viable option prior to, and during the next election?

http://intensedebate.com/people/hollinm hollinm

Sean…..you are being obtuse.

Canadians will want a majority governement the next time out. They are sick to death of the partisanship on all sides and the never ending talk of elections and of course the fact that not much is getting done to address important issues.

The Conservatives have worked for four years under difficult governing conditions and they do not want Layton anywhere near government and they certainly have shown that they are not interested in Ignatieff being PM.

The anti coalition rhetoric which the Conservatives will surely use will have an impact on Canadians who want to put things to bed for four years will be a powerful draw.

http://intensedebate.com/people/SeanStok Sean

I was honestly noting the illogical construction of the poll, given the options for respondents. Nothing more and nothing less than that.
mtb

Who says we'll want a majority? Have you surveyed the populace? Despite all the problems with a minority, Harper still can't get himself to a convincing majority level in the polls. That's got to tell you something.

http://Overgrow.ning.com ElectroPig

SO few people understand that in our "democratic system" what is has amounted to for the last few elections (or was that hours? Same thing, in Canadian political circles…) is that the "idiot majority" (who voted) ended up taking control over the TRUE majority of Canadians, most of whom didn't bother to vote at all.

Essentially, this "democracy" of ours means that if 51% of the populations are idiots, they have control over the other 49%…the scientists, teachers, intelligent and educated people…obviously that's not working out too well lately.

But, hey…at least we can still import failed policies from the USA like mandatory minimum sentences for posession of safe, non-toxic cures for cancer that aren't patentable and profitable for multinational pharmaceutical corporations! After all, isn't raising foreign corporations' profit margins a lot more important than the health and safety of the people who pay for it all?

mtb

So you're saying idiots vote but smart people don't? So if they're so smart, what's they're excuse?

Jim

This poll is a trick question. As the majority of Canadians have voted for socially progressive parties, would democracy and the Canadian people not win, in the first past the post system

http://intensedebate.com/people/Tidewaters Chrystal Ocean

Fourth option: Sixty+ percent of Canadian voters.

Mark

Why do NDP supporters and lots of Liberals believe that all Liberals want a coalition? I have to imagine there's a good chunk (not a majority, but a good chunk) of Liberal voters who would sooner vote for the Conservatives than a Lib-NDP coalition.

mtb

I dare the anti-coalition Liberals to vote Harper at this point. You'll get what you deserve and you know it.

Ryan

Good, and we'll see a Conservative majority.

We deserve good governance that only conservatives can provide, without being limited by socialists.

mtb

I suppose if you define "good governance" as higher taxes, increased national debt and the dismantling of health care and social services, you'd be right about that.
http://Overgrow.ning.com ElectroPig

They've COMPLETELY removed chiropractic care in Ontario's health insurance coverage now…why? Because it works…doesn't force people to take a ton of painkillers, or since your spine doesn't degenerate when it HEALS, it reduces the number of completely preventable spinal surgeries and vertebral fusions that are neccessary when a problem goes without proper treatment long enough.

They just cut 750 Million out of the health care budget, too…so obviously, they don't want to spend OUR MONEY on US at all…they'd rather buy nifty new jets (9 BILLION dolars of OUR MONEY!!!) and host G8/G20 summit meetings for another BILLION dollars! That's 10 BILLION dollars we've allowed our government to waste in the last three MONTHS alone…and all withut ever having seen the need to ask the Canadian taxpayers who will pay that our of THEIR pockets if we wanted to see those changes made in the first place.
Jim

Good governance?? Give your head a shake man—look at our national debt now! We need a government that funds relevant programs and not FAKE LAKES!

James

There is no mood in the country for a coalition. Besides, Harper has spent stimulis money keeping the economy from collapse and that is the only thing a coalition coud do except make it worse. I believe we are heading in the direction of a majority conservative government if an election is called. The Liberal party not only lacks leadership they have not formulated any policy that charts a direction for the future. We are heading deeper into depression, like it or not!

aqualith

It's a two-step issue; it needs a two-step answer.

Step 1. We need Liberals and NDP to work boldly and assertively together to strengthen our democratic institutions. It's a working set: Parliament's House of Commons and independent thoughtful Senate, the Supreme Court, separation of the Crown (the GG representing the state of Canada) from the government of the day (led by a PM responsible to parliament). These are the places and conventions in which Canadian citizens debate and decide public issues.

Mr Harper and his government don't believe in our Canadian democratic institutions. They're boring away at them like termites, even from their minority government position. They're packing strengthening mud instead around autocratic powers of the prime minister, and tamping down pathways for unaccountable international and Canadian corporate directors to shape our public life.

It makes sense for Liberals and NDP to act together to re-establish responsible government in Canada – to reassert our leading role as voters in directing Canadian society, and setting the conditions for using Canadian resources.

Step 2. We need the Liberals and NDP to stay distinct within a restored responsible government so we can vote on policy to get issue-by-issue balance among the assumptions they each bring to public life.

Think of the Liberals as "make do; Canada's prosperity matters more than fairness within it; if you have to act for the environment, well, OK, but do it".

Think of the NDP as "social justice and fairness is key; get conditions right and prosperity comes, well-distributed; environment matters most where abuses hurt identifiable individuals".

Liberals and NDP will ally separately with Conservatives and Greens on different issues.

Adam

The NDP, under Jack Layton, has pulled a New Labour and dumped its Blue Socialist (socially-conservative/fiscally-leftist) platform, to become an ethnic bloc-vote chasing urban latte liberal party. Not different, really, from the Liberals. Really, a merger is logical.

Bob

When were the NDP EVER socially conservative??

Don

After reading the article on how Canada, because of the ratio of Debt to GDP w/ Canada sits – I think the last thing thing this country needs is a
ignited – Nutty Prime Minister who evevry other month sings a different tune in order to raise the Liberal Party chances of getting their hands back in the federal bank in order to raise their ego and hence:
' futher Baffle you w/ their Bull-Shit ' about how they have run the Gov't. for 125 + yrs. "it's ours! and we want it back !.
Just stop and think – have you ever had to deal w/ this gov't when FIRST, you actually have to deal w/ a liberal appointed or hired gov't employee in order to get something done? what-ever it was you were more
likely to hear the opposite – can't be found, can't be done,
or it just doesn't exist. Sorry.
Frugal spending of money I believe is important , and to have a coalition gov't. that will be forever handcuffed by the Bloc-Quebecois sounds awful crazy to me.
Agha Ali Arkhan

The Liberals would win with a Bloc Quebecois coalition.
http://intensedebate.com/people/BCVoiceOfReason BCVoiceOfReason

Sean you are arguing about form.

The question is straight forward. Should the NDP and Liberals join forces.

Right now it doesn't matter…. the genie is definitely out of the bottle and will not be put back in. The CPC will siphon off the the Blue Dog Liberals who can not imagine having the NDP in a position of power.

This holds even if there is no formal agreement and just the Ignatieff (intellectually weak) stance that the Libs and NDP would campaign separately and make compromises abandoning their election platform immediately after the votes were counted.

At this point in time it makes sense that the Lib-Dem merger take place and a leadership / policy convention take place.

They could public announce that the 2 main opposition parties will honour the fixed election dates and not defeat the government no matter what so that they are not a victim of a Chretien like election of convenience.

In 6 years they could be a legitimate alternative to form a government.

James

No! it is too late for that, it has already been tried and failed when the Liberals broke rank, created a bloodless coup dumping Deon.

http://intensedebate.com/people/BCVoiceOfReason BCVoiceOfReason

I would have preferred that the Liberal party would have ripped down identified and got rid of the adscammers and actually rebuilt internally.

Maybe part of the NDP asks on joining this new party would be the ethical and morale clean up of the old Liberal party that Paul Martin started but stopped when he was defeated in an election.
http://intensedebate.com/people/ZestyMordant ZestyMordant

Who gains most? The Greens, obviously.
Jaded Iris

Canadians are fed up with so called "party politics " .
Voting …..as a so called "party" has diminished Democracy in Canada . All voters know MP's jump ship , go against their riding's wishes , and do everything they can to stall laws passing .
What the heck is Canada DOING allowing the "BLOCK " to enter into Federal Politics and be a FEDERAL PARTY ?
A coalition ? That would be wonderful ,another 40 years of Canada talking about the same things and not getting out of the 12th century.

http://Overgrow.ning.com ElectroPig

It's actually the "see-saw voting method" that makes me sick.

1) "Party A" is going to fix everything! I'm voting "Party A"
2) Damn! "Party A" screwed us over!
2a) We'll show those bastards! We'll vote them out!
3) "Party B" is going to fix everything! I'm voting "Party B"
4) Damn! "Party B" screwed us over!
4a) We'll show those bastards! We'll vote them out!
5) GOTO 1)

Obviously, bouncing back and forth between two parties that consistently screw things up for Canada and the people IS NOT WORKING!

If the Libertives and Conserverals don't work, then it's long past the time to keep bouncing back and forth between the two worst options and simply dumped them both, in favour of a new party that actaully wants to see Canadians healthy. Wants to see the environment repaired INTELLIGENTLY, rather than with more new taxes going to fund private corporations. Wants to see "crazy and dangerous things" like a safe, non-toxic, non-addictive cure for cancer actually being LEGAL for Canadians to access…and not lied about by "Health Canada" and our elected "representatives."

Philanthropist

Socialists getting together would do no good for Canada if they had power, that much is obvious from the worldwide economic problems caused by big government.
It is interesting to note that Jack Layton was a politician in Toronto for years, and he is remembered for riding around on his bicycle in search of a TV camera to cry to, that's it, his only legacy, a total loser. Only the wilfully dumb would vote for that guy.

MTB

Um, the economic crisis wasn't caused by big government. It was caused by LACK of government. ie: lack of regulation of the financial sector. The worst of it happened in the states under George Bush, a proponent of small government. Meanwhile, those "fat cat Liberals" here in Canada protected us from it by refusing the Conservative's calls to deregulate the banking industry.

mike heit

canada needs to move to one person one vote. The rep by pop is so out of balance that westerns cannot take federal democracy serious.
pei- with 100,000 has 3 seats, 6 senators–bc?Alberta mps senators are so few that our issues never get on agenda. Look at history– when a country starves a region of representation or a reasonable chance of getting on national agenda, the internal glue of the county suffers. No we are not separtating, but frankly, Ottawa becomes less relevant and more distasteful.
The block is quebec party, liberals are ontario party and cpc is a wesrern party, There is no opportunity for a national party because we do not have a representative govt . I have given up on national politics.

I lived in usa for 7 years– even with all their troubles, they have mecanism for a real democacy and real debates– messy as that may be. Where we follow them and the resulting problems is the canadian version of red/blue states.

(im a former ontario guy but out here 25 yearsas an ex federal civil servant)
Philanthropist

The NDP are hardly "the conscience of parliament", they're sympathetic to terrorists etc.

Jim

Respecting the Geneva Convention and international law, does not mean you have sympathy for terrorists. The majority of Canadians did not vote for a "George Bush North" type of foreign policy.

jade_lee

A Liberal NDP coalition government does not require an election. Why waste any cash on an election. Canadians would support avoiding an election. We would rather see that money in our pockets. Time for Harper and the rest of those clowns to pack up. They are clueless about promoting the Canadian way to the world.
jade_lee

The Harper minority government is the Canadian version of Fox News, you know clever by one half.
Lyle Henderson

Even though a Liberal supporter for most of my life,except when the country needed free trade, I consider myself a FISCAL CONSERVATIVE while a SOCIAL LIBERAL. Our traditional middle of the road Liberals such as Cretien/Martin have given us reasonably good government. However I fear that the socialist shift that would be caused by an NDP Liberal merger would almost certainly be enough to shift me over to any centrist Conservative Candidate.

MTB

Oh come on. Even Jack Layton knows he wouldn't get away with that. A coalition would just be a new means of electing the Liberals.

Anon Liberal

None of the above. Canadians would benefit the most from a Liberal-NDP merger.
Dave-O

None of the above, can't believe I'm posting in a right wing rag.
http://intensedebate.com/people/slimharpo slimharpo

The Liberal Party of Canada and NDP are not liberal or progressive in any sense of the word. Their command society and economic philosophies are based upon tyranny.
aqualith

Proportional representation in the House of Commons, instead of first-past-the-post, will help both Step 1 and Step 2.
Frank, Toronto

The 2nd answer to this question is ridiculous. How is the NDP "the concscience of the house?" Are Canadians evil for consistently rejecting them as a possible government? At this point, the NDP'ers know perfectly well that their Socialism is nothing but a recipe for increased dependency, unemployment and poverty. God forbid that bunch of lefty lunatics would ever gain control of our national government. When you know perfectly well that the predictable result of your policies and is economic and social disaster and you continue to advocate them anyway, you are not the conscience of anything. It was bad enough when that incompetent gang took control of Ontario in the early 1990's and did their worst.