Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Categories: Beyond The Commons, Capital Read

Gender gap

by Aaron Wherry on Monday, November 8, 2010 1:37pm - 20 Comments

As he did with young and old voters, Eric Grenier compares how Parliament would respectively look if only women or men voted.

Women
Liberals 110
Conservatives 108
Bloc Quebecois 53
NDP 37

Men
Conservatives 141
Liberals 93
Bloc Quebecois 52
NDP 22

As John Geddes and I wrote during the last federal campaign, the gender gap can be pivotal.

Tags: democracy, election, elections, Eric Grenier, Ottawa, poll, Polls, threehundredeight.com

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Orson Bean

I think it would be interesting to look for correlation and cause-and-effect relating to the respective positions of men and women in the paid workforce. As I understand it, women are more likely than men to be employed in the (unionized) public sector, e.g., in such professions as health care and teaching. If you look at the legal profession, women are far more likely to work for government. Men, by contrast, are more likely to be employed in the private sector. I wouldn't be surprised if that affects voting behaviour — e.g., if you're a public sector union member, it's quite obvious that the NDP is shilling for you.

Mike T.

I suspect dedication to maintaining the social security net is a bigger factor than public sector employment.

Blue

Sometimes public sector employment is a social security net.

Emily

Since we only have one rightwing party, Cons consider all other parties to be 'left'.

Add up the numbers for the 'left' then, and note that male or female…people prefer the 'left' to the Cons.

Blue

Well. if it`s that simple then the three opposition parties should just join forces and defeat those right-wingers.

………trying to think of a catchy name for this new left-wing party——-Lefties———Liblocdips——I don`t know, whatever it is they should be guaranteed 60 plus % of the vote.

Mike T.

"evil separatist coalition"

I feel like either you or I didn't get some kind of joke, here….

Emily

LOL it merely indicates that this country is waaaaay more 'left' than right, and that Cons will be frantic to prevent any mergers or coalitions…as you can see by Harp's continuing denunciation of the very idea, even when it doesn't exist.

And it means the Libs should move more to the left, and isolate the right to their base.
Blue

Oh, that would be me.

I can`t see the humour in driving a wedge between young and old, and lads and lassies, and let`s hope Grenier doesn`t move on to French and English. ( you can put that little winky thingy here ).

Emily

Well if you don't like wedges, you don't like Harper.

Albert

And since 65% of people didn't vote for Harper's party, the other parties should form government. You've done it Emily, you've saved Canadian politics!

Emily

Heh. It won't save politics, but it might save the country.

We'll see after the next wave of the financial crisis hits.

peter

That would be the one Obama and his henchmen are currently orchestrating? You know, the guy that makes Liberals swoon? What harm could come from borrowing from your banker of last resort and destroying your currency because no rational investor will buy your junk? Don't worry though, it's only around ten time as much as Canada's current deficit…what could go wrong?

hosertohoosier

How are the Liberals left wing, exactly? When last they were in office they slashed spending, cut taxes and committed Canadian ground troops to their first real shooting war since Korea. Even in areas where the Liberals governed to the left (eg. gay marriage), the party was hardly united behind those decisions. Jean Chretien was the most conservative prime minister in Canadian history.

gottabesaid

In terms of closing the gender gap, It looks like whatever the BQ is doing is working.
VIC

Don't forget about The Gay Gap:

The National Post reported that the Laurier Institute for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy (LISPOP) found that 7.3 percent of homosexual men and 10.4 percent of homosexual women voted for the Conservatives in the 2006 federal election – stark numbers given that 40.7 percent and 32.4 percent of heterosexual men and women respectively supported the Conservatives.

LISPOP researcher and Laurier professor, Barry Kay, addressed these finding on Canada's homosexual community, saying, "Clearly, they are anti-Conservative… The hostility there is dramatic … these are numbers that are worse than the NDP gets in much of the country."
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08091106…
Mike T.

And obviously the NDP are most divisive political force in the country! :)
Crit_Reasoning

The Liberals have closed the gender gap too. According to Grenier's analysis they have the support of 29% of women and 28% of men. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/how-…
Horton

In this context, the term gap sort of implies there's a divide that shouldn't exist, yet does. In that view, I don't think there really is a "gay gap" anymore than there is an "organized labour" gap.
gottabesaid

Or the Liberals are having a 'Martin Prince' effect on voter intentions: "I'm as unpopular with the ladies as I am with the chaps."
Proud canadian

Right wing polls, right wing press. Do you realize that on Feb 9 of this year 2011, the right wing CRTC made it OK for our news to deliberately misinform the Canadian public? Just so the right wing can win an election? That's power hungry! On that day, Feb. 9, 2011 our Canadian culture died. They did it by decietfully having us all talking about a 25 year old Dire Straits song. Our news channels are now going to report like FOX News but it will be a gradual change and it is starting with this election campaign. I am scared for Canada's future. My Dad fought on D-Day, and was wounded five times for our freedom and I don't want to lose that. Maybe you're Ok with that, I'm not!