Stephane Dion was the only candidate to get their campaign off the ground, this first week of the campaign. He brought his entire Quebec team to Buffet Crystal to introduce them. Buffet Crystal is always where Dion goes to do fundraising. I did not attend, and the local paper did not report on whether attendance was successful or not.

There are many signs up in the riding, but compared to the last two elections, two parties’ signs have not yet appeared, those being the NDP and the Greens.

In the case of the Greens, it is because this is one of the two ridings in the country that has been affected by the Liberal-Green “deal”. So, sadly, for all potential Green Party voters here, there will be no signs and no name on the ballot come October 14th. My own sister-in-law is fuming about this deal and planning to vote for the Conservatives in protest. I am not sure how voting for a party that is doing the worst on the environment score will translate into punishing the Green Party, but nevertheless, this is my sister-in-law’s logic. Perhaps there is some logic, afterall, but certainly not for those of us who want a government to do better on the environment issue.

As for the NDP, the candidate was supposed to be Carole Haddad. Her candidacy seems to be in question now. As former Official Agent of the NDP candidate in the 2004 election, I can only say that the history of the NDP in this riding can be classified as a bit unstable.

This is a difficult riding for all candidates who are not Liberal. Dion won with 66% in 2004 and 59.9% in 2006. The Bloc came second to Dion in both elections. What changed between the two elections, was that the NDP came third in 2004 with 6.25% , with the Conservatives at 6.19%. In 2006, the Conservative vote increased to 13.2% putting that party ahead of the NDP, whose vote improved to 7.7%.

All the candidates running against Dion are new this time. The Conservatives running a young lawyer, Dennis Galiatsatos, look stronger than they did last time. The Bloc, after several elections with William Fayad as their candidate have a new one.

Shocking news! Who would have believed that the Bloc candidate, Jacques Lachaine, would have his campaign signs showing him against a GREEN background instead of the traditional BQ blue! One wonders if this has anything to do with the fact that there is no “GREEN” candidate running here, due to the Liberal-Green deal….. Also, perhaps to intimate to voters, that the Bloc are as GREEN as the Liberals with their “Green Shift”. Or is the sign background colour designed to confuse the more non-politcally aware voter as to who is who?

I wait for news on the Orange campaign. Which I feel is the best green of all… But this is just my opinion…

Would love to hear from other St-Laurent-Cartierville voters to discuss the campaign!

LM