Comments on: CENTRAL NOVA

By: Stefan

Stefan — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:49:29 +0000

Let’s look first at the competence of the candidates. In the candidates’ debates for Central Nova Elizabeth May showed herself to be more knowledgeable than Peter MacKay about Foreign Policy issues (to name one area of many) even though he’s been the minister of Foreign Affairs. She has raised the level of these debates as well as the federal leaders’ debates to one worthy of an audience that actually thinks government has a role in governing the country, and wants it to be done based on an HONEST assessment of the facts. Why not bring her thoughtful appraisal to the House of Commons so that the level of debate in the government can be similarly raised. Not only will her election benefit the whole country, but she will be a vocal representative of her home region.

By: VoteForEnvironment or VoteForLiberals? | Terahertz

VoteForEnvironment or VoteForLiberals? | Terahertz — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:52:49 +0000

[...] the past elections, the NDP have had an increasingly strong presence, while the Liberal support has faded. I [...]

By: Joel

Joel — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 22:18:56 +0000

The only reason everyone is is so up-in-arms about this e-may Dion leaders courtesy deal is that Harper has sensationalized it, which is the same approach that Harper has used to “debate” every other aspect of Liberal or any other party policy. Harper totally sidesteps a rational discussion of the issues, which is insulting average Canadians, and uses fear mongering about what the other parties policies will do. this is ridiculous. we don’t need fear to help us make a good decision! I feal , like many other things in this campaign the controversy is to a large degree rhetoric generated by the Conservative party. If there was a Liberal voter that was angered because they could not vote for thier party that would be a legitimate concern, but that is none of the Conservative’s business, that an internal Liberal Party matter. They have no obligation to run a Liberal candidate in any riding, it is merely an option they can present. The Conservatives have no ground to be aggrieved! Why? Because two of the opposition parties are consolidating the vote for the environment. that’s not unfair at all! That is exactly what the Conservtaives did, in fact, when they formed the Alliance from the central and western Progressive Conservtives and the Reform Party and then again when they merged the Atlantic Progressive Conservatives into the new Conservative Party of Canada.

As I see it the true deficit of democracy in this election is in the tone that Harper, as the leader of the conservatives has set for the debate of the issues – very American and it really makes me feel like Harper thinks we are stupid and can’t actually make an informed decision that reflects our values.

Step one for getting more youth invloved in the democratic process would be to have a straight discussion of the issues!

By: john

john — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 06:23:48 +0000

I find it insulting that the leader of the greens would take public money from the vote allocation and then tell her supporters to vote for another party. If her logic is to be followed then here in central nova people should vote ndp.

By: Zab

Zab — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:03:36 +0000

People seem outraged at the anti-democratic behaviour of Dion in not running a candidate in Central Nova and are calling the Greens a ‘wing’ of the Liberal Party.

What about Chretien’s decision not to run a candidate when candidate Stephen Harper ran for the Canadian Alliance? Was the Alliance a wing of the Liberal Party?

By: EG

EG — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 03:34:55 +0000

Susan, I’m not a big supporter of this either, but the fault lies equally with Dion. May is not depriving her supporters of a candidate in Central Nova, Dion IS. It was his decision to make this offer to May.

- Furthermore, the problem is party leaders realize most voters will not support a candidate, unless they think that person will win. It is an irrational and peculiar phenomenon, but one parties take advantage of every election. When was the last time you ordered your meal at a restaurant based on what was the most-ordered item? Do you check sales statistics to determine what car you will buy, rather than what fits your needs?

But when it comes to elections, voters thinking turns to self-conscious goo and they choose who they think will either win or come closest to defeating the one they least like.
NO SINGLE VOTE will change the outcome of ANY race, unless there is a tie! Your vote means funding for that party and honour for yourself…that is, if you vote your conscience.

I would sooner vote CHP and have them come 5th or 6th, than vote Liberal or PC if I don’t particularly support either. If you think about it, my vote means MORE to my party…rather than the votes wasted at the top.

By: susan

susan — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:25:29 +0000

I am shocked that none of the comments I’ve read address the issue of May’s deal with Dion not to run a liberal candidate in this riding. I’m not a liberal myself, but I find this act to be outrageously undemocratic. Who do these two think they are to unilaterally remove the right of the electorate to vote for a major political party? I find it appalling that one so self-righteous as May is about the green party’s supposed commitment to democracy could pull off such a transparently hypocritical stunt. Voters in this riding shouldn’t put up with arrogant politicians screwing with their democratic rights to manipulate election results. Vote ABM (Anyone But May)!!

By: Lightning Thunder Boy

Lightning Thunder Boy — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 03:21:16 +0000

Elizabeth should do what she knows is right and resign. Environment is not a political issue and she knows it. It’s like having ‘breathing’ as part of your policy. Ultimately all her party is doing is preventing the Liberals from implementing an environmental policy based on reality. In this riding, because another one of her ‘genius’ electoral strategies, there are no Liberals to vote for. She is without a doubt a concerned environmentalist but she is no politician. I think the greenies would rather wear a hair shirt than actually help the environment. Sad.

By: Kai

Kai — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:30:08 +0000

I think that after her very strong debate showing, Elizabeth May is going to get serious consideration by Liberal and NDP voters. I think the NDP will be the third place spoiler, with May coming in second to Peter McKay. Which is a pity, because she’s proved herself capable of effectively developing, costing, and defending good policies, something the more ‘viable’ parties have refused (or failed) to do.

By: Wilf Day

Wilf Day — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:06:32 +0000

As noted above, the NDP has two provincial MLAs here. A report from the campaign says they’re working very hard, with a substantial volunteer base. They had to re-order signs. The two sitting MLAs are working their areas tirelessly. The campaign team has two co-managers, both capable, both from the riding. One has managed winning campaigns before. They feel Louise is solidly in second place at the moment. May has made in-roads among younger voters and at the university, but not nearly what she would need to be a real threat to MacKay. MacKay hasn’t left the riding, unlike the last election, and has been canvassing and mainstreeting hard. He’s not taking it for granted.

By: Kent Buchanan

Kent Buchanan — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 03:34:20 +0000

Important for people doing the NDP-Green dance: The vote percentages shown on VoteForTheEnvironment and on this site are projections based on a mathematical model and are not actually polling results within this riding. This site, for instance, looks at national polls with regional breakdowns (like “Atlantic”), and combines this with an analysis of how each area and riding have swung between parties in past elections. Finally, in special cases like this one where a party leader is tossed in the mix, a guess is made about how voters will react, and voila… you have the numbers that people are talking about in posts 11-14.

SO… what does this mean?

a) these are projections refined with guesses, not polls, so don’t write Elizabeth off based on these numbers

b) despite these projections, VoteForTheEnvironment still recommends voting Green in this riding

c) if you’d like to know actual polling results, call up the May, McKay, or Lorefice office… or a few hundred random phone numbers in the riding, and let us know what you find out

By: Japea

Japea — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:21:50 +0000

I think everyone is forgetting the growth in support the NDP has seen provincially over the past few elections and the grassroots organization that comes with that. Of the 5 provincial riding that make up Central Nova 2 are held by NDP MLAâ€™s, they lost the 3rd by around 100 votes and they came a strong second in the 4th. The only riding that they came third in was Antigonish, were Lorefice has raised a family of 8 and taught school for over 30 years (makes for a lot of support). As far as the VoteForTheEnviroment poll is concerned they show the greens running 3rd with the CONS and NDP neck and neck. To achieve even this3rd place for the Greens the site says that it believes that 25% of the NDP vote from 2006 will go to the Greens and that the Liberal vote will be split 3% NDP, 8%CONS, 58% for the Greens and the rest will not vote. This is very unrealistic in my view. If we donâ€™t want a Harper majority we need to vote NDP!

By: Bill Ross

Bill Ross — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:02:43 +0000

I agree with janfromthebruce (12). Every poll I looked at showed the NDP ahead of the Greens. Still, VoteForTheEnviroment and VotePair are recommending Elizabeth May. If May doesn’t take the lead after the debate, she should tell her supporters to vote NDP. Otherwise, there will be another split vote, and another win for MacKay/Harper.

By: janfromthebruce

janfromthebruce — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 01:29:59 +0000

Take note of the latest voting poll here in democraticspace.

2 Central Nova 43 – 47% 31 – 35% 19 – 23% CONSERV.

May is now running a poor third behind the NDP and with McKay way out front.
Since she is a big pusher for “strategic voting” to prevent the Conservatives from getting a majority – she now needs to walk the plank or die on her sword (so to speak)
Walk the talk here – and tell those voters in Central Nova to vote NDP. As you are quoted in the press saying that Greens should consider voting differently if they don’t stand a chance of winning. It looks here that you are way behind – time to do the right thing!

By: janfromthebruce

janfromthebruce — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 04:16:53 +0000

Interesting this is recommending to vote for May here, as the all polls have the NDP in the lead over the Greens for distant 2nd place to McKay. See all the poll results for NS – http://www.voteforenvironment.ca/node/221.
Not one poll has May ahead of LOREFICE.

By: Darcy Lindzon

Darcy Lindzon — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:47:07 +0000

I’d vote for May.

By: Patrick L

Patrick L — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:29:12 +0000

I don’t know if the Greens will be able to go from 671 votes and beat the NDP and MacKay and collect 17,000 votes suddenly, even if Elizabeth May gets more attention this time around, tough task.

By: Max

Max — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:09:45 +0000

I hope May win this. She deserves to win

By: Chuck

Chuck — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:23:27 +0000

Well, I hope all my relatives in the Town of Pictou vote “Green” this time!

By: Sean Kelly

Sean Kelly — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:35:11 +0000

Without the Liberals in the running here, there’s a small chance that either the NDP or Greens can steal this seat from MacKay.

The NDP is a safer call at the moment but, as party leader, May gains an instant advantage which may eventually tip the scales in her favour. It will still take a lot of work on May’s part, though, to convince the constituents that she will work for their best interests despite the fact that she has no previous connections to the riding.

It all comes down to whether the NDP or the Green Party can amass enough momentum to become perceived as the only viable rallying point for the progressive vote in Central Nova.

Otherwise, the split vote will lead to the status quo … after all, MacKay is rather popular here.

Should be an exciting race!