Advantage Conservatives in P.G. Ridings says Prof
Prince George, B.C. – An SFU political scientist likes the odds of the federal Conservatives retaining their two Prince George area ridings.
Cara Camcastle says it’s an easy prediction to make considering not one of the opposition parties has a candidate in place or even a nomination meeting scheduled.
“Oh yes, it does make a big difference,” says Camcastle. “Because what’s important is to mobilize the grassroots and to train the volunteers so that they’re ready once the writ drops.”
However federal NDP spokesperson George Soule, whose party finished second in both ridings in 2011, doesn’t buy that theory.
“Obviously these things take time and a lot of the other parties talk about having open nominations, we have a genuinely democratic and truly member driven process so that helps us make sure we have a candidate that actually represents the folks in the community and is supported by new democrats as well.”
However Julian Morelli, communications director for the Green Party, concedes the sooner a candidate is in place the better.
“Well, you always try to stay ahead of the curve. The fact is some ridings are in a situation where maybe they have their organization group in place,” he says. “So it’s fair to say you’d rather be organized but it’s not detrimental. It’s the type of candidate you get and the quality of the campaign committee and that’s what we’re working towards.”
Liberal spokesperson Oliver Duchesneau concedes his party may not have a candidate in place or even a meeting scheduled in either riding, but notes his party has the lead across the country in that department.
“The last time I checked on the Elections Canada website we had more candidates in place across the country than the Conservatives (238 out of 338 ridings). We can’t do all the nomination meetings at the same time and we are continuing the pace.”
He also dismisses the notion his party isn’t taking the ridings seriously (Cariboo-Prince George & Prince George-Peace River).
“No, not at all. We still have 30% of ridings that haven’t had nomination meetings so far.”
However Camcastle isn’t buying that argument.
“Oh yes, of course (they’re not taking the ridings seriously),” she says. “There are more competitive ridings where many more people come forward to run. Candidates come forward in a riding where there’s a chance that the party will win.”
The federal election is scheduled to take place this October.
Comments
Of course they will. Common sense prevails in this part of the country. We simply have no appetite for a part time drama teacher with nothing going for him but the groupie mentality of lemming liberal voters dreaming of a return to PET’s reign of ridicule.
Those Political Science courses must be a real snoozefest. Just wake up at the end and state the obvious.
Maybe this time around pg will get a federally funded gazebo and cheaper guns of coarse . Cheaper guns, that’s what pg needs more than anything else , right Bob .
Disappointing, but not surprising. I would love to see our city send another party at least one time, so the conservatives don’t take our seats for granted. But, this is exactly why the nomination vote is so important in our city. God forbid we vote for another party
Just wait and see. Our country deserves better than what we are being put through.
Quebec will vote Conservative and ensure Stevie wins again. Canadian Politics 101.
Justin has won over the swooning masses of clueless liberal followers everywhere, but where it matters most. The ridings that didn’t vote Liberal in the last election. But the local liberal cadre are giddy with delight like teen girls waiting for the arrival of the Bay City Rollers. The next federal election should be good for a laugh.
Another 4 years of Harper and Canada will be done, his party cannot say they are Conservatives because their all ultra right wing reformers and belong in the southern states if even they would have them.
Maybe if the election wasn’t decided by Ont and Quebec more westerners would vote.
South of the border the people get to vote directly to elect a President who will then lead the country – we vote for a party which then has a convention where delegates choose and decide who THEY like to become Prime Minister and run the country. By then the voters are already out of the loop. Just the expression Harper Government tells the whole story. The Canadian Government (the one of all Canadians) is hardly ever mentioned in discussions any more. Pity.
Even the private members bills are whipped. The illusion of democray is all we get . Some one always points out the obvious , Quebec and Ontario claims the prize , first past the post . This would all change if Greens got their way . Proportional representation is the only way out .
And Stivie has a huge election fund, the people of Canada’s tax dollars so why shouldn’t he be first.
Cheers
Actually in the US they have the electoral college, that chooses the president.
Electoral reform in Canada is a Constitutional challenge and that requires all the provinces climbing aboard. You know the ones most harmed by reform?
What a waste of a student loan.
Israel has rep by pop, and how does that work for the whining left? Just ensures some fringe party with a handful of votes controls who governs. Also ensures immigration reform never happens as European countries, especially those progressive bastions in Scandinavia, are finding out. To their great expense.
PrinceGeorge said in part Tuesday, April 14, 2015 @ 2:58 PM
South of the border the people get to vote directly to elect a President who will then lead the country –
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Not correct Prince George
The election of the President and the Vice President of the United States is an indirect vote in which citizens cast ballots for a slate of members of the U.S. Electoral College; these electors in turn directly elect the President and Vice President.
“Quebec and Ontario claims the prize , first past the post . This would all change if Greens got their way”
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In the case of Quebec, it wouldn’t change at all. Their 78 seats under the new model is almost exactly what they should have based on their population (23.28% of the seats and 23.22% of the population). Ontario is actually underrepresented with 121 seats. Based on population they should have 131 seats. BC is underrepresented by roughly 2 seats, while Alberta by about 3.
So, if you want to complain about being underrepresented, don’t lay the blame on Ontario and Quebec. Look to Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Atlantic Provinces. You should also look to the territories, but that seems a bit petty being as how they only have one seat each. Sort of tough to have a fractional MP, LOL ;)
“Israel has rep by pop, and how does that work for the whining left?”
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Well I suppose it means that everyone who voted is heard, regardless of their political slant. Isn’t that what democracy is supposed to be about? Or, do you subscribe to the view that the people are only right if they agree with you?
Ah yes Jimmy…funny how you talk about the swooning masses that are attracted to Justin Trudeau, yet say nothing about the the Brainwashed masses with their heads so far up Stevie’s “YOU KNOW WHAT” that we can’t tell where Stevie stops, and the rest of you NEO CONs begin!
And before you start calling me a leftie…I will tell you that I was a memeber of the PC Party of Canada until it was hijacked by the Reformers!
The way the usa does it is definitely different than us as stated earlier.
The United States Electoral College is the institution that officially elects the President and Vice President of the United States every four years. The President and Vice President are not elected directly by the voters. Instead, they are elected by “electors” who are chosen by popular vote on a state-by-state basis.
So they don’t vote directly for the president.. they vote for the person who says they will vote for the president they want.. but it has happened a few times where the “electors” went against what the state wanted.. its rare but has happened..
We are kind of in the same boat when it comes to that… our MP says they will look after our best interests but they always vote how the prime minister/party tells them to even if its detrimental for the MPs area.
Right now it seems to me that Harper runs on his own agenda.. and his cabinet just follows like sheep..
“So they don’t vote directly for the president.. they vote for the person who says they will vote for the president they want.. but it has happened a few times where the “electors” went against what the state wanted.. its rare but has happened..”
Partly true as each state gets a number of electors which are to honour the vote count, but at least they get to vote for the president of their choice on a ballot! When was the last time we got the opportunity to mark a ballot for electing a prime minister? He is chosen by the party, as are any potential replacements during a term.
Well PG even that is only partially true. For the electoral college vote they get a vote for each representative and senator that their state is allocated… but not all states divide their votes up in first past the post winner takes all fashion.
Some states forward their allocation to the electoral college proportional to the state vote… like California, which is why it doesn’t get much attention during the presidential campaign… others give all their vote to the winner and these are the states the presidential candidates will focus on most if they have a chance at taking that state.
In Canada we have a Westminister style legislative government and yes we would need to amend the constitution to go to an American style form of government, but its not the government for that is the problem, but rather the people that form government that are the problem.
In Canada we can change the way we elect our representatives to the legislature without constitutional change. In BC we once had the single transferable ballot that elected the first WAC Bennet minority government… a coalition of independents that only formed a league months prior to the election and defeated the liberals and conservative traditional power parties that tried to rig the system to stem the tide of the socialist movement.
A single transferable ballot is the best system for democracy and the people having a real say in who governs them. It keeps politics local with a locally accountable representative (important in a diverse country like Canada), and requires a 50% approval to get elected so forces consensus of the vote towards the middle, rather than the extremes, and takes the power away from centralized parties… which is why any and all party hacks will evade this option like a plague to their interests.
Being the incumbent under an STV system of vote is no sure bet to getting re-elected, which is another thing the politicians don’t like about it… they would much prefer we debate the merits of proportional representation that empowers more unaccountable back room party hacks. They know the proportional representation option will never fly in such a diverse geography of a country like Canada, so in effect it is support for the status quo.
I support a single transferable ballot, and I think any politician that genuinely did would through their conviction for the single transferable ballot would thus be an advocate for the best interest of Canadian democracy and freedom. We don’t have those politicians in our current system, which is why only half the country participates in democracy any longer… is it really democracy when its a stage managed show between self interested special interest groups that have it fixed between different flavors of the same choice?
Notice how the whining left who opposes any Alberta oil crossing BC to reach Asian markets, therefore denying a basic premise of belonging to a federation, is all about a United Canada and a transferable vote for the betterment of all Canadians.
How altruistic. Sell your vote because you have chosen a political party with no relevance in the local area. That speaks volumes of the lemming mentality. What happened to becoming politically active and creating a grass roots movement to unseat the current MP? Is he so great? Is he so influential in the area? Have we benefited greatly from a Conservative MP instead of an opposition member? Well then what has been the problem?
Just lazy cheerleaders looking for eastern Canadians to foist the son of a fool upon the rest of the nation.
No point responding to Nytehawk the mods don’t allow an equally hysterical post. At least I would have added a bit of wit , instead of a three year old’s tantrum. Next.
united canada.. Thanks for the laugh jimmy.. So because the oil companies have a horrible spill record and even worse cleanup record the ones who don’t want them pumping it through our province are non-unity whiners..you must be a politician to spin doctor like that,.whats Harper paying you to post such junk?
Oh look, another dig from the Kool-Aid drinker’s guide to PR. The one thing missing from so many of these whining progressive’s posts, is an original thought. Next.
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