Canada goes to the polls today, so I suppose that's our pay back for missing the Federal and State elections at home. It's a week day, so no sausage sizzle or community buzz, but apparently you are entitled to 3 hours leave to travel home to vote.
We haven't been all that engaged but the campaign period didn't seem to have the energy and vitriol of elections in Aust. There are more parties for a start, and the federal government doesn't seem to loom as large (the provinces are stronger - I could bore you with the interesting comparisons of the constitutions and conventions of the two countries, but I won't.)
The Greens barely rated a mention, but lots of attention is focused on Bloc Quebecois who have surprisingly lost a lot of support, mostly to the left NDP. Here's the quotes on the front of today's paper:
"How could we accept putting our confidence in people who don't even speak our language?" [Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe in Montreal]
"To make sure the economy stays in track for all of us, and the next Parliament does not raise taxes, Canada needs a stable, majority Conservative government." [Conservatives Leader Stephen Harper in London, On.]
"We know how to balance a budget. We know how to get a deficit under control. We know how to make promises and keep 'em." [Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff in Ajax, Ont.]
"Let's work together... to make life better for seniors who are living in poverty, to make our policies for the environment the most advanced." [NDP Leader Jack Layton in Montreal]
The Quebec/francophone issue is fascinating and a source of great conflict here, most of it below the surface. Canada has brought many surprises to us, knowing relatively little about it before we came, but the quebecois "issue" is the biggest, followed by the contrasts between provinces. (Did you know that Newfoundland was the last province to join the confederation, in 1949? And unwillingly at that.)
OK, I've bored the 2 or 3 of you who could be bothered reading this far enough.
Stay tuned for the results!
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