What does it say about Canada that the only time we have had a female Prime Minister...

Dan Neuman 🇨🇦

@chris @john Anybody can be a member, but the BC Liberal Party is a neo-liberal party (business liberalism) and is more aligned to the conservatives. It will be a sad day if the Liberal Party of Canada (social liberalism) swerves that far right.

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸

@dan613 @john with all due respect, I think the the Federal party has been a neo-liberal bastion since at least Paul Martin.

Dan Neuman 🇨🇦

@chris @john And yet we got higher taxes for the rich, more supports for the poor and middle class.

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸

@stephanie Sounds like we can expect an announcement any time now!

403 Forbidden

(theprovince.com)

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸

@dan613 @john we did. though I do wonder how much of the social programs we saw were a direct result of the NDP agreement. (and to be perfectly fair, I know many who would say there is plenty of neo-Liberalism lurking in the NDP these days as well... education policy especially)

Michael Russell

@chris Ugh. Please, I'm trying to eat lunch here. @stephanie

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸

@michaelrussell @stephanie
Apologies

Ellen Cornelis

@chris can you summarize to ignorant foreigner what’s happening now in CA politics. I think I only knew Trudeau and Poillievre.

Dan Neuman 🇨🇦

@chris @john The NDP prioritized pharmacare and dental care. The LPC had already implemented a carbon fee and rebate, as well as increasing childcare support and returning CPP eligibility back to age 65. Paul Martin had once tried to get the a national childcare program (scuppered by Layton) so I think that was also an LPC plan.

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸

@dan613 @john please don't assign to Layton, the actions of Stephen Harper. People could have voted for an NDP government and that childcare program Martin proposed would have happened in the first term.

Paul Turnbull 🇨🇦 🇺🇦 🇵🇸

@chris I think the NDP should sponsor here campaign as she’s one the best chances they have.

Dan Neuman 🇨🇦

@chris @john Layton brought down the Martin government.

John Mierau

@dan613 @chris we are demonstrating how complex the personalities and interactions of lib/NDP parties AND THEIR flagbearers... Of whom frankly none at all seem innocent to me

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸

@Chigaze

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸

@john @dan613 indeed.

The Sponsorship Scandal brought down the Martin government.

I really REALLY hate it when federal Liberal Party supporters blame other parties for the failings of the Liberal Party (in this case, the Sponsorship Scandal.

Not even Conservative Party supporters do this... instead, they lump the NDP and Liberals in together.

Really what it boils down to is the partisans in both the Conservative and Liberal party hate the idea of the NDP ever gaining power because it means *they* won't have power. Meanwhile, many regular voters move their vote between Conservative and Liberal and NDP... if they didn't, why would we even have campaigns.

But I digress.

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸

@e_cornelis Hi Ellen!

Essentially Trudeau has announced his intention to resign.

When a leader of a party is going to leave (outside of an election), it is their choice to resign immediately or to launch a leadership race for their successor.

He chose the leadership race.

He also chose to prorogue (suspend) parliament. So there is currently no legislative business happening in the Canadian Parliament at all. The opposition parties are essentially left to their own devices and at this point are kind of shoved aside in the news cycle because they don't have the natural stage of the House of Commons to say their piece.

So as far as what the focus is now for Canadian Politics, it will be the Leadership Race for the Liberal Party of Canada, the successor for Trudeau, and thus the person who will take his job as Prime Minister at least until the next election.

The Liberal Party announced yesterday that the Leadership race will be complete by March 9.

Political pundits then believe there will be an election called soon after. Canadians will likely vote in that election in April or May.

Christopher Griffiths

@chris If she decides to throw her hat in the ring, I may (for the first time ever with any party) get a membership just to support someone else. That’s assuming there’s anyone worth supporting.

Geoff Berner

@chris There's some weird money behind this "what about Christy Clark?" stuff. Her ex-husband is a professional political bagman. She's not popular in BC, and nobody outside BC has ever heard of her. If she's the leader I wouldn't even favor strategic voting, because she'll do everything PP would do. She'd just lie cheerfully about it more before she did it.

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸

@cjgyt i just listened to her fumble around in an interview with CBC as they questioned her about wherher she had a CPC membership or not and they caught her contradicting herself at which point she blamed the CPC for potentially "fabricating" something.

So this is going to be a BLAST
(interviews airs on the House tomorrow)

Chris Alemany🇺🇦🇨🇦🇪🇸

@Geoffberner