Manitoba Election

In the last few days I have been quite busy after going to Philadelphia for the weekend, now out to Vancouver and next week off to Europe, so I haven't been able to write much recently. Anyways as for my reaction to the Manitoba Election, I would have preferred the NDP wasn't re-elected, however, considering that Doer has been more centrist than most NDP leaders and Manitoba hasn't suffered from the problems typical under NDP administrations, I am not overly disappointed. After seeing the NDP here in BC, and the destruction they caused, I have developed a strong NDP phobia, even though that probably isn't totally fair as the NDP here was far more ideological than the one in Manitoba. I was glad to see the Liberals hold their two seats and hope when people do eventually turn against the NDP, the Liberals will gain seats. I was disappointed to see the Progressive Conservatives win fewer seats, despite getting more votes, although much of this seems to be caused by the fact they declined in Winnipeg where they were most vulnerable, while went up in Rural Manitoba which was already predominately Progressive Conservative. The one notable exception was Rick Borotsik who defeated NDP cabinet minister Stan Smith in Brandon West. Rick Borotsik was a former Progressive Conservative federally, but quite federal politics due to his dissatisfaction with the PC/Alliance merger. While I think Hugh MacFayden should stay on as leader since the NDP's re-election probably had more to do with Doer's sky high popularity than MacFayden's weaknesses, I think Rick Borotsik would be the best replacement if he decides to step down.

In other news, it looks like the Tories are trying to again cancel the Calgary West nomination to ensure Rob Anders stays MP. Why they are so hell bent on keeping him as MP is beyond me. Even if one supports his extreme right wing views, anyone who understands Canadian politics would realize how big a liability he is to the party elsewhere. Everytime people like him open their mouthes, they turn away moderates like myself from the Tories. In fact I quit the party in part because I don't wish to associate with a party that tolerates people with extreme views like him. The only reason he never gets defeated is Calgary is a place that a monkey under the Tory banner could win, however given the fact he usually does worse than other Conservative MPs in Calgary suggests that even in his home town he isn't too popular and wins more because of his party label rather than himself.

Quebec also might have another election since the ADQ and PQ are threatening to vote against the budget. I can understand why the PQ would not support the budget, but considering the ADQ is a right of centre party that has generally been supportive of tax cuts, it is beyond me why they would want to vote against the budget. The only good thing is maybe this will allow the Quebec Liberals to get a majority.