[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[Grey Fox]

I smell freedom, not common sense.

[crazy canuck]

BB, I think there is something to some MPs being conscious of their pension entitlement being at risk.
But, I just checked and Singh is in one of the safest seats in the Country.  So I don't think the attack on him personally has any validity.

[crazy canuck]

An interesting thing is unfolding in BC politics. The governing NDP party is moving as quickly as they can toward the right.  They are now adopting policies, which they mocked just a few months ago.  The latest is, they are now promising a balanced budget.  It was just last week that the NDP leader mocked the suggestion of proposing such a thing.

They must be seeing something in their room, pulling data, which indicates a significant right word shift of the electorate.

As BB mentioned, it is not unusual for NDP voters to turn conservative in the West. A lot of ridings out here are swinging ridings between the two parties. So my assumption is the NDP is very concerned about the fact that they are now running against an actual conservative party rather than been viewed as a coalition of the Right.

[Barrister]

Trudeau says it 'bugged' him when Singh ended governance agreement without calling first
PM says his relationship with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh 'obviously wasn't what I thought it was'

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, says it 'bugged' him when NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh ended their parliamentary partnership without so much as a phone call. "I know that if I had chosen to end it, it would have started with a call to him," the prime minister said. (Justin Tang, Evan Mitsui/CBC)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it "bugged him" when NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh ended his party's supply and confidence agreement with the Liberals without calling first.

"The relationship obviously wasn't what I thought it was," Trudeau said in a recent conversation with Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith on the Uncommons podcast.

"I know that if I had chosen to end it, it would have started with a call to him. I would have said, 'You know what, Jagmeet? It's not going to work.' You make those tough calls."

For more than an hour, Trudeau and Erskine-Smith — a maverick Liberal MP with record of voting against his own government — touched on a number of topics, including his party's recent byelection losses, his initial approach to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, the message he'll take into the next election and his biggest regret as prime minister.

The supply-and-confidence agreement struck between the Liberals and the NDP in March 2022 committed the NDP to supporting the Liberal government on confidence votes in exchange for legislative commitments on NDP priorities.

The deal, which ensured the survival of the minority Liberal government, was the first such formal agreement between two parties at the federal level. Singh announced the agreement was over last month.

"I don't know why he didn't reach out to call me because ... I know he is genuine in wanting to see this country move forward in more progressive ways," Trudeau said. "For him to do that, that way, it bugged me. It bugged me because I know these things matter to him."

Trudeau said he thinks Singh made the decision because he was under pressure from his base to end the working relationship with the Liberals and create distance between the parties before the recent byelections in Winnipeg and Montréal.

"I wouldn't do that," Trudeau said, adding he believes "there's no hard feelings" over what happened between the two leaders.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/singh-trudeau-erskine-smith-podcast-1.7340507

More included in the link.

I know Trudeau can be a ruthless SOB when he wants to be, so I really don't understand the public posture he's taking, acting liked a jilted lover.  "Well he should have at least called me first".

Do people who aren't me find this to be an effective tactic?

To my mind there's two different ways Trudeau should have gone - either be pissed off, or be dismissive.  You don't have to call Singh names, but he can be mad with the "I thought he was a man of his word / this shows he doesn't really support progressive values".  Or be dismissive "our government has done great things, if Singh doesn't want to be a part of it then good luck to him".

Because at the end of the day an election is coming and Trudeau needs to not only win votes back from the Conservatives, but make sure NDP numbers are suppressed.  I don't see how what he's doing does either.

But that's just me.



One other part that was interesting:

Reflecting on that decision this week, Trudeau said he made two key mistakes in managing that file. The first, he said, was allowing proportional representation to become part of the conversation at all.

"The second one was me not using my majority to bring in, to bring in the model that I wanted," he said.

So I mean I think Trudeau did in fact do the right thing here.  I don't know how he "allowed" Proportional Representation to be a part of the conversation - it inevitably would be.  And it would seem incredibly undemocratic to ram through an electoral system that obviously benefits the Liberal Party on a straight party-line vote.

[viper37]

BB, I think there is something to some MPs being conscious of their pension entitlement being at risk.
But, I just checked and Singh is in one of the safest seats in the Country.  So I don't think the attack on him personally has any validity.

The dude has a Rolex collection.  I don't think he's too worried about his pension.

[viper37]

Original text: j'aurais dû utiliser ma majorité (réforme électorale)

Failed electoral reform: "I should have used my majority," Trudeau says


I guess he realizes that it might have benefited his party after all.

[Grey Fox]

It's not too late! Do it!

[crazy canuck]

Question for the two of you, why is increasing pension benefits popular in Quebec.  Or at least I assume it is because it is the thing being demanded by the BQ.

[Grey Fox]

I don't think it's overly popular in Quebec in general. It is however popular with the generation that votes en masse every election for the BQ. The 65+ years olds that only have government pensions has revenue sources. It's a significant group in Quebec, especially when you also factor in whether they are renters or homeowners.

[viper37]

Question for the two of you, why is increasing pension benefits popular in Quebec.  Or at least I assume it is because it is the thing being demanded by the BQ.

What GF said, with the caveat that BQ support is not a generational thing.  Well, it wasn't until now. I don't know if this will repulse any young voters.

[crazy canuck]

Thanks to both of you.

[crazy canuck]

Wishing everyone on this side of the border a happy Thanksgiving.

[Valmy]

Wishing everyone on this side of the border a happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving Canadians!

Enjoy the holiday poutine.

[Grey Fox]

Joyeuse Action de grâce.

[viper37]

No comments on the India thing?  The New York Times is talking about it on the front page, so it must be big.

Had I not watched the news tonight, I don't think I'd know about it.  La Presse automated system does not seem to think it's a big deal as it's nowhere near he front page right now.