rock the vote!
Mar. 27th, 2011 01:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rockinhamburgerCanada's having an election in May!
For my non-Canadian friends out there, I thought I'd put together a little rundown of the Canadian electoral process. So, to begin, Canada (like the United Kingdom) is a Constitutional Monarch. The Queen is the official leader of Canada, but she is represented by the Governor General and Parliament; the Queen rules, but does not govern.
Parliament
is made of up two parts; the Senate, which is comprised of 105 people appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, and The House of Commons, comprised of 308 people who are voted in by Canadian Citizens.
Candidacy
In the United States, there are three political parties; the Democratic, Republican, and Independent. In Canada, we have way more. There are basically five leading Parties that are considered the ones people care about.
The Liberal Party
The Conservative Party
The New Democratic Party
The Green Party
and also, within the province of Quebec, the Bloc Quebecois Party
These Parties are the big guys, but even within that contingency the only Parties that ever get elected to run these days are the Liberal and Conservative Parties. They have the most financial and vocal support from outside sources, and they've been around for a long time.
But there are other Parties, and here are a few that I find striking:
Communist Party of Canada
Marijuana Party
Marxist-Leninist Party
Yes, really; those are actually on the ballot.
So, the Government:
Canada is divided into geographically based electoral districts or ridings (also called constituencies). Voters in each district elect a single representative, who is authorized to represent them in their legislature.
During a general election, elections are held simultaneously in each electoral district. The outcome of those district elections, in turn, determines who will form the government. Which party forms the government upon the outcome of an election depends on how well these political parties fare across all of the electoral districts. Generally in Canada, the political party that elects the most number of representatives forms the government. Typically, the leading party forms either a majority or minority government.
Majority and minority governments? What the fuck are those?
Great question! Majority means that a political party received the majority of votes in electoral districts and therefore seats in Parliament. Minority means that the political party with the leading number of votes is elected, but because they did not receive enough votes to warrant a majority leadership they must run all decisions by the other party representatives in the House of Commons.
In the US, an election happens every four years (with midterms in between), but in Canada an election can be called at virtually any time. Up until two days ago, Canada was governed by the Conservative Party, but they were dissolved by the combined efforts of the constituents in the House of Commons. Essentially, the Conservative Party was deemed unfit for leadership by the other parties, so the other parties formed a coalition to dissolve the government and call for an election.
Stephen Harper was our Prime Minister, and he was a social conservative. To put it mildly (I'm Canadian, so I'm polite XD), I'm not a fan. So I don't mind, at this point, which Party wins in the election as long as we get rid of the conservatives. They're basically the Canadian version of the Republican Party, so I never see eye-to-eye with their political and social views and efforts. Luckily, Harper was so disliked by the other political parties that he has been booted out.
Basically, Canada doesn't have an official government or Prime Minister right now. Campaigning has started, which means that political parties can begin to get the word out about the constituents in each district, by traveling around and speaking to the people, by putting up signs and running ads on television. There will be a debate between the leaders of the main, registered parties on television in the coming weeks, where the leaders of each party have a chance to answer questions and call each other out. They're so much fun to watch.
Unfortunately, we're also treated to attack ads on television. They make me so angry I have to mute the television every time. I hate that shit! I don't need you you to skew the facts so you can cast a party in a negative light; I'm informed enough to know what I want in a political party, so all you need to do is describe your policies, and what you endeavor to do if you're elected, in a transparent, honest manner, and then I'll decide for myself if I think you're suitable. Quit it with the manipulation!
So Canada's having an election in May. The Conservative government is out, and I am so fucking relieved. The Conservative Party was both subtly and overtly anti-woman, anti-LGBT, anti-environment, and their financial endeavours were nonsensical and shameful. They had to go, and I'm so glad Parliament saw that as well.
Politics YAY! So exciting!
(If you have any questions, feel free to ask!)
For my non-Canadian friends out there, I thought I'd put together a little rundown of the Canadian electoral process. So, to begin, Canada (like the United Kingdom) is a Constitutional Monarch. The Queen is the official leader of Canada, but she is represented by the Governor General and Parliament; the Queen rules, but does not govern.
Parliament
is made of up two parts; the Senate, which is comprised of 105 people appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, and The House of Commons, comprised of 308 people who are voted in by Canadian Citizens.
Candidacy
In the United States, there are three political parties; the Democratic, Republican, and Independent. In Canada, we have way more. There are basically five leading Parties that are considered the ones people care about.
The Liberal Party
The Conservative Party
The New Democratic Party
The Green Party
and also, within the province of Quebec, the Bloc Quebecois Party
These Parties are the big guys, but even within that contingency the only Parties that ever get elected to run these days are the Liberal and Conservative Parties. They have the most financial and vocal support from outside sources, and they've been around for a long time.
But there are other Parties, and here are a few that I find striking:
Communist Party of Canada
Marijuana Party
Marxist-Leninist Party
Yes, really; those are actually on the ballot.
So, the Government:
Canada is divided into geographically based electoral districts or ridings (also called constituencies). Voters in each district elect a single representative, who is authorized to represent them in their legislature.
During a general election, elections are held simultaneously in each electoral district. The outcome of those district elections, in turn, determines who will form the government. Which party forms the government upon the outcome of an election depends on how well these political parties fare across all of the electoral districts. Generally in Canada, the political party that elects the most number of representatives forms the government. Typically, the leading party forms either a majority or minority government.
Majority and minority governments? What the fuck are those?
Great question! Majority means that a political party received the majority of votes in electoral districts and therefore seats in Parliament. Minority means that the political party with the leading number of votes is elected, but because they did not receive enough votes to warrant a majority leadership they must run all decisions by the other party representatives in the House of Commons.
In the US, an election happens every four years (with midterms in between), but in Canada an election can be called at virtually any time. Up until two days ago, Canada was governed by the Conservative Party, but they were dissolved by the combined efforts of the constituents in the House of Commons. Essentially, the Conservative Party was deemed unfit for leadership by the other parties, so the other parties formed a coalition to dissolve the government and call for an election.
Stephen Harper was our Prime Minister, and he was a social conservative. To put it mildly (I'm Canadian, so I'm polite XD), I'm not a fan. So I don't mind, at this point, which Party wins in the election as long as we get rid of the conservatives. They're basically the Canadian version of the Republican Party, so I never see eye-to-eye with their political and social views and efforts. Luckily, Harper was so disliked by the other political parties that he has been booted out.
Basically, Canada doesn't have an official government or Prime Minister right now. Campaigning has started, which means that political parties can begin to get the word out about the constituents in each district, by traveling around and speaking to the people, by putting up signs and running ads on television. There will be a debate between the leaders of the main, registered parties on television in the coming weeks, where the leaders of each party have a chance to answer questions and call each other out. They're so much fun to watch.
Unfortunately, we're also treated to attack ads on television. They make me so angry I have to mute the television every time. I hate that shit! I don't need you you to skew the facts so you can cast a party in a negative light; I'm informed enough to know what I want in a political party, so all you need to do is describe your policies, and what you endeavor to do if you're elected, in a transparent, honest manner, and then I'll decide for myself if I think you're suitable. Quit it with the manipulation!
So Canada's having an election in May. The Conservative government is out, and I am so fucking relieved. The Conservative Party was both subtly and overtly anti-woman, anti-LGBT, anti-environment, and their financial endeavours were nonsensical and shameful. They had to go, and I'm so glad Parliament saw that as well.
Politics YAY! So exciting!
(If you have any questions, feel free to ask!)
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no subject
Date: 2011-03-27 06:43 pm (UTC)Apparently I get to vote for the first time this year. Er, I have no idea if you'd know this, but is it too late to register? ;; I kept forgetting to send off that registrant's form and now I'm afraid I just won't be able to vote after all.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-27 07:36 pm (UTC)Oooh, first time voting! The last election was my first time, actually, and it was a really exciting feeling. I'm so invested in this process, I actually get frustrated when I talk to people in my age demographic who say they don't care about politics. This is one of the most important opportunities we have as democratic citizen, and it's an awesome privilege. (I get even more frustrated when women say that; there was a time we literally had no voice because we weren't considered human enough to have the right to vote. We gotta take advantage of that!) So I'm really happy to hear you're excited too.
For your information, Elections Canada runs a website to help make this process really simply. You can find it right here (http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=ele&dir=41ge&document=index&lang=e), and it'll help you figure out everything you need to know. I think you can even just show up to your voting station, and they'll let your register right there. You have to bring forms of ID and proof of citizenship, but it's all very easy to do. You can always make absolutely sure that you're registered, though, because the last thing you want is to get there and find out you can't vote for some reason. That happened to my sister (I can't remember why), and she was so upset, understandably. Anyway, that website will definitely help you out. Let me know how it goes :)
On a separate note, how are you, bb!?!?
no subject
Date: 2011-03-27 07:57 pm (UTC)Thank you so much for the link! :) I will definitely have to work things out and cross my fingers that I can still squeeze in.
I'm doing okay! I'm still on the jobhunt and getting steadily more broke/into debt, buuut I guess that's life. :| I can't complain about my love life or friends though, so I can say I'm pretty happy besides. What about you?
no subject
Date: 2011-03-27 11:15 pm (UTC)Anyyyways. It's been interesting to watch all of this unfold. However, because I'm in a journalism class, I've been following for this since the beginning, and we've been discussing it. To start, a funny quote, "The Canadian government is always in a state of unrest; just like teenage girls." Which I kind of agree with, to be honest.
The other thing that came up is that the majority of us believe that Harper'll be back in office. Because the majority of Canadians are in their older years of life, they believe in the ideals that Harper represents, which is why any election we have right now will most likely give us the same results.
To add to that, however, I'm honestly not the biggest political fan. Not because I don't care what happens, but because I've never had an interest. I do, however, realize that it's my right and a responsibility, so I'm taking advantage of it. It also means I have a lot to catch up on. :p
http://rockinhamburger.livejournal.com/
Date: 2011-03-28 02:58 pm (UTC)Well, I just really hope Harper isn't back in office again. I seriously really don't like the guy, and if I have to see his face for again, for an undetermined period of time, I might just move.
Yeah, right. Where would I even go?
Oh, for sure. It's not something that happens overnight, and by itself it's not all that interesting, but when you look at whole picture and see the significance of the process.... I don't know, it just fascinates me :)
Re: http://rockinhamburger.livejournal.com/
Date: 2011-03-29 01:10 am (UTC)For sure, it'll be interesting to see what happens, that's for sure. :)
There's no where else to goooooooo! :p
Also: my sister has decided that she's going to be the first female Prime Minister. WHICH WILL TOTALLY HAPPEN, I'M JUST SAYING! :D
no subject
Date: 2011-03-28 01:08 pm (UTC)And I know this is just, like, *sigh, typical American,* but I know embarrassingly little about Canada and I really should endeavor to fix that. (I did honeymoon in Nova Scotia, though, so I have only pleasant associations!)
"...but in Canada an election can be called at virtually any time. Up until two days ago, Canada was governed by the Conservative Party, but they were dissolved by the combined efforts of the constituents in the House of Commons."
That is EXTREMELY interesting - I had no idea that was how it worked! Is is the sort of thing people know about ahead of time, or do the citizens basically just wake up one morning and find that the political party has been ousted and there's now going to be an election?
no subject
Date: 2011-03-28 02:44 pm (UTC)Oh, listen, don't feel bad! I know plenty of Canadians who know nothing about Canada. And hey, at least you've been here, so you wouldn't claim we all live in igloos and ride bobsleds with huskies to school!
Is is the sort of thing people know about ahead of time, or do the citizens basically just wake up one morning and find that the political party has been ousted and there's now going to be an election?
Oh yeah, we definitely knew about it beforehand! There was this epic showdown on television, with people shouting at each other in the Parliament building in both english and french. And I had to be in CLASS, damn it! A few days beforehand there were reports that the other parties would combine to take down Harper.
But this has actually been brewing for over a year. In January 2009, the Conservative government was late in representing the annual budget, so the other party representatives demanded that Harper present the Conservatives' budget. They threatened to form a coalition government then, but Harper stopped that in his tracks by 'proroguing', or suspending Parliament. Then the same thing happened again LAST January, right before the 2010 Winter Olympics, but nothing came of it. So, yeah, it's about damn time this happened.
Canadian politics are interesting. It's generally understood that Canada is a tolerant, accepting place, and yet Stephen Harper was against abortion (tried to pass legislation to change policies in this really sneaky, underhanded way a few years ago; still makes me blood boil), and he's for the death penalty. He's also against same-sex marriage, and although he hasn't managed to push for these things too much (or at all; the other parties push back hard), it still makes me uneasy that he's Prime Minister of this country.
I'm just worried we're about to waste 300 million dollars on an election that could turn out with the exact same results. Most people in this country are left of centre, but there are three left of centre parties for those people to choose from, which divides those votes. So the conservatives get the most votes basically by default.
WOW, okay, I'm gonna stop rambling facts and complaints at you.
Thanks for putting up with it :)
no subject
Date: 2011-04-10 02:29 am (UTC)I am so LOST right now you have no idea. I hate the Conservative Party with a passion and I'm glad we have a chance to get them out of there(before...wouah. I wanted to slap Harper so *hard* sometimes), but the thing is...
...for who am I going to vote now? xD
Last time I voted for Layton...because Conservatives are a big no-no, and I think the Liberal party had the chance to prove itself several times over and I'm just generally not convinced...and the Bloc Quebecois, even though I live in Quebec...well, voting for them only helps to have Quebec's voice heard, but it doesn't elect anybody as the Prime Minister.
...but dammit, we need a new party! I'm just voting for the one who seems to be giving me the smallest amount of bullshit...not cool. I want a party I actually like.
Anyway. I guess we'll see at the 'Débat des Chefs'(don't know what they call it in English ;P).
On another note, I just discovered your fics, and I'm going to work my way through them right now, mwahaha!
I'm off to read, bye! :)