Stephen Harper's Quebec Problem....
I'd like to hear more from Stephen Harper about Quebec. It seems clear that if the Conservatives win the next election, they will have NO seats from Quebec. This situation plays right into the hands of Boisclair in two ways.
First, he can rant and rave (with conviction) about a Federal Government with no representation from Quebec.
Second, who exactly will champion the Federalist cause in Quebec? Jean Charest? I don't think so. And, this is not just a problem for the Conservatives - the Liberals have no champion either.
The last think we need is a constitutional crisis over Quebec. The Liberals have taken an important issue and used it for partisan financial purposes. This is their biggest crime. In fact, I don't really mind if they steal a few million here and there - but the fact that they played loose with our Federation is really scandalous. I can't vote for them because of it.
But, a Stephen Harper government will have to face up to its own serious Quebec problem, and I have yet to hear any serious talk about it.
posted by GayandRight @ 1:19 PM
8 Comments:
The CPC is at 4% in Quebec. Even the Green Party gets 6 % in Alberta, and they are invisible.
Harper is screwed in the east. He will be lucky to hold on to his BC seats.
Your are in the wrong party.
Some Quebec ridings are in play for the Conservatives - Pontiac has astrong candidate and the Liberal incumbent MP David Smith isn't doing to well.
See http://angrygwn.mu.nu/archives/134282.php
This isssue is bigger than just electing one or two MPs from Quebec. Who exactly will lead the fight againt separation if Harper wins?
Who will lead the fight against Alberta Separation if Martin wins?
Martin had his chance and not only failed Quebec, but has managed to stir similar feelings in Alberta.
Harper can't do worse, and some of us think he can do a whole lot better. He pulled the Aliance and Conservative party together and folks said that was impossible. We shouldn't write him off until we give him a chance. Four years goes by quickly - if he doesn't prove himself, then throw him out in four years. But at least give him a chance.
We need a new federalist standard bearer in Quebec. Unfortunately, Stephen Harper is not getting any traction. Nor does he have the organization to deliver any support he might otherwise have.
In many respects, the Liberals have the same problem with organization. Much of the organization they do have has been paid for with patronage and AdScam money. Loyalty does not come cheap.
Lacking these levers (which is a good thing), most CPC constituency associations are empty shells and local campaigns are run on a shoe string. Not surprisingly, some of the local candidates are disgruntled with the lack of support they get from the party. Grassroots organization needs soil to take root, and unfortunately the soil is pretty thin.
Part of the problem, though, is that while CPC members now know enough to stick to the party line on social issues to avoid embarassment, Quebec seems to be fair game for some less enlightened viewpoints about Quebec's role in the country.(See Let Them Go?) No party can win a majority without Quebec. The CPC simply cannot afford to write Quebec off.
We face an urgent crisit in Quebec. The PQ look set to win the next election; Boislair is young and charismatic; and there is nobody right now, on either side of Parliament, who looks set to lead the federalist forces. This is a huge problem.
Fred:
Where you see a problem, I see an opportunity.
There is a significant portion of the Canadian population that is fed up with the Quebec question and just wants it to go away.
These people are motivated not by bigotry, but by frustration. They are frustrated to see so much of our country's energies focussed on trying to appease Quebec, only to see its demands continually raised with no concessions in return to Canada.
The Quebec question has enervated Canada, economically and culturally. We have spent so much time trying asking ourselves "What does Quebec want?" that we have never asked "What does Canada want?"
Moreover, there is a growing realization that Quebec stands in the way of Canada achieving many of the serious economic, governmental and social reforms necessary to ensure our survival as a free and prosperous nation.
The Liberal Party's vision of a bilingual, multicultural nation flies in the face of reality. Moreover, it denies Canada a cultural identity of its own without Quebec, even though Quebec's cultural identity does not perforce include Canada.
The sponsorship scandal, with its crude attempts to win the primary affections of a people for a country whose affections it has never had, may have been that vision's last gasp.
Quebec is rightly insulted by the notion that its loyalty can be bought by a few free flags.
And Canada should be ashamed to find itself begging for Quebec to stay so it can have something else to define its identity by other than being "not American."
The Conservative Party has a golden opportunity to become the party for Canada (English Canada, if you prefer) in a way that the Bloc Quebecois is the party for Quebec.
The Conservative Party should not try to imitate the failed vision of the Liberal Party in hopes of supplanting it as the default party for Anglophones, immigrants, federal civil servants, and profiteers from government largesse in Quebec.
It should, instead, articulate a vision of Canada that can survive with or without Quebec.
Being a redneck Albertan.I'm all for Quebec separation.Lets face it,if Quebec separates,Alberta won't have to.And the rest of Canada will be better off.Alberta is supporting this country and Quebec is just dragging us down.I'm so sick of hearing about Quebec.With the language crap rammed down our throats and Although we in the west support the country,(if you don't believe me look it up)we have no political say in anything Ottawa does.
We need better regional representation.In the last election the Liberals had already won before I had even cast my ballot.
I hope this new PQ leader wins the next provincial election so we can get on with our lives.
Life's looking better with the Liberals cutting their own throats.It's so much fun watching them make excuses at every turn for the sponsership scandal.It's really quite pathetic.
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