The NDP – not to be undone by the Liberals – have shown with their platform unveil that they are truly representative of the ‘tax and spend’ progressives that had plagued Canada for years in the ‘70s. They are promising to overindulge in spending by promising $60 billion in four years – funded in part by a corporate tax hike to 18 percent and additional revenue from a cap-n-trade scheme. Progressives will surely be impressed by their promises in creating more jobs, more green initiatives, better healthcare, and higher quality education. To break down the numbers, using the Conservative recent budget proposal in March as a baseline, Jack Layton is promising only $12.6 billion more in this fiscal year, and only $20.7 billion more in 2014-15. However, like the Conservatives and there miraculous discovery of $11 billion – a shortfall supposedly credited in efficiency savings that no one knew about a few weeks ago – the NDP have also found such an increase in savings and are promising to balance the budget a year ahead of schedule in 2014-15. Normally such an unrealistic utopian vision from Mr Layton would not bother Canadians with at least an ounce of sanity and common sense, but it is a very real possibility the NDP could have a role in government if Stephen Harper’s majority is thwarted. As such, the media is treating the NDP’s platform as a serious proposal that could effect change in Canada’s economic policies, also noting the similarities in the progressive offerings between them and the Liberal platform.
Mr Layton is undoubtedly worried about his dropping poll numbers, as he collapses in Ontario but remains competitive with the Tories in BC. There has been an erosion from the NDP to the Liberals in Ontario, credited in part to Michael Ignatieff’s positioning of the Liberals as the only alternative to beat Mr Harper. Therefore, at the platform launch today, Mr Layton was extremely wise to go after the Liberals today, citing much more vitriol against Mr Ignatieff than typical.
While much of the rest of today was uneventful, Gilles Duceppe of the Bloc Quebecois has proven that the a game of hockey – especially one involving a classic matchup between the Habs and Bruins – takes precedence over democracy in Canada. The French debate was originally scheduled for Thursday of this week, but after the Bloc – quickly followed by their coalition partners – complained about the date being set at exactly the same time as the hockey game, it was moved by the consortium of broadcasters to Wednesday. Somehow the story was manipulated by the opposition to be a testament of the Conservative’s undemocratic ways, since it was argued by some that Mr Harper wanted less Canadians to watch the debate. While this is absurd, the coalition partners must be credited for keeping this narrative alive.
In fact, overall the Conservative Party had a pessimistic day. New Nanos numbers show the Conservatives and Liberals tied in Ontario, which suggest a majority will be difficult – if not impossible – to obtain. Also, news has come out that the Conservatives have tried to quietly approve bonuses for their ministerial office staffers, and the optics of this could be disastrous. Further, Stephen Woodworth has been embroiled in a mini-faux scandal in Kitchener Centre, after tweeting an “insensitive” joke on Twitter – with the punch line involving “crippled”. This is not good for the Tories in this riding, as it was taken from the Liberals in the last election by a close margin. Karen Redman – who held the riding until Mr Woodworth defeated her in the 2008 federal election – is running for the Liberals again, and it will be tough one.
Some parts of today are salvageable for the Conservatives, however. Speaking to reporters, Harper warned that if he fails to get a majority come 2 May, the opposition will enact policies similar to what was seen in the Trudeau government. Of course, progressives will salivate over the possibility, but the reality is that was a time when unemployment was at double digits, interest rates were high, spending was high, and so were taxes astronomical. While many Canadians have a favourable view of the late Pierre Trudeau – in part due to the indoctrination the education system and media has provided – the bad times in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s will resonate with some.
As for the Liberals, they stayed out of the political spot light mostly today and were really a non-factor. I hear Mr Ignatieff has (or had) a stop in Kingston, Ontario, where Liberal candidate Ted Hsu and Alicia Gordon are in a dead heat to take the former Speaker's seat -- Peter Milliken has since retired. I find it convenient he is there now, since I just left Kingston temporarily to canvass the Waterloo region. (Clearly, this is a politically opportunistic move, because he did not want to face the wrath of Shane Coote in person).
Now, considering what happened today, the NDP solidly “won” on the campaign trail. Their platform release in Toronto stole most of the headlines in the news, and the Conservatives had a rough day.
Day 16 Winner: New Democratic Party
Day 16 Loser: Conservative Party of Canada
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