The two contests for the federal leadership, the NDP -- already started -- and the Liberal -- on hold -- give an opportunity to think political realignment in Canada.
These leadership races could be an opportunity for serious debate about proportional representation, to give every person an equal vote, and climate change, the most urgent issue humankind faces, and one where the majority in Parliament is at odds with the majority of Canadians.
As Conservative party elites take over Ottawa Convention Centre for the party's national convention this weekend, a coalition of groups and individuals opposing Prime Minister Stephen Harper's agenda marched through the city demonstrating that while the election is over, they are just beginning their fight against the new Tory majority.
OTTAWA -- Monday's federal budget is expected to unleash one of the biggest assaults on the public sector in Canada's history, says a new Alternative Federal Budget (AFB) report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The report gives Canadians a sense of what to expect from the Harper government's first majority budget, telegraphing a hard shift to the right.
"Despite the government's stay-the-course rhetoric, the budget will lay the foundation for the most aggressive assault on public service delivery in Canadian history," says AFB Coordinator David Macdonald.
National party leaders are criss-crossing Canada testing their messages with supporters and would-be-supporters. In the two-week period before the House of Commons resumes at the end of January, Stephen Harper, Jack Layton, and Michael Ignatieff are off and running in a national pre-election campaign mode.
The Conservatives are leading in the polls, but without enough popular support to win a majority. Looking to make a significant move upwards in the next weeks, Harper has adopted a two-stage "Here for Canada" strategy to ready his party to win the additional 12 seats he needs for a parliamentary majority.
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2.jpg "David Climenhaga, author of the Alberta Diary blog, is a journalist, author, journalism teacher, poet and trade union communicator who has worked in senior writing and editing positions with the Toronto Globe and Mail and the Calgary Herald. His 1995 book, A Poke in the Public Eye, explores the relationships among Canadian journalists, public relations people and politicians. He left journalism after the strike at the Calgary Herald in 1999 and 2000 to work as Communications Director of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, which with more than 73,000 members is Alberta’s largest union and Canada’s 10th largest. Alberta Diary focuses on Alberta politics and social issues. Contact: albertadiary @ gmail.com")
