Election North: Canada loves to vote

[Frank777]

Ok, it's voting day here north of the 49th.

It's our third federal election in four years. We're probably going to end up in a minority government again.
That means we'll likely be back at the polls again in 18-24 months.

You Americans aren't half as democratic as us. We're on course to have five elections in a decade.

Personally, I'm about to go out and cast my vote for the Conservatives (big surprise there).
Not that it will matter. Here in T.O., the Liberals could run a rooster on the ballot and win.

But we fund our parties through the popular vote, so the Conservative Party will get $1.75 for my efforts.

Best wishes to all voters today, whichever party you mark your ballots for.

[FloorJack]

There are candidates running for federal office every 2 years in the US.

[Frank777]

True, but it's not a full-fledged throw-the-bums-out, my-leader's-better-than-your-leader type of election.

When you count the previous federal majority governments, we are already on our fifth election in 11 years.
Each Canadian federal election costs 300 million dollars.

This is crazy, and we all know it.

[trumptman]

Frank vote for whoever promises to keep the Canroys as trusts instead of forcing them to incorporate.

Thanks, I love their divvies.

[Frank777]

The Conservatives have actually taken a lot of heat for breaking their 2006 election promise not to tax income trusts. But the wholesale move of major corporations into income trusts was threatening to deplete the country's corporate tax base, so I think their move was justified.

[FloorJack]

True, but it's not a full-fledged throw-the-bums-out, my-leader's-better-than-your-leader type of election.

When you count the previous federal majority governments, we are already on our fifth election in 11 years.
Each Canadian federal election costs 300 million dollars.

This is crazy, and we all know it.

The House can change over every two years. It's the body of government closest to the people. It can be a referendum on the presidential election.

[gastroboy]

The House can change over every two years. It's the body of government closest to the people. It can be a referendum on the presidential election.

And it usually does nothing and is totally ineffective against an executive which ignores it and the constitution.

Previously I was against the Westminster system and thought that fixed terms were a good idea but the current USA administration has really shown up the problems with a lame duck president being virtually totally ignored in a crisis.

In a Westminster system Bush would probably never have been elected in the first place and would definitely have been forced back to the poles long before this.

Canada's repeated returns to the poll are the way a democratic system tries to adjust to governments that are not working or failing to resolve difficult decisions.