Mulroney won the West with Free Trade, and Quebec with Meech.� What he hoped was that no matter how much the West, particularly Alberta, despised Meech and what would today be called asymmetrical federalism, it would go along.� The trick to governing Canada, he believed, was to keep Quebec happy, Ontario satisfied and the West just a few degrees below simmering.� Quebec wanted what it wanted, Ontario wanted to know that the nation’s affairs were being looked to, lest crisis disrupt the economic engine of the Golden Horseshoe, and West could be left with crumbs because they had no where else to turn.� This is a strategy inherent in all political coalitions: You betray your base so you can reach out to a swing grouping.� The hope is that your base doesn’t walk away.� Mulroney calculated that the West wouldn’t walk.� He was wrong.�
Read it all
(A pretty good piece on the so-called urban/rural electoral divide here, too – for a guy who doesn’t have a driver’s license. Public transit? Egads.)
David Warren. (Sigh) He rules.
That is all.
King & Jarvis is actually a nice area – it’s part of the Old St. Lawrence Market area. The area is full of high-end condos, software firms, chichi restaurants, and designer furniture stores.
I think you’re thinking of Regent Park or the King & Jarvis of the 80s.
…..and lets not forget that Alberta also ranks as the province with the “most educated” population.
Educated, “rural” people who vote Conservative.
The media uses the same canard in the US. Stupid rural Republicans. Urbane, sophisticated, educated Democrats.
You’d at least thing the Canadian media could try to be original.
I damn well hope Prime Minister Harper will push electorial reforms to silence this group of sodomites who like living like sardines; They control 80% of the vote but yet live in 1% of the landmass! This desperately needs to be rebalanced and I particularly like Harpers vision of enshrining property rights into the constitution.
Alberta please don’t start squeaking we don’t need another unruly child in federation. We’ve handed you a microphone and the car keys on a probationary basis. If you don’t break anything you might get to keep them.
Truth be told, Alberta has enough wealth to strictly adhere to the separation of powers granted to the provinces.
Going it alone with healthcare, education, etc, all strictly provincial responsibilities, would mean the rest of Canada wouldn’t see a penny of the several billions of dollars presently donated as transfer payments.
In fact, a firewall is the best idea I’ve heard. Show the rest of the country how wealth can be generated without big gov’t getting in the way. Alberta would be twice as rich and wouldn’t have any need of your “car keys”. They’re quite capable of building their own car, keys and all. And, put the fuel in it.
If the federal gig doesn’t work out, you can expect just such an occurrence.
Syncro- Your point is taken. It’d be idiotic for a future Liberal leader to take this tack you are suggesting and I wouldn’t support it if they did.
If Harper plays it cool abortion and SSM like I suspect he will its going to be a lot harder for a future liberal leader to paint him as the boogeyman. If anything Harper might wind up being the one to piss off the far right if he focuses too much on wooing the centre.
ol hoss- I may be a leftie but I’m no fan of transfer payments either. There’s plenty of people in Toronto who are just as cheesed off as you are.
Jose: “There’s plenty of people in Toronto who are just as cheesed off as you are.”
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Depends on what side of the pogey cheque you’re on…
It is true that urbanites don’t have a clue about their food. A few years ago, a friend was making a sour cream chocolate cake, when a young bride come over for coffee. Watching my friend, she asked what is that. She responded sour cream and the young Toronto raised bride said, Gee, I’m glad my husband makes enough money that we can use sweet cream, as a farmer you will be in real trouble if we had a recession. At that point my friend laid into this noitall. She asked, can you make a coat out of old jeans or make clothes for your family, how about a quilt, or mittens, I can, can you kill & clean a chicken to feed your family, or a rabbit, I can. Can you light a kerosene lamp when power goes out, do you own one, I do and I can. My house is paid for, the car is paid for, we have savings enough to live for a year, do you. If your husband loses his job tomorrow, how long would you survive. Farmers plan for a recession all the time. We will survive better than any city dweller. Bride left feeling like the idiot she was.
Jarvis and King? Meh, bush league. Try Jane and Finch. Anyway, I’m amused to see how indignant everyone gets about (unfair and stupid IMO) Albertan stereotypes, which are quickly followed by generalized smears of Torontonians and city dwellers.