Lorne Gunter points to media chatter about the number one problem facing Conservatives electorally – the Liberal domination of the nation’s cities;
The morning after the vote, the CBC reported “Results of Canada’s 39th general election reveal an urban-rural divide in voting patterns.”
Canadian Press divined a “a stubborn urban-rural divide” developing in Canadian politics. And the Globe and Mail insisted Monday’s balloting “suggested an urban-rural split, with the Conservatives making inroads in much of the country, but being shut out of Canada’s three biggest centres, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.”
It’s a development drawing the attention of those in halls of higher learning.
David Docherty, a Wilfrid Laurier University political scientist, examining the outcome in Ontario claimed “We’re seeing more of an urban- rural split in the province. The larger cities are staying Liberal and the rural areas are Conservative.”
When there is such a deep cultural divide and growing gap between “values” held by rural folk and those of modern urbane Canadians…
with such disparity between the relative levels of education …
and sophistication in business, science and technology …
… how does a political party most closely identified with those of that certain rural social and economic class find ways to broaden their tent widely enough to resonate with the people of “progressive” metropolitan Canada?
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(Read the rest of Gunter’s piece here.)
Nice list tomax – very much the reason why I didn’t vote Liberal. Anyway, will you be keeping a similar list for the Tory government?
Soviet Canuckastani,
I’m sure the list will grow, but so far, all we have is that Stephen Harper is scary.
Texas Canuck,
Distances nowadays are often measured in airfare. And in that respect the opposite ends of Canada might as well be on different contintents. I’ve flown to Lima from Toronto for less than it would have cost me to get to Vancouver.
Too bad young Canadians don’t travel abroad as much as the Kiwis and the Aussies.
Tomax,
Impressive list. Do you have one for Mulroney so we can contrast and compare?
Has anyone noticed something about the so called “serious front runners” in the yet to be official liberal leadership race?
They all seem to be at least 15 years senior to Stephen Harper.
Any candidate that is of comparable age are so far out in left field they make the NDP look centrist (Brison) or are blinded by “blonde ambition”.
The article on “Harper’s Gneration” explains the shift in the middle ground as the last bit of the baby boom that realizes we get hit with the big bill for the group that is now entering retirement after living of the sweat of the previous generation and now demands that “society” protects them in their old age.
They used to be called the me generation, I call them the free lunch crowd.
The point is this. They are reaching that point in life where they lose their influence and over the next few years there will become fewer and fewer of them.
The trudeau liberals are a dying breed, and if they try rebuilding their party on the trudeau vision they will only solidify the kook fringe base that has hijacked their party.
Sucks to be them.
I hear the new zip phrase batted around the chats about the collective political consciousness of TO/Van/Montreal being refered to as the kingdom of “Catatonia”. 😉
Impressive list. Do you have one for Mulroney so we can contrast and compare?
The point would be?
I live in the big red hunk of Liberal Territory called The Yukon. ‘They’ (not me, I’m a real Yukoner) voted overwelmingly for the Liberals. Why? Because The Yukon has been coddled in a Luxury welfare cocoon by Larry Bagnel (Liberano) and his presence in the Privy Council with his access to Southern taxpayers money. The city of Whitehorse is TOTALLY dependant on handouts from the Federal Government. ALL resources sit undisterbed IN THE GROUND. Sucessive Liberano/Dipper governments, territorially and federally, have earmarked resource rich areas as ‘protected’and/or ‘parks’ and the enviromental standards imposed on any entreprenuer or miner are way beyond reason. American and Canadian environmental extremists constantanly howl in the Yukon. Most real Yukoners moved to Alberta a long time ago (just after the departure of Eric Nielson and the election of a rolly polly pinko named Tony Penni cut (spelling likely incorrect). One of the FIRST cuts Mr. Harper should make is to the abominable WASTE of all taxpayers money into the worthless money pit in Whitehorse. Cut the apron strings and leave the Yukon on it’s own. When the big lush paychecks stop rolling in the lazy, whining paper shufflers will take a long cool look at the inhospitable place they live, maybe they will move out, maybe they will pull up their bootstraps and get a ‘real’ job – I tend to think they will do the former – I wait with baited breath to hear the howl when Larry fails to deliver the huge wads of money to the murder of ravens up here. huh.
“Metro-alienation”
I wonder how it feels to be out of touch with the rest of the country?
Malony…err Mulroney?
1. Airbus, but he was proven innocent…uh huh.
2. CF-18 Fighter repair centre from Winnipeg to Montreal
3. Aeronautical Centre of Canada in Quebec(see #2)
4. Canadian astronaut – guess which province
5. GST, but in a sense evolution of taxation
6. $42 billion budget deficit -not all of it was Trudeau’s, which he inherited from Diefenbaker. Mulroney averaged about 33Billion a year, Trudeau did about 9 billion. Interesting read at http://www.peterspolitics.com/blogs/read_blog.html?post=54
7. Kim Campbell, should I say more?
8. Joe Clark, who?
9. Almost abolished as a party in ’93 from a landslide one in 84 must mean something too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_federal_election,_1984
10. Mulroney’s close relationship with Mr.
Schreiber and the $300,000 in cash.
http://www.regrettheerror.com/2004/10/stevie_cameron_.html
cheers
tom
mulroney is the essence of the book by Stevie Cameron called on the take.
doesnt matter. – the relationship between Bay Street and Sussex drive was the same at the time.
for the first time in a half a century the power has been given back to the people instead of the Toronto,Montreal Sussex drive oligarchy.
The old conservatives and the current liberals are two legs of the same shitpants to borrow from the Trailer Park Boys.
Gunter’s article hits the nail on the head but he fails to mention that the MSM is going with the rural/Urban thing as part of the overall plan to divide and conquer. If you want to see what the Urban eleite think of rural dwellars google a guy by the name of Lawrence Soloman and the Urban Renisance Institute.