Thoughts on BC Politics and More

The importance of Monday’s federal byelection in Durham is not what the results revealed but rather what they confirmed — namely, that the Conservatives are in a position to win a strong majority government and that the Liberals, unless anything changes, are on track for defeat. As expected, the Conservatives’ Jamil Jivani won the byelection in Durham, a riding in the eastern Greater Toronto Area that was previously held by Erin O’Toole and, before that, by Bev Oda and the Conservative Party since 2004. He took 57.4% of the vote, a significant jump of 11 points over O’Toole’s performance in the 2021 general election. It’s the Conservatives’ best result in this part of Ontario since the 1984 election, when the PCs under Brian Mulroney won their massive landslide . . . . CLICK HERE for the full story

UP UNTIL TODAY I have purposely decided not to comment on the election campaign we were just subjected too, and in particular the Conservative campaign. YES ... subjected! This morning however I was reading a few letters from readers of MacLean’s , and one in particular struck me.   In their letter they stated: " None of our political leaders are statesmen with clear and inspiring national visions that unite Canadians. Instead, voters are bartered in an open political market where myopic promises are traded for votes—a choice as appealing as a Big Mac to vegans. The choices before voters are stunningly vacuous, if not perilous ." While I am not so sure that ‘ vacuous ’ would be the best descriptive for Election 43 ... ‘ disappointing ’ would certainly fill the bill Leaders of all parties, to some degree, promised the moon and beyond in their spending promises –far too many of which intruded into provincial jurisdictions. What t...