Kendall
Harrison crunched the numbers from the 2020 election and identified
five ridings where a combined Liberal-Green vote would have prevented
the PCs from electing MLAs. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
Listen carefully: the New Brunswick Liberals are nervous.
They're
nervous that Green voters will deprive their party of a shot at beating
Blaine Higgs's Progressive Conservatives in the provincial election
this October.
You could hear it last weekend at the
Liberal nominating convention for Hampton-Fundy-St. Martins candidate
John Herron, who said he was attracting not only disgruntled PCs but
"Green-inspired voters" to his campaign.
"We want to
make sure that we deliver this seat, so [we are] bringing everyone
together to have the broadest coalition possible," he said.
At
the recent Liberal nominating convention for Hampton-Fundy-St. Martins,
candidate John Herron said he was attracting not only disgruntled PCs
but 'Green-inspired voters' to his campaign. (Sam Farley/CBC News)
The Greens, of course, have a different take.
Herron's
Green opponent, Laura Myers, says she's not running just to prevent a
PC victory but to offer voters a real alternative to the old two-party
system.
"You can't get what you want by voting for what you don't want," she said.
You
could hear the same Liberal angst in a video by Pat Finnigan, the
former federal Liberal MP for Miramichi-Grand Lake, explaining why some
voters in Kent North are urging him to run provincially.
"Firstly,
most people I talk to in the region, in the riding, want the Higgs
government out," said Finnigan, who would be challenging incumbent Green
MLA Kevin Arseneau.
An alternative plan
Kendall Harrison is pitching an alternative to this Liberal-Green jostling.
The
self-described "data person" and keen follower of provincial politics
who lives outside Fredericton says the two parties should run "a
coalition campaign."
WATCH | 'A very fortunate seat.' A proposal to avoid vote splitting:
The pitch for a Liberal-Green ‘coalition campaign’
Duration 1:06
Politics watcher pleads for two parties to identify key ridings where they can co-operate to defeat PCs.
In
January he wrote to Liberal Leader Susan Holt and Green Leader David
Coon, pleading with them to consider an agreement to not run candidates
against each other in key ridings — to ensure the PCs lose.
He offered to broker the deal over coffee and oat cakes.
"I
am asking the two of you as leader[s] to think more boldly than the
false limits of party politics usually allow in our North American
context," he wrote.
Harrison has crunched the numbers
from the 2020 election. He identifies five ridings where a combined
Liberal-Green vote would have prevented the PCs from electing MLAs.
The
Liberals and Greens could also agree, Harrison says, to not run
candidates against each other's leaders — Susan Holt and David Coon. (CBC)
That would have deprived Higgs of a majority and might have opened the door to a Liberal-Green arrangement to govern together.
The
Liberals now lead in opinion polls, but because a lot of their support
is clustered in northern francophone ridings, Harrison points out, they
still may not win the most seats in our first-past-the-post system.
So
he says the two parties must, through "honest discourse and debate,"
determine which ridings are the most winnable by which party — so the
other party can bow out.
Coon's response
The
PCs won Saint John Harbour, for example, with 41.4 per cent of the vote
in 2020. Combine the Green and Liberal vote and you get 46.1 per cent.
The
Liberals and Greens could also agree, he says, to not run candidates
against each other's leaders — both of whom are running in newly redrawn
ridings with PC voting histories.
Harrison says Coon responded to his letter, "saddened" that the proposal wasn't realistic, while Holt did not answer.
"I
can see that there maybe are folks within a camp who are saying 'You
know, we've been out of power for a while now and maybe it's our turn.
We've waited a long time,'" Harrison says.
"And I just think that's the wrong paradigm."
Political scientist Alex Marland says no party is likely to give up on the possibility of winning a seat for itself. (Acadia University)
Alex
Marland, an Acadia University political scientist who studies political
party behaviour, says Harrison's concept is "a flight of fantasy."
No party is likely to give up on the possibility, however remote, of winning a seat for itself, Marland says.
"If
it causes you to lose the ability to elect people and to have influence
in the legislature, you know, parties don't work that way."
In Hampton on the weekend, Herron argued the political reset he's calling for requires a Liberal majority.
"We're not going to get that by minority governments and the like," he said.
Myers says Herron is presenting a false binary, disproven by the presence of three Green MLAs in the legislature since 2018.
"People don't have to choose between 'I don't want this person so I guess I have to vote for this person,'" she says.
Harrison's
proposal "in theory … sounds like a good strategy but in practice I
think it would be a very, very difficult thing to pull off," says Myers,
who was nominated last October.
Laura
Myers, John Herron's Green opponent, says she’s not running just to
prevent a PC victory but to offer voters a real alternative to the old
two-party system. (Submitted by Laura Myers)
"I'd hate to get the knock on the door to say, 'we decided this is a riding where the Liberal could win.'"
Her comments, and Herron's, are why it's unrealistic Harrison's concept could take hold, Marland says.
"An
established party that has its eyes on government sees itself as
unwilling to give much up. They feel the smaller opposition party should
give things up," he says.
"On the other hand, the
smaller opposition party exists for a reason, and they get really
worried about having everything they're doing all be consumed by what
they perceive as a takeover."
The Greens have an even
stronger rebuttal to Finnigan's strategic voting message in Kent North, a
riding now held by Arseneau, one of three Green MLAs.
Green
Leader David Coon has already said that if the PCs fail to win the 25
seats needed for a majority, he'd negotiate with the Liberals, not with
the Tories — likely meaning the end of their time in power.
Replacing Arseneau with a Liberal MLA wouldn't change the anti-Higgs math required for that scenario to become reality.
The
second reason Finnigan is thinking of running, he said in his video, is
to get the riding the benefits of being onside with a Liberal
government.
"I will represent the best — if not the only — chance of being at the table with the next government."
But with a Liberal minority government propped up by the Greens, Arseneau would have a lot of leverage too.
That's
the argument Fredericton North Green candidate Luke Randall made in the
2020 election, pointing to a Green initiative on domestic violence that
the PC minority government incorporated into legislation.
"We've actually gotten the conversation going," Randall said at the time.
Four
years later, however, Randall is running for the Liberals. He now
argues voters need to unite behind "a party that can win" to beat
Higgs.
His switch shows how strategic considerations can change from election to election.
"Campaigns matter," Marland says.
Voters wanting a change of government often end up settling on the best vehicle for that by election day, he says.
Luke
Randall, standing alongside Liberal Leader Susan Holt, ran for the
Greens in the 2020 election but is now running for the Liberals. He said
voters need to unite behind 'a party that can win' to beat Higgs. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
On the other hand, the average person may not know how best to vote strategically.
That's why Harrison says it's better for the Liberals and Greens to sort this out now.
But with dozens of candidates already nominated already, "I fear it's not going to happen before this next election," he says.
"But
I tell you: if in fact we get the same result, none of them can come
out on election night and say, 'we wish the results would have been
different.'
Jacques
Poitras has been CBC's provincial affairs reporter in New Brunswick
since 2000. He grew up in Moncton and covered Parliament in Ottawa for
the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal. He has reported on every New
Brunswick election since 1995 and won awards from the Radio Television
Digital News Association, the National Newspaper Awards and Amnesty
International. He is also the author of five non-fiction books about New
Brunswick politics and history.
Content Deactivated Anyone recall why the former Green MP in Fat Fred City was welcomed into the liberal tent and easily elected as a Red Coat?
David Amos
Anyone remember the Green MP who was welcomed into the liberal tent and easily elected again?
David Amos
I must say its the first time I have seen Hogan smile
and he did so as the Feds announced $17.6M in federal funding to create
affordable childcare spaces in N.B.
Methinks that was a rather telling thing N'esy Pas?
David Amos
IMHO We get the governments we deserve
David Amos
"Finnigan is thinking of running, he said in his video,
is to get the riding the benefits of being onside with a Liberal
government.
"I will represent the best — if not the only — chance of being at the table with the next government."
Methinks Arseneau had the same opinion but Gallant did want him as a candidate so he went Green N'esy Pas?
David Amos
Reply to David Amos
Correction "Gallant did not want him" and my friend Roger Richard ran against them all as an Independent just like I did
David Amos
Methinks somebody should seek the counsel of the former Green Party Leader Jack MacDougall N'esy Pas?
David Amos
IMHO Now that his riding has been divided the Green Leader should be a nervous camper
David Amos
This is not news Everybody knows the
Liberal-Green 'coalition existed since I first ran for public office 20
years ago against John Herron
David Amos
"Last weekend at the Liberal nominating convention for
Hampton-Fundy-St. Martins candidate John Herron, who said he was
attracting not only disgruntled PCs but "Green-inspired voters" to his
campaign."
Too Too Funny Indeed
Bobby Richards
Reply to David Amos
You voting for Faytene?
David Amos
Reply to Bobby Richards
Nope but perhaps I should run against Herron again
Harvey York
Reply to David Amos
YES! DO IT!
Al Clark
Reply to Bobby Richards
Yes, she healed him ;-)
Al Clark
Reply to David Amos
And expect different results? ;-)
David Amos
Reply to Al Clark
Nope Herron will lose again with or without me entering the fray
Don Corey
Reply to David Amos
Most disgruntled PCs just won't vote. The
Liberals are pathetic free-spenders and the greenies are even worse, and
both parties lack real leadership.
David Amos
Reply to Don Corey
Imagine if some of disgruntled PC MLAs opted to run as
Independents this time They could rule a minority government
Al Clark
Reply to David Amos
I was thinking a similar result for both,
Al Clark
Reply to David Amos
however he should be more palatable than a r...........................k?
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Al Clark
Who cares what a cop thinks?
David Amos
Methinks Mr Outhouse has already read every word before the Herron supporter brought him up N'esy Pas?
Al Clark
Awesome to see the idea has resulted in a emergency call out for outhouse inc
David Amos
Reply to Al Clark
Still having fun teasing me about my Harley EH?
Harvey York
Reply to David Amos
It's the gift that keeps on giving
John Charlton
Another example of why we need PR and elector reform.
It was promised by Justin Trudeau in 2015
MR Cain
Reply to John Charlton
The Conservatives wanted a referendum; kind of undermined the whole idea
David Amos
Reply to John Charlton
Go to the parliamentary record and listen to what I said the ERRE Committee in 2016
Don Corey
The state broadcaster continues to do a
commendable job on behalf of the opposition; such a shame that it'll
prove to be a wasted effort.
David Amos
Reply to Don Corey
Surely you jest
Alison Jackson
I am usually a Green voter, but they are
setting up NB to have a religious krack-potte to be in the government
who speaks in tongues and is anti everything good for society. Greens
need to smarten up, we are not the southern US. We see the damage that
ilk has caused to the south of us.
David Amos
Reply to Alison Jackson
Do you really think the Greens are any better?
Marcel Belanger
If the Higgs party should fall be elected as a minority government then by all means form a coalition.
Higgs did it in his first term with the PANB, so, good for the gander et , etc.
David Amos
Reply to Marcel Belanger
I said that already However.....
Walter Vrbetic
Elections are just as much about who you don't
want to see win so there's nothing wrong with strategic voting at the
riding level in a FPP system.
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Walter Vrbetic
Spoken like a nervous lefty from out of province
David Amos
Reply to Walter Vrbetic
Need I say Bingo again?
Don Corey
Reply to Walter Vrbetic
So says the out of province spin doc.
David Amos
Reply to Don Corey
Amen
Phil Trecc
Any party with term liberal in it is gonna have troubles for the foreseeable future due to the current leadership in Ottawa.
Max Ruby
Reply to Phil Trecc
Not just the leadership, all of them.
David Amos
Reply to Phil Trecc
Perhaps that is why they are handing out money like a drunken sailor just before an election in our neck of the woods
Dan Lee
Reply to David Amos
just keep out of irving......oops i mean Higgs hands
David Amos
Reply to Dan Lee
The Irvings have control of all parties byway of their money
Don Corey
Content Deactivated
Reply to David Amos
And the state broadcaster has full control of the narrative on this site with their absolute censorship power.
Waynee Sellers
Once Randall loses again, will he run as NDP in the next election?
David Amos
Reply to Waynee Sellers
He will likely go for the leadership of that party
Max Ruby
Reply to David Amos
He might pull a Dominic Cardy and run for the PCs
David Amos
Reply to Max Ruby
True
Don Corey
Content Deactivated
Reply to Max Ruby
Speaking of Cardy, I wonder if he's commenting here under another name.
Al Clark
Reply to Max Ruby
Maybe he'll pull a higgs and run for cor, pc, then cor again
Don Corey
Any campaign to actually kick out Higgs is nothing more than a fantasy. Period. End of discussion.
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Don Corey
Partypooper
David Amos
Reply to Don Corey
Should I say something about Higgy instead?
Joe Zilch
Is this greenie lib crowd trying to fix an election?
David Amos
Reply to Joe Zilch
All is fair in love, war and politicking
Don Corey
Content Deactivated
Any campaign to actually kick out Higgs is nothing more than a fantasy, despite the best efforts of our state broadcaster
Lou Bell
Nice piture of the leader of the " Party of
Defeated Candidates " . Was that ( including their leader ) , some who
lost while with other parties , than ever before . Sounds like losing
is a gold star on ones resume' . There should be lots of NDP , Greens ,
and Liberals to fit the bill .
David Amos
Reply to Lou Bell
No doubt they are happy you noticed
Hugh MacDonald
Apparently in NB politics these party colors don't mix.
David Amos
Reply to Hugh MacDonald
I call it a certain melon party because they are green on the outside and red inside
David Amos
Reply to David Amos
Anyone recall the former liberal who was the first leader of the Green Party in NB?
"Green Party Leader Jack
MacDougall is trying to transition from a life in New Brunswick's
political backrooms to the spotlight as he leads his upstart party into
the Sept. 27 election.
MacDougall spent most of his life as a Liberal, earning
his stripes as a top organizer for former premier Frank McKenna and
challenging Premier Shawn Graham in the Liberal Party's leadership race
in 2002.
But he shed his Liberal red for the Green Party in
August 2008 and was acclaimed as the provincial party's leader last
September.
MacDougall faces an uphill battle as he tries to
challenge the traditional parties — the Liberals and the Progressive
Conservatives — while also fighting both the New Democratic Party and
the People's Alliance of New Brunswick for exposure.
This is the first provincial election that New Brunswick voters will be able to cast a ballot for the Greens."
Don Corey
Reply to David Amos
Does that mean the party is as two-faced as their leader?
David Amos
Reply to Don Corey
Yup
David Amos
Reply to Don Corey
Never forget Madame Mitton is my cousin
Dennis Atchison
"... and they call it democracy". Oh my ...
long gone is the belief and behavior of each vote counts, you vote for
the person in your constituency (not for the leader of the Party), that
NB government is actually built on independent candidates (like a town
council for 800,00 people) as our legal structure (we do not have a
constitution) for governance ... but media will rarely show you your
full range of choice of candidates. There is more ... but it all boils
down to the same realization ... democracy is dead, and stories and
attitudes like the ones in this story exemplify that reality today. Sad.
We once had so much ...
David Amos
Reply to Dennis Atchison
Did you bother to vote for me?
David Amos
Reply to Dennis Atchison
I did run in Fredericton correct?
Joe Zilch
Higgs for the win!
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Joe Zilch
IMHO Higgy will win a minority but the Liberals and the Greens could outnumber him
David Amos
Reply to Joe Zilch
Oh My My did I touch the 3rd Rail again?
André Vautour
If we really want to get rid of strategic voting or vote splitting, all
we need to do is to change the electoral system to something like ranked
ballots or proportional representation. But, that will take a Premier
that has enough integrity to change it, even
though it is unfavorable to their party.
Dan McIntyre
Reply to André Vautour
Hey our PM promised to end first past the post in his 2015. Never happened, like so many of his promises.
Allan Marven
Reply to Dan McIntyre
You saw todays news eh? He makes more than POTUS if you can believe that. An MP makes 200g +
Robert Brannen
Reply toAllan Marven
Fifty years ago the POTUS made $1,412,378.38 in current currency values, what is your point?
ralph jacobs
Reply to André Vautour
If people quit treating political parties like
their favourite hockey teams and blindly supporting them would be better
also. Follow the campaigns and vote for the best promises for all.
David Amos
Reply to André Vautour
Do you recall what I said to the ERRE Committee on Thanksgiving 2016 when they visited Fat Fred City?
Dan McIntyre
Reply toRobert Brannen
News flash, it's not 50 years ago!
MR Cain
Reply to Dan McIntyre
The Conservatives wanted a referendum; that ended that idea.
Jack Bell
"They're nervous that Green voters will deprive their party of a shot at beating Blaine Higgs's"How terrible must a party be to be nervous about trying to beat one of the worst premiers in Canada's history.
David Amos
Reply to Jack Bell
Go Figure after you crunch the numbers
Lee Bronson
The Green-Party is the lovely party of absolute lovely common sense. That's if you love aluminum foil, that is.
David Amos
Reply to Lee Bronson
I am old school Hence I prefer tinfoil
Dan McIntyre
Aren't 99.999% of Liberal/Green policies, plans, objectives pie in the
sky fantasies? Just look at the past 9+ years at the aspirational goals,
the pipe dreams and the frollicing unicorns and rainbows that have been
foisted upon us. How's that drinking water?
Have we planted 2 billion trees yet? How many billions of trees have
been burnt down? Sunny ways!
MR Cain
Reply to Dan McIntyre
They have a lot of problems created by the previous government that need to be fixed.
ralph jacobs
Reply to MR Cain
There will be many more problems to fix from our existing government.
Dan McIntyre
Reply to MR Cain
Squawk! Blame Harper!
MR Cain
Reply to ralph jacobs
we are doing fine, moving ahead. Cons are just playing interference, offer noting
Lou Bell
Reply to MR Cain
Really ? The Liberals caucus is losing members monthly . All stating
they don't trust their leader . That he makes promises he has no
intention of keeping . 100 BILLION pLUS in deficits over the next 5
years ! Maybe you and the Liberals aere doing fine , but
we , the taxpayers , are not in on the scam .
ralph jacobs
Reply to MR Cain
Tell that to a homeless person or some using food banks and see if they agree with you.
ralph jacobs
Reply to MR Cain
I know I'm doing well but I attribute it to the previous government for
allowing me the right to save for myself. I would never be here with the
present government.
Don Corey
Reply to Dan McIntyre
Sunny ways was never anything more than a fantasy.
Don Corey
Reply to MR Cain
The current federal government has created more made-in-Canada crises than any other government in our history.
David Amos
Reply to Dan McIntyre
I am glad you brought up Harper
David Amos
Reply to Don Corey
Oh So True
MR Cain
Reply to ralph jacobs
Live within your means; I was destitute under Harper. Now I am living the dream.
MR Cain
Reply to ralph jacobs
They are living within their means. Those at the food banks need to quit
drinking and smoking. Higgs has done nothing but allow increasing
rents, and Upper Canadians to buy up all the property.
MR Cain
Reply to Dan McIntyre
Trees are important to you? You don't think climate change may be causing forest fires? Must be political?
MR Cain
Reply to Dan McIntyre
Thank God he is no longer around, feeding the corporate troughs while holding Canadians in austerity.
Dan McIntyre
Reply to MR Cain
You thank the lord and then lye. Nice.
ralph jacobs
Reply to MR Cain
Funny how that changed because under Harper I did very well and I know
if I tried the same thing with what this government has done I would be
using the food banks.
MR Cain
Reply to ralph jacobs
Funny how that worked. I would still be working.
MR Cain
Reply to Dan McIntyre
Lye? A strong alkaline liquor rich in potassium carbonate leached from
wood ashes and used especially in making soap and for washing. broadly :
a strong alkaline solution (as of sodium hydroxide or potassium
hydroxide)? Try to stick to the article.
Don Corey
Content Deactivated
Reply to MR Cain
Are you actually suggesting that Trudeau and his gang of incompetents
have set the example of living within our means? Surely you must have
dreamed it. Try again.
Don Corey
Reply to ralph jacobs
Guaranteed.
David Amos
Reply to MR Cain
We all know what he meant
Don Corey
Content Deactivated
Reply to MR Cain
He was just politely referring to your prolific use of untruthful comments.
Don Corey
Reply to David Amos
Yep.
Gary Wheeler
Federally it has worked so well.
Plunging Canada into... well we have to take from your inheritance....to foot the bill we can not pay.
John Montgomery
Reply to Gary Wheeler
You
do realize that 30% of the budget is old age benefits going out to a
population that is mostly reaching retirement age. This is further
compounded by inflation and is the single biggest expenditure. Therefore
to make a difference, Trudeau must cut back on those benefits. Is that
what you are recommending?
Kyle Woodman
Content Deactivated
Reply to John Montgomery
Taxpayers
fund old age benefits through their own pay cheques. And inflation has
been in part caused by runaway spending by the feds. Out of control
spending is due to poor fiscal management by the feds, but you keep
pushing that old age benefit angle, that's a new one. In the meantime, I
think we should blame Higgs for the huge debt rung up by the feds, it
just makes good common sense.
Kyle Woodman
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Wrong again Ronald.
John Montgomery
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Incorrect.
Old age benefits are investment funded, which means they are funded by
the taxes of the people getting the benefits which have been invested.
Also,
the inflation was global so no that wasn't caused by "bad fiscal
management". In fact, Canada had the second lowest inflation behind only
Japan in the G7. I'm still waiting to hear where people like you think
the money will come from to build affordable housing, make healthcare
better, build nuclear power plants, and balance the budget. I fear the
less fortunate will be surviving on the street without any benefits or
healthcare if we are to achieve that goal.
Kyle Woodman
Content Deactivated
Reply to John Montgomery
CPP
is paid for by taxpayers our of their cheques, fact. OAS comprised
approximately 5% of general revenues in 2023, fact. Please share your
article that backs up this 30% number you have thrown out. Please search
federal govt spending has contributed to inflation, if you get less
than 10 hits you win. Read my post, I said their spending had "in part"
added to inflation, this has been shared by economists. Good to hear on
that 2nd place, in terms of GDP per capita Canada has been lagging the
G7 for a long time now. Which is why JT keeps letting everyone in, it is
the only way he can show positive number.
Kyle Woodman
Content Deactivated
Reply to John Montgomery
If
you want people off the street stop giving them free money and thinking
you don't need to work to make a go of it in this country. These
problems have all mushroomed under JT, the numbers back it up. Read and
learn.
Kyle Woodman
Content Deactivated
Reply to John Montgomery
In the meantime, another failure of the Higgs government.
Robert Brannen
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Attention: the alleged Kyle Woodman,
From a Government of Canada source:
"The OAS program is funded by the general revenues of the Government of
Canada. This means that no one pays into it directly. You can receive its benefits
even if you have not worked in Canada."
"The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) are not funded by
the Government, but through the contributions of employees and employers. To
receive CPP or QPP, you must have worked and contributed to either plan."
Robert Brannen
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Attention: the alleged Kyle Woodman,
Canada's OAS has as its foundation this clause in the BNA:
"94A
The Parliament of Canada may make laws in relation to old age pensions
and supplementary benefits, including survivors’ and disability benefits
irrespective of age, but no such law shall affect the operation of any
law present or future of a provincial legislature in relation to any
such matter." --- British North America Act 1867.
Don Corey
Reply to Kyle Woodman
The individual, whomever it may be, is correct.
Don Corey
Reply to John Montgomery
Nope, you're wrong on this one.
David Amos
Reply to Don Corey
Even a busted clock is correct twice a day
Max Ruby
Reply to John Montgomery
Isn't
the single bigest expenditure servicing the Federal government debt
that has skyrocketed in just 8 years? Interest on almost $Trillion...
Bobby Richards
Reply to Kyle Woodman
I wouldn't consider those living on the streets "making a go of it".
Al Clark
Reply to David Amos
I'm honoured that you're using that daily since I used it to describe you. Cheers!
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Al Clark
You followed me in using that expression
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Al Clark
Check my blog
Al Clark
Reply to David Amos
hardly
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Al Clark
Until you use your real name you not worth responding to unless it suits me to do so
Don Corey
Reply to Max Ruby
Liberals don't want to discuss the federal debt. I wonder why.
Al Clark
Reply to David Amos
On my birth certificate, and I don't have multiple accounts with similar names..............
Al Clark
Reply to David Amos
I only respond when hilarity dictates. btw why is plpd so expensive on a pan, cos it weighs more than a civic?
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Al Clark
Yup you are a cop
Lorraine Morgan
NBer's are still not tired enough of the 15% sales tax, the almost zero
health care, and the padding of Irving pockets yet to cooperate with
each other. So self-destructive.
Jack Bell
Reply to Lorraine Morgan
Language will always trump common sense in this province.
David Amos
Reply to Jack Bell
I don't believe the words "Trump and Common Sense" fit well together in the same sentence
Don Corey
Reply to David Amos
Well put.
Ralph Steinberg
Educate the public.......they need to make sure that the many that do not vote, vote.
And Higgs and his cabal will be voted out.........
David Amos
Reply to Ralph Steinberg
Dream on
William Peters
The spoiler in this case is Higgs as he has robbed the Conservatives of a
party to support. The COR got in by syphoning the Conservatives base,
but things are so much clearer to everyone now. The COR should return to
be unelectable if the Conservatives stay
home or give support elsewhere. Bottom line is that the Conservatives,
if they want to retain their party, will have to stomach a loss here. If
they don't they will taken further right than NBers have ever voted.
David Amos
Reply to William Peters
Perhaps you should consult with Mr Outhouse
james bolt
its the same old story
70% of Canadians are left or left leaning
the only way the right can survive is as a one party choice
Marge Timmons
Reply to james bolt
Spending beyond our capacity to meets greedy voter demands is exactly why Canada is on the decline.
William Peters
Reply to james bolt
True
enough. Youth has a strong liberal/environmental bias too, but we get
ruled by gray haired folks who are fighting the age old battle of
growing their pile as they dream of bringing it with then beyond the
grave. You'd swear the richest are the poorest for all the bellyaching
they present us with. What separates them from you is what they call
ambition. When the rich succeed they claim victory for you.
Lorraine Morgan
Reply to Marge Timmons
NBer's
are still not tired enough of the 15% sales tax, the almost zero health
care, and the padding of Irving pockets yet to cooperate with each
other. These issues have nothing to do with voter demands, these are
voter's RIGHTS.
james bolt
Reply to Marge Timmons
greedy voters
ok
Marc Bourque
Reply to james bolt
false news!
Sue Fillmore
Reply to Lorraine Morgan
The
almost zero health care is happening in every province in the country
and when it comes to the “padding of the Irving pockets” please name
which Liberal or Conservative government that hasn’t given them special
consideration
David Amos
Reply to Marc Bourque
If so then what is the truth?
David Amos
Reply to Sue Fillmore
Well put
Kyle Woodman
Content Deactivated
Ottawa was a clear sign to everyone what a
nightmare it can be for taxpayers when the Liberals team up with anyone,
on any level. If the Liberals win and take us down the drain like they
have in the past and currently are in Ottawa I will stay say another
failure of the Higgs government.
David Amos
Reply to Kyle Woodman
So you say
Kyle Woodman
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Do you still live in Ottawa Steve, or did you move to NB for your 20k/month.
David Amos
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Welcome back to the circus
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Kyle Woodman
I don't believe it is Mr Outhouse you are addressing
ralph jacobs
I used to think a coalition was a good thing, but when you have two
similar parties together like in Ottawa now, bad things happen.
Murray Brown
Reply to ralph jacobs
The
next election will likely see the elimination of the NDP as a party...
They've gone from being an opposition party, to being completely useless
under their current leader. The good news, with less NDP voters out
there, the better it is for the other parties. We should mandate a two
party system... The Conservative party and then the less Conservative
party. Liberalism and socialism are irrelevant.
Glenn O'Halloran
Reply to Murray Brown
Socialism
is irrelevant? So let's let free enterprise run the fire and police
departments too? I really don't think you know what socialism is. Derp.
SarahRose Werner
Reply to ralph jacobs
Coalitions are always going to be of parties who have enough in common to form a coalition in the first place.
Al Clark
Reply to SarahRose Werner
Correct. The only party that shares harper-manning's "strong dislike" for Canada and Canadians is the bloc
Don Corey
Reply to Al Clark
The current federal government continues to provide more than ample
proof of their total disdain for all Canadians outside Quebec. The
official opposition will change all that with their socialist coalition
annihilation next fall.
Al Clark
Reply to Don Corey
cute diversion
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Don Corey
Al is a nervous dude from my neck of the woods
Steve Onuluk
Any party that tries this coalition stuff just to keep in office for 8
years for a pension needs to be railed out of this country. Will never
vote lib or ndp now.
Graham McCormack
Reply to Steve Onuluk
First off, it isn't happening. Second, the NDP have nothing to do with this.
Bobby Richards
Reply to Steve Onuluk
It's hard to get 8 years when Higgs can't go 4 years before election calls.
David Amos
Reply to Bobby Richards
He just did
Marge Timmons
It's very easy to continuously spend more than you bring in but it takes
real leadership to govern within your means. Sadly, I have yet to see
any party or any leader capable of this. This is why Canada continues
it's decline
William Peters
Reply to Marge Timmons
Responsible
governments run deficits because that allows for as much well being as
is possible at any given point. The richest countries in the world have
the most debt, because debt is the counterpart to private sector wealth.
Someone has to hold the negative equity in order that the positive
equity exists. If it is not the government then that will fall on you
because businesses will not, and cannot, survive by being heavily in
debt. Their shareholders would not accept it as it goes against the
fiduciary duty of corporations. Without government debt your life would
look a lot less pleasing. All this money we fight for comes from an act
of borrowing. Money is not mined or produced by work.
Marge Timmons
Reply to William Peters
ANd exactly how does that help future generations who have to do with less in order to service that debt? That's called greed.
ralph jacobs
Reply to William Peters
Some deficit is maybe nesescarry but what we have now is ridiculous.
William Peters
Reply to Marge Timmons
Debt
gets shrunk with inflation. Last time I looked we have a lot of
inflation so we aren't actually going backwards right now. All levels of
government are in surplus as we speak. Greed has much to do with people
running to the bank and borrowing exactly as much as is needed to pay
for all the things they want. The banker is not as greedy and the
borrower. Ultimately it is the borrower who pays any price asked because
he will not visit those options that he lifts his nose at. What you
will never put a lid on is the amount of want that exists in the world
which is attested to by each and every one of us. We pursue growth in
that want. There's not enough to go round either. Someone will have to
be left out in the economic games we accept to play by. There are
ultimately meritocratic games, so win or lose is a perfectly fine result
to the collectives who have set up this game.
Marge Timmons
Reply to William Peters
LOL
so you would argue that Venezuela did it right? Massive deficits
followed by massive inflation so the debt is meaningless. Brilliant.
I've been 100% debt free since I was 34 and now I'm fortunate to have
more money than I really need as a result. How? By living within my
means and paying off debt asap. Are you debt free?
Marge Timmons
Reply to William Peters
In
reality the average Canadian is progressively worse off over the years.
For example, my father a sole middle income earner (mom worked harder
at home), was able to own a single family home while raising 4 kids and
we had a cottage to boot. All of which was paid off by age 40. Is that
even remotely possible today? Living beyond our means has consequences
and we are seeing that in our everyday lives including woefully
inadequate infrastructure which is crumbling around us.
William Peters
Reply to Marge Timmons
What
are you bringing that in for? Venezuela is not a rich country. A poor
country with no domestic economic breadth cannot run deficits as
everything they will require must be purchased elsewhere and brought in.
They aren't sovereign that way. A sovereign government can have almost
limitless debt as long as it can source all that it needs internally or
force markets in their currency. We just exploit the US dollar to that
effect here. Our dollar gets pegged to exactly where the US wants it to
be and we benefit from their economy.
I
have no debt, but I once did. It is the years when I had debt that I
set up the entire wellbeing I have now. That wellbeing was about
harvesting inflation, so it is of no credit to me who never created any.
All the work I ever did allowed me to borrow. Capturing inflation
allowed me to not work. Acquiring assets in order that they inflate in
price is the entire game today. People act accordingly. You do it or you
get left out. Similarly, if Canada did not run deficits you'd feel more
like you were living in South America.
Ralph Steinberg
Reply to William Peters
When was the last time Canada, had no debt, or deficit.......I''ll wait.
MR Cain
Reply to Ralph Steinberg
Alberta is more than $80 billion in debt; Ontario is more than $350 billion in debt. It doesn't seem to be a big issue.
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Ralph Steinberg
You know the answer to that as well as I
However please me to quote from an interesting report
"Federal
debt per person has changed remarkably and in different ways during the
tenures of each Canadian prime minister from 1870 to 2022. Sir John
Abbott and Sir Mackenzie Bowell, Canada’s third and fifth prime
ministers respectively, are the only prime ministers other than Justin
Trudeau to have increased federal per-person debt without experiencing a
global conflict or an economic downturn. In 2022, federal per-person
debt is projected to be $47,070, the third highest amount in Canadian
history. This is more than 25 percent higher than per- person debt
before COVID in 2019. During Justin Trudeau’s tenure, federal per-person
debt in-
creased by 35.3 percent between 2015 and 2022."
Bobby Richards
Reply to Ralph Steinberg
I'm starting to wonder if it even matters anymore.
The US debt rose $7.8 trillion during Trump’s time in office. That’s
nearly twice as much as what Americans owe on student loans, car loans,
credit cards and every other type of debt other than mortgages,
combined, according to data from the Federal Reserve
Bank of New York.
David Amos
Reply to Ralph Steinberg
I did answer you
Murray Brown
Because of third and fourth party candidates, this country is now ruled
by politicians who can't get a majority of the people to vote for
them... So a majority of the people appose and dislike them from the get
go... It's time to start runoff elections. The
two candidates with the most votes have a runoff and then we'll finally
be governed by people who have a majority of their constituents
supporting them. Over 60% of this country didn't vote Liberal and we're
now governed by a man who pretty much everybody
now dislikes, even his ex-wife doesn't like him.
Gabriel Boucher
Reply to Murray Brown
You do realize that provincial and federal governments are 2 different beasts, right? The liberals aren't even in power in NB.
William Peters
Reply to Murray Brown
The
last thing you would ever want is a majority who governs as if it is a
tyranny. There should never be such majorities where we oscillate
between those who try and put things in place and those who would try
and remove them. The only things that should ever get put in place ought
to pass a very democratic say.
Murray Brown
Reply to Gabriel Boucher
No...
I didn't realize that... Thanks for the enlightenment... The next thing
you'll be telling me is that federally we're governed by a
'parliament'... While provincially we're governed by a 'legislature'.
Legislature or parliament... When you are governed by a party that
doesn't have majority support, then you are governed by the views and
policies of a minority. That's not a democracy, that's tyranny.
MR Cain
Reply to Murray Brown
Over
60% of this country didn't vote Conservative either. Canadians don't
want an autocratic government; they want all parties to work together
for the benefit of all Canadians.
Don Corey
Reply to MR Cain
The socialist coalition is most certainly not governing "for the benefit
of all Canadians". On the contrary, they are driving the country
further in debt and continuing to create one crisis after another; all
in the name of political survival until they get
soundly thrashed next fall.
David Amos
Reply to Don Corey
Oh So True
Daniel Franklin
"Conservative MPs racked up 79 per cent of the spending by MPs."It's funny that the supporters of
Conservative parties and governments
believe that conservatives are the fiscally responsible party. However,
conservatives prove time and time again that they are not fiscally
responsible. They waste taxpayer dollars more than
any other party. Look it up.
William Peters
Reply to Daniel Franklin
Conservatives reliably deliver us the economic hard times that they keep
insinuating the Liberals are creating when they're in power. Wall
street knows it too. Luckily for them they can count on the other side
of the coin for bailing them out. All the rights
does is try and get rid of the supervision that leads to the whole thing
going off the rails. This is an ideological point for them. They will
invite abuse and then we will require a mop up job. Provincially what
that looks like is more gifting away of the
province to rich industrialists who still fail to take it with them when
they are dead and buried.
Kyle Woodman
Content Deactivated
Look
at how well the Liberal lead federal coalition is working for Canada.
Oh wait, scratch that, please ignore this post. Another failure of the
Higgs government, there, that's better.
Jim Lake
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Please try to post something of value Ronnie.
Kyle Woodman
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Busy to day Steve. Must have the day off.
William Peters
Reply to Kyle Woodman
We
were blessed to get a very long break from the Western Conservatives of
the like of Stephen Harper. You guys just keep doing it to yourself by
replacing poor governments with so much worse. We just end up going back
to what we should never support out of fear of having Cons go far right
of the deep end. I'd love better, but some only know the fundamental
duality of good versus evil expressed in political colors.
David Amos.
Content Deactivated
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Perhaps you should partake of some more butter tarts
David Amos.
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Need I say Bingo?
Al Clark
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Yes,
having 2/3 of Canadians served by a non-autocratic government is
terrible. At least the 1/3 cons see it that way. Dark ways!
Don Corey
Reply to Al Clark
But where is the sun we were promised more than 8 years ago?
David Amos
Reply to Don Corey
I doubt he will answer properly
Bernie Fishman
Guess folks like living in the poverty-stricken Serfdom of the Irvings and McCains.........................
David Amos
Reply to Bernie Fishman
Thats rather obvious
Le Wier
I see there a few parachute candidates this
coming election from both the PCs and Liberals. I always like to weigh
the pros and cons of this during campaigns.
David Amos
Reply to Le Wier
I have been known to use a parachute a time or two but I live in this area
Kyle Woodman
You know the Cons must be desperate when they are paying people to comment under false names on CBC articles.
Ray Elgaard
Content Deactivated
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Such as who ? Are you a paid li real ?
Kyle Woodman
Reply to Ray Elgaard
Not a paid Liberal. Not even a member of the Liberal Party. I've voted differently in different elections.
Le Wier
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Maybe they are AI
Ray Elgaard
Reply to Kyle Woodman
You know the liberals are desperate when they have to pay people to comment under false names on CBC articles to defend them
Kyle Woodman
Content Deactivated
Reply to Ray Elgaard
I know for a fact, although I can't prove anything,
that the PCs spend their entire day scanning what is being posted on
these articles. The 20 or so people who post on here regularly could
swing popular opinion and any election, I know it. I could say more but I
think my phone has been tapped into and I don't want to reveal too much
at this point
Lynette Browne
Reply to Ray Elgaard
Who would they be?
Jim Lake
Reply to Le Wier
No it’s Ronnie Miller all the way.
Ray Elgaard
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Too funny. Because there are no people on here non stop
defending the liberals, yet everyone defending the conservatives are
being paid.
Ray Elgaard
Reply to Kyle Woodman
“I know for a fact, although I can't prove anything,
that the PCs spend their entire day scanning what is being posted on
these articles. The 20 or so people who post on here regularly could
swing popular opinion and any election, I know it. I could say more but I
think my phone has been tapped into and I don't want to reveal too much
at this point.”
Hilarious
William Peters
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Haven't the Conservatives all quit Higgs'
rebranded COR party by now? The money to pay belongs to Higgs now, and
he has sent some of it to Albertans and Ontarians for exterior voices to
come and echo his here.
David Amos
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Oh So True
Don Corey
Content Deactivated
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Are you actually suggesting there are no paid libs here using fake names. If so, you also believe in Santa.
Jimmy Cochrane
These coalition/supply and confidence
agreements are a stain on democracy and need to be stopped. Look no
further than Ottawa to see how they work.
Ralph Linwood
Reply to Jimmy Cochrane
The current government has worked quite well
and coalitions are common everywhere but North America. Real progress
can be made when parties have to work together and compromise to govern.
SarahRose Werner
Reply to Jimmy Cochrane
These coalition/supply and confidence
agreements are forcing at least two parties to work together. Now if we
could only find a way to get all parties to work together for the good
of the people instead of spending their time competing with each other,
we might make some progress.
Shawn Tabor
Reply to SarahRose Werner
Good statement. Thanks
Jim Lake
Reply to Jimmy Cochrane
Actually, coalitions are a reflection of a
democratic system … more peoples voices and opinions are taken into
consideration in policy and decisions … non-progressive conservatives
don’t like them because, apart from the People’s Alliance (a true
contradiction of terms) no other party would agree to a coalition with
them so they’d never have the opportunity to take advantage.
David Amos
Reply to Shawn Tabor
Surely you jest
Jim Lake
The majority of New Brunswickers want a new government. The majority of
New Brunswickers want a new Premier. The majority of New Brunswickers
want a government that will actually govern for, and govern in the best
interests of, all New Brunswickers. One would
think this would cause a sitting premier to rethink how he chooses to
govern, but Higgs just keeps pushing his own COR-based ideological
agenda to the detriment of most New Brunswickers and to the detriment of
New Brunswick’s prosperity.
Jack Bell
Reply to Jim Lake
"The
majority of New Brunswickers want a government that will actually
govern for, and govern in the best interests of, all New Brunswickers."
When one exists, let me know and I'll vote for them.
Julia LeBeau
Reply to Jim Lake
Majority
of Canadians didn't want the current government in Ottawa but somehow,
they were still allowed to rule. Such is life in the undemocratic state
of Canada.
Jim Lake
Reply to Jack Bell
A
Susan Holt government will govern for, and in the best interests of,
all New Brunswickers. Listen to her speak passionately about improving
the lives of New Brunswickers, read her teams policies, and vote for
them to replace the current Higgs autocracy.
Al Clark
Reply to Julia LeBeau
Math is hard!
Al Clark
Reply to Julia LeBeau
Google is free. Google "majority"
David Amos.
Content Deactivated
Reply to Julia LeBeau
Most folks agree with you but corrupt cops never will
Gary Webber
I don't believe this will ever happen in my lifetime. Personally I would never be able to voted for Coon, he's anti industry
David Amos
Reply to Gary Webber
He is controlled opposition
Gary Webber
Reply to Gary Webber
Coon had an opportunity to prop up the liberals and didn't and now we've
had nearly 6 years of Higgs narcissistic government, but I know you're
on top of that
Marc LeBlanc
The one thing I'm sure about is that Holt was not the Front Puppet the
half dozen or so individuals wanted as leader. Everyone knows who have
been controlling the party from the shadows for as long as I can
remember. She did however, gain her experience from
that era. She needs to come to the reality that the bulk of the party is
fed up with the glutenous patronage of the past. It's time to put them
to pasture and grow a party of MLA's who put the province first.
Otherwise she'll be gone in four years
Kyle Woodman
Reply to Marc LeBlanc
I think she is trying to accomplish that goal. Honestly any politician
that says publicly that they will break the cycle of patronage will get
my vote. The public service is full of dead weight political
appointments. It's like a disease.
Al Clark
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Higgs said it. Couldn't follow through though.
Kyle Woodman
Didn't Higgs essentially form a coalition with the PA?
Jimmy Cochrane
Reply to Kyle Woodman
You mean with turncoat Austin ? Yes.
MR Cain
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Actually, no. Austin dissolved the party when
he joined the PCs. Not only did Austin quit the party he founded in
2010, he invoked his right as leader to deregister it through Elections
New Brunswick.
Kyle Woodman
Reply to MR Cain
That's why I said essentially. More of a corporate takeover of sorts.
Kyle Woodman
Content Deactivated
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Sorry everyone, I am not very good at math or
understanding how a coalition government is formed. But somehow this
has to be another failure of the Higgs government.
Kyle Woodman
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Shouldn't you be working for the taxpayer right now Steve?
Jim Lake
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Sure Ronnie, you should stop pretending to be
someone else because your mean-spirited, personal attacks on others make
you so easily identifiable.
Greg Miller
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Kyle everything a failure of the Higgs government -- even the sinking of the Titanic !
Kyle Woodman
Content Deactivated
Reply to Jim Lake
Yet you endorsed someone being mean-spirited,
and using pesonal attacks on another article today. I guess it really
depends on which side of the argument one is on. But I am just making
fun of myself, another failure of the Higgs government.
David Amos
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Nope He destroyed them
MR Cain
Reply to Kyle Woodman
The party did not exist. It has since been resurrected and they are not too pleased with Austin.
Jim Lake
Reply to Kyle Woodman
No, don’t think I supported anybody personally attacking another commenter, or being mean-spirited.
Kyle Woodman
Another biased anti Liberal article from JP.
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Kyle Woodman
I believe you have that bassackwards
David Amos
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Need I say Bingo again?
Kyle Woodman
Content Deactivated
What are Holt's thoughts on this, or anything for that matter. Has there ever been a more non-existent leader?
Kyle Woodman
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Sounds like Misogyny.
Jim Lake
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Sure Ronnie, keep pretending to be someone else. Your comments are far more transparent than the Higgs government is.
Kyle Woodman
Content Deactivated
Reply to Kyle Woodman
I have to keep reminding myself, if I bring up Holt, it is misogyny, if I bring up Faytene 500 times, well that does not count.
Kyle Woodman
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Try again Mr. Outhouse. People don't like
Faytene because she is a self professed Christian Nationalist, not
because she is a woman.
William Peters
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Depends what your intentions are. Are you
saying there aren't misogynists out there would never vote for a woman?
There are. You can't control what people will think about you by trying
to shame them.
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to Kyle Woodman
I have no doubt Mr Outhouse read that
David Amos
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Keep reminding everyone of that simple fact
Kyle Woodman
Content Deactivated
Is this guy saying the PCs have become such a
juggernaut that 2 parties are needed to defeat them? We have all seen
what happens under Liberal governments, yearly deficits, ballooning
debt, skyrocketing debt service payments, new taxes, higher taxes,
scandals, and a government who helps a small minority at the expense of
the majority. Higgs has had some missteps but he is still far away the
best option available for the majority. He will retire half way
through the PCs next term in gov't and then the party can get themselves
back more to center and still be fiscally responsible.
Kyle Woodman
Content Deactivated
Reply to Kyle Woodman
I forgot, another failure of the Higgs government, not sure why, it just is.
Kyle Woodman
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
.
David Amos
Reply to Kyle Woodman
Is this Woodman versus his alter ego website?
Greg Miller
We need a fresh start with some fresh faces--if there are any. We need a new party -- NOTA -- None Of The Above!
SarahRose Werner
Reply to Greg Miller
I have long thought that in a true democracy, all ballots would include
the option NOTA in order to give a voice to voters who are fed up with
all the existing parties. If NOTA wins a seat, a by-election would held
at the parties' (not the taxpayers) expense, over and over if necessary
until the voters are offered an option they truly like.
Jimmy Cochrane
Reply to SarahRose Werner
NOT = not voting. At least in my books.
Greg Miller
Reply to SarahRose Werner
Understood SarahRose: however,
I'm (in a sense jokingly) suggesting taking this all one step further
and actually forming an actual party called NOTA. This would give all
existing parties something to seriously think about--even if only 10% of
the voting population starting listening to the "upstart". As far as
I'm concerned this Province does noting but recycle "dead wood" over and
over again -- at the polls.
Greg Miller
Reply to Jimmy Cochrane
Yes, it seems like an effort in futility at best.
Al Clark
Reply to Greg Miller
There is such a party. ABC party
David Amos
Reply to Greg Miller
I have been saying something similiar to that for years
Michel Pelletier
Laura Myers, says she's not running just to prevent a PC victory but to
offer voters a real alternative to the old two-party system. She only
looking for herself. We have enough of this, Higg's Ernie and Hogan have
done the same and this has to stop. A government
is elected by the people for the people, taxes are peoples money not the
government money. If I pay taxes I want these tax to be use. 50% of
your and my taxes are use for health care, and there are not, they are
use to prop up the Conservative party. You and
I a paying for services, what you do if you are paying a for health care
and a private setting, and you are not allowed to get the service, you
change provider in this case the cons out and let somebody in who
capable to deliver. The Green are only a shadow
party, they have not anything to prove themselve. Everybody agrees that
something has to be done about the environment. Even if the you do not
like the CT it's still the best way to go/
Gabriel Boucher
Reply to Michel Pelletier
The Green Party is not a shadow party. They've done a lot for their
ridings in which they were elected. That's why they keep winning their
seats. So far, none of their seats have been flipped over to another
party. That means something.
David Amos
Reply to Michel Pelletier
"Laura Myers, says she's not running just to prevent a PC victory but to
offer voters a real alternative to the old two-party system. She only
looking for herself. "
Go figure why I have not bothered to call Myers or Herron
Andre Kornhauser
Sour grape syndrome.
David Amo
Reply to Andre Kornhauser
Nope its just greed
Inger Nielsen
"Listen carefully: the New Brunswick Liberals are nervous." no i do not
think so, as you might have read in other news the Cons annual general
meetings of the party used to attract hundreds of people but now have
just dozens, adding that the lack of enthusiasm
will hurt the Tories in the upcoming elections.
Polling released by Narrative Research in late February indicated 66 per
cent of residents were dissatisfied with the performance of the
government, with the Liberals under leader Susan Holt maintaining a
six-point lead in voting intentions -- 40 per cent to
34 per cent. and gaining. People are Tired of this Higgs government. but
if the green want a voice at the table its a good idea to join up with
the Libs Like others have done.
David Amos
Reply to Inger Nielsen
They are very nervous
SarahRose Werner
The voters are quite capable of making their own decisions as to whether
they want to vote for a specific party's candidate - or to vote for
whichever candidate in their own riding is most likely to beat the one
from the party they don't like. Voters should
have the freedom to choose their own strategies.
William Peters
Reply to SarahRose Werner
Voters are subject to political strategies and
remain very difficult to reach when the suggestions that get implanted
in the past are firmly implanted and conditioned for. There's not a
whole lot of choice involved when it comes to voter mind manipulation.
The political sciences are about circumventing your free choice with
countless suggestions. It's why they hire people at great expense to
come and hit you with just the right suggestions. If we did not all have
psychological profiles we wouldn't be so easy to manipulate.
SarahRose Werner
Reply to William Peters
If our voting choices were 100% controlled by
the manipulations of political parties, there wouldn't be any point in
having a democracy at all. By me, the truth is murkier: yes, we're
influenced by attempts at manipulation, but to varying degrees depending
on the individual.
William Peters
Reply to SarahRose Werner
There isn't a democracy. There is a competition between a few factions
representing a business elite for who will exploit the political science
of voter manipulation to polarize and then nudge for a winning margin
with appeals to greed and intolerance. There
are not enough voters who aren't affected by this to overcome its
effects. The idea of representative government that so bothered the old
Tory factions in Canada still is a very meritocratic affair. Whoever
controls the collective state of mind will "outsmart"
the rest. It is why money and media manipulation are also so important.
Where there Green-washing all around us, politically we suffer from
Democracy-washing. Here is NB it is clear that the strong authoritarian
voice who dominates over his minions isn't really
about democracy in the way we perceive it. It's the politics of winner
take all, and that is why there is so much support for it our of the
business community.
David Amos
Reply to William Peters
The political sciences are a joke to me
Eugene Peabody
It has always been this way . The more progressive voters have always
been divided between two or three parties while the right has only one (
except for short spans of time) which helps them more than the other
parties. It is a shame some voters can not see
that.
William Peters
Reply to Eugene Peabody
In theory you have the COR support and the support of the CONS which
have left. While the Cons have no identifiable option they may simply
not vote. I hope they reconsider and vote Green, because we're all
environmentalists at heart. We never stand to lose
anything when that silenced voice in us gets a political say.
David Amos
Content Deactivated
Reply to William Peters
Many folks don't even bother to vote because they know all the political parties are full of crooks
Allan Marven
Beware of that number cruncher. No coalition needed lol.
David Amos
Reply to Allan Marven
I resemble that remark
Daniel Henwell
The liberals over the last few years have brought in all these green
ideas and are all about climate change. They have stolen the Green
Party's only platform. Can't see the Greens doing very well in the
future provincially or federally.
Green Party Leader Jack MacDougall says winning five to six seats on Sept. 27 is 'very, very plausible.'
Green
Party Leader Jack MacDougall is trying to transition from a life in New
Brunswick's political backrooms to the spotlight as he leads his
upstart party into the Sept. 27 election.
MacDougall spent most
of his life as a Liberal, earning his stripes as a top organizer for
former premier Frank McKenna and challenging Premier Shawn Graham in
the Liberal Party's leadership race in 2002.
But he shed his
Liberal red for the Green Party in August 2008 and was acclaimed as the
provincial party's leader last September.
MacDougall faces an
uphill battle as he tries to challenge the traditional parties — the
Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives — while also fighting both
the New Democratic Party and the People's Alliance of New Brunswick for
exposure.
This is the first provincial election that New Brunswick voters will be able to cast a ballot for the Greens.
MacDougall said in an interview that he hopes to see a Green breakthrough in the election.
"I think it is very, very plausible that we could get five to six seats," he said.
When MacDougall became leader, the Green party did not have associations in any of the 55 provincial ridings.
MacDougall is aiming to field a full slate of candidates and said he hopes that at least half will be women.
"My
main campaign objective is to provide everyone in New Brunswick the
opportunity to vote for the Green Party," MacDougall said.
Policy ideas
Within
a few months of MacDougall's instalment as the Greens' leader, the
Liberal government announced plans to sell NB Power to Hydro-Québec.
MacDougall attended a rally opposing the NB Power deal in the spring with his grandson, Oscar. ((CBC))
MacDougall acknowledged
the proposed deal gave his party a major platform to express its views.
But he said he didn't want to be "involved with the anger thing," so
the Green Party coalesced its energy plan through a series of public
meetings.
"Before we said no to that deal, we wanted to find out what we would say yes to," MacDougall said.
One of the main pillars of that plan was to sign a long-term power purchase agreement with Hydro-Québec.
The Greens want to use Quebec's hydro power to help wean New Brunswick off of its traditional thermal power sources.
The
Greens are also pushing a green economy platform. The party is
advocating for more public transportation and safe drinking water, and
to increase the use of renewable energy and the consumption of locally
grown, organic food.
MacDougall has also brought some of his issues he championed in his 2002 Liberal leadership race to his current post.
For instance, he is raising the prospect of bringing back tolls on the Moncton-to-Fredericton highway.
The
Green leader called the decision to take the tolls off the highway a
"terrible financial legacy for New Brunswick taxpayers and future
taxpayers."
Leadership issues
When he took over the
leadership of the Greens, MacDougall admitted he was not the best person
to lead the party into the future because he is unilingual and has
never been elected to public office.
The veteran political
organizer said the Greens will not talk about winning the next
provincial election but will use the campaign as a "beginning."
"I believe it's not about the next election, it's about the next generation," MacDougall said.
Split with Liberals
MacDougall
started with the Liberals in 1984, when the party was in opposition. He
rose through the ranks, serving as a senior adviser in the premier's
office under McKenna and then as executive director of the provincial
Liberals.
MacDougall organized Camille Thériault's successful 1998
leadership run to replace McKenna. But he soon fell out of favour with
the party after the disastrous 1999 election, which saw Thériault lead
the Liberals to only 10 seats.
He quit as the party's executive director. And in early 2000, he called for Thériault to resign as leader.
MacDougall returned to party politics in 2002 when he ran against Graham for the Liberal leadership.
MacDougall came second in the two-person race, garnering a surprising 25 per cent of the vote.
He
finally cut ties with the Liberals in August 2008 when he accepted a
position with the federal Green Party as a Maritimes organizer for that
year's federal election.
MacDougall said he left the Grits on good terms, but he felt out of step in the party.
Personal background
MacDougall was born in Saint John and now lives in Fredericton.
He ran the Courtesy Cab company in the Port City from 1976 to 1982.
In
1982, he took on a two-year fundraising initiative that allowed the
Imperial Theatre in Saint John to open. The building had been used by
the Full Gospel Assembly, a Protestant church, before MacDougall
purchased the building for $1 and then committed to raising $1 million
within a year.
The target was achieved and the theatre has since been designated as a National Historic Site.
After
losing the 2002 Liberal leadership race, MacDougall left politics to
pursue higher education. He finished his bachelor of education degree at
the University of New Brunswick in 2005.
Daniel
McHardie is the digital senior producer for CBC New Brunswick. He
joined CBC.ca in 2008. He also co-hosts the CBC political podcast Spin
Reduxit.
MacDougall acclaimed as new N.B. Green Party leader
CBC News ·
Jack MacDougall, a
former provincial Liberal leadership candidate, has been acclaimed as
the New Brunswick Greens' new leader, the party announced Thursday.
MacDougall,
a former executive-director of the provincial Liberal Party who
challenged Shawn Graham for the leadership in 2002, joined the Green
Party after it was formed and became an adviser to the executive
council.
MacDougall acknowledges he "is not the best person to
lead the party into the future since he is unilingual and has never been
elected to public office," according to the statement.
But MacDougall said he will use his experience as a community leader to start building the party.
"We
have no money, no associations on the riding levels, no candidates'
office, staff or anything like that," he said in an interview.
The
Green Party does not have constituency associations in any of the
province's 55 ridings, so MacDougall said he now needs to pull together
55 candidates, a communications plan, a platform and an
election strategy in the next 12 months.
Premier Shawn Graham
issued a statement, congratulating MacDougall and wishing him the best
as the party prepares for next year's general election.
"As a
long-time political worker, leader and activist, Mr. MacDougall will
bring his strong organizational background to the task of building the
Green Party in our province," he said.
"As party leader, Mr. MacDougall will certainly help give the Greens a stronger base and voice in our democratic system."
Graham
also said he looks forward to working with MacDougall through the
political process to "continue to advance green issues as a province."
As a veteran political organizer, MacDougall said he understands the task that now confronts him as a party leader.
"It is certainly my objective to have a full slate of candidates. It's a very tall order, I'm aware of that."
MacDougall said the Greens will not talk about winning the next provincial election but use the campaign as a "beginning."
He admits the chances are slim that the Greens will elect an MLA in the upcoming election.
"The odds are long, but it all depends on how we present our message," he said.
The new Green Party leader said he intends to run in Fredericton-Nashwaaksis, the riding where he lives.
"I think probably 99 per cent [I will run in] in Fredericton-Nashwaaksis, let's say I plan on it," MacDougall said.
He
said he would step aside to run in a different riding, if another
candidate emerged in that riding. The new leader said he needs to find
55 candidates, so he plans to be flexible on where he runs.
Experienced political organizer
But
he said his aim is to spend about two years getting the party well
organized before handing the leadership over to someone else.
Janice
Harvey, the Green Party's president, said MacDougall adds the political
experience that all political parties need in a leader.
"It is
often the case, however, that few people involved in new parties
actually have that experience," Harvey said in a statement.
"The
executive council is thrilled that Jack is willing not only to advise
but to lead the party at this critical point in our development."
A long-time New
Brunswick Liberal party organizer, who once ran for the leadership of
the provincial party, has gone to work for the Green party.
Jack MacDougall, of Fredericton, has been hired as the Green party’s organizer in the Maritimes for the next federal election.
He changed
allegiances after being associated with the Liberals since 1984. During
that time, he worked as a senior adviser in the premier's office under
former premier Frank McKenna, and was executive director of the Liberal
association.
MacDougall said he left the Grits on good terms, but he felt out of step in the party.
"I felt
there was a kind of awkwardness. There really wasn’t a place for me to
fit in with the Liberal party. Not that anybody kicked me out, but there
really wasn’t a role for me," he said Tuesday.
"So, I became a
free agent, you might say, and said, 'Well, I’m going to go and do
something that I believe in,' and this opportunity came along. I just
latched onto it heart, mind and soul."
MacDougall publicly
questioned the Liberals campaign strategy after the party's loss to
Progressive Conservative Bernard Lord in the June 1999 provincial
election. MacDougall resigned as party executive director five days into
the election campaign.
In January 2000, MacDougall said that then
Liberal leader Camille Theriault should step down because he blew a
45-seat majority through nepotism.
MacDougall ran against Premier Shawn Graham for the Liberal leadership in 2002.
Shawn Graham cruised to the top job in New Brunswick's Liberal party during a convention Saturday.
Graham,
one of only seven Liberals in the provincial legislature, received
1,349 votes roughly three times more than the only other candidate, Jack
MacDougall.
In his victory speech, Graham talked about the importance of education and health care to the province.
He
pledged to defeat Conservative Premier Bernard Lord in the next
election, which some people think may be called as early as this fall.
The Liberals have been without a permanent leader since Camille Theriault, a former premier, quit last year.
Graham, 34, pointed out that the last four premiers elected in New Brunswick have been in their thirties.
"It
speaks well of the population of our province to allow young people to
bring forward ideas and make the province move ahead," he said.
But
Lord, 36, said he's confident he will be able to defeat Graham. The
premier appears to have at least one number on his side, according to
political historians, and it has nothing to do with age. No party in New
Brunswick has ever been knocked out of power after only one term.
Graham, however, said he intends to change that.
After a crushing
defeat to the Conservatives in last June's election, former New
Brunswick premier Camille Theriault is being urged to step down.
Jack
MacDougall, who resigned as the party's executive-director five days
into the election campaign, says it would be the honourable thing to do.
MacDougall says he could not agree with the decision to keep
Theriault's brother as communications director and having his public
relations company handling most of the campaign strategy.
But
MacDougall says the call of a spring election made him resign. He says
the June date was chosen to allow Theriault's brother's firm to handle
its other business, including last September's francophone summit.
Theriault
says he plans to stay on as Liberal leader and he dismisses suggestions
of nepotism, saying the election was called by a committee of Liberals
based on many factors, including their high popularity at the time.
Theriault says Liberals across New Brunswick continue to support him and he has made peace with last June's election.
Posted: January 07, 2000 Last Updated: January 07, 2000
Former New Brunswick premier Camille Theriault is being asked to step
down. Jack MacDougall was the party's executive director before last
June's disastrous election. He says Theriault blew a 45-seat majority
through nepotism and should move on to greener pastures.
MacDougall resigned five days into the election. He could not agree
with the decision to keep Theriault's brother as communications director
and have his public relations company handle most of the campaign
strategy.
But MacDougall says the call of a spring election made him resign. He
says the June date was chosen to allow Theriault's brother's firm to
handle other business including last September's Francophone Summit.
ADVERTISEMENT
MacDougall says Theriault should now do the honourable thing and step
down. "You had your shot; you made the wrong calls but they didn't work
out," he says. "You got leveled. If you lead us into the next campaign,
I'll bet you we don't get five seats."
Theriault says he plans to stay on as Liberal leader. He dismisses
suggestions of nepotism saying the election was called by a committee of
Liberals based on many factors including their high popularity at the
time.
Theriault says Liberals across New Brunswick continue to support him
and he's made peace with last June's election. "I am responsible for the
loss of the election and I'll live with that for the rest of my life
but I'm certainly not going to go arguing Jack MacDougall's opinion," he
says.
Theriault prefers to take the high road saying he thanks MacDougall
for his years of service. For the time being, Theriault says, he plans
to be around for a while to help re-build the party.
Paul Duffie,
MLA from 1987 to 1999 and cabinet minister from 1991 to 1997. Duffie
contested delegate selection meetings but withdrew before the
convention.
Non candidates
The following candidates were rumoured to be considering runs but did not enter the race.[1]
Greg Byrne, MLA from 1995 to 1999, cabinet minister from 1997 to 1999 and 1998 leadership runner up.
The
leadership contest was conducted in two-tiers. First, Liberal members
voted in their ridings for their leadership candidate of choice, after
which delegates from each riding were elected proportionally to the
votes of their members. Second, delegates voted at the May convention.
Delegate selection meetings
Liberal delegate selection results[2] Feb. to Mar., 2002
Chisolm Pothier. "Backroom boys pin hopes on Graham," The Daily Gleaner, May 13, 2002.
"The
party's headquarters, which remain independent during the campaign,
sent out the final delegate numbers yesterday. With Duffie still in the
race, Graham was at 48 per cent, Duffie at 35.6 per cent, Jack
MacDougall at 8.4 per cent and the undecided at 7.1 per cent." - Daniel
McHardie. "Graham now has 54% of votes," Times & Transcript, March
29, 2002.
The Canadian Press. "New Brunswick Liberal leader gets down to work on next election," May 12, 2002.
Former cabinet minister appointed provincial court judge
CBC News ·
A former Liberal cabinet minister has been appointed to New Brunswick's provincial court.
Justice Minister T.J. Burke on Friday named Grand Falls resident Paul Duffie as the newest provincial court judge.
Duffie, 57, will replace Judge Jacques DesJardins, who has elected to be a supernumerary judge.
Duffie
served as an MLA from 1987 to 1999 under former premier Frank McKenna's
government. During that time, Duffie held the education, justice and
attorney general portfolios.
In 2002, Duffie ran for the Liberal
leadership, which was won by the current premier, Shawn Graham, but he
withdrew before finishing the race.
Duffie has practised law in Grand Falls for about 30 years.
Elected as a Liberal in the Frank McKenna
landslide, Duffie continued his law practice in addition to his
legislative duties. In 1991, he was named to the board of governors for
the University of New Brunswick.
In 1991,
Duffie was re-elected as MLA and appointed to be the Minister of
Education. He became Minister of Municipalities, Culture & Housing
in 1994. Upon being re-elected in 1995 he became Minister of Justice.
Duffie resigned from cabinet in 1997, after considering a run for
leader, to spend more time with his family. Duffie co-chaired the
leadership campaign of Camille Theriault with Doug Tyler.
In 2001, following the resignation of Theriault, Duffie was encouraged to run for leader. His biggest supporters in the seven-member Liberal caucus were House LeaderEric Allaby and former Minister of TransportationSheldon Lee. In early 2002, Shawn Graham emerged as the clear leader in delegate selection meetings and Duffie dropped out of the race, backing Graham.
Though he originally pledged to run in the 2003 election, he backed fellow Liberal and fellow former Grand Falls mayor Ron Ouellette who was elected on June 9.
Duffie returned to municipal politics and was elected mayor of
Grand Falls on May 10, 2004, 18 years after he was first elected to the
post.
In June 2008, he was named a provincial court judge.[1]
At
the recent Liberal nominating convention for Hampton-Fundy-St. Martins,
candidate John Herron said he was attracting not only disgruntled PCs
but 'Green-inspired voters' to his campaign. (Sam Farley/CBC News)
The
Liberals and Greens could also agree, Harrison says, to not run
candidates against each other's leaders — Susan Holt and David Coon. (CBC)
Political scientist Alex Marland says no party is likely to give up on the possibility of winning a seat for itself. (Acadia University)
Laura
Myers, John Herron's Green opponent, says she’s not running just to
prevent a PC victory but to offer voters a real alternative to the old
two-party system. (Submitted by Laura Myers)
Luke
Randall, standing alongside Liberal Leader Susan Holt, ran for the
Greens in the 2020 election but is now running for the Liberals. He said
voters need to unite behind 'a party that can win' to beat Higgs. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
MacDougall attended a rally opposing the NB Power deal in the spring with his grandson, Oscar. ((CBC))
Charles Leblanc
Charles LeBlanc 
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