Politics in Canada

This morning I dropped by a corner store I hadn't been in recently, and couldn't find where they're keeping their newspapers these days. I had to ask, and while I was looking around for The Globe and Mail , a man jokingly said it was on the side with the "pagan" papers--those in English. I laughed and said we get Le Devoir at home, but because it's cheaper in my neighborhood to buy The Globe in a store, we don't get it delivered. Ah yes, he said. He and his wife get La Presse daily, but he picks up the Journal de Montreal on ... Read Full Story

The Conservatives strengthened their shaky grip on power on Tuesday after unexpectedly winning two of four by-elections, thrashing separatists in Quebec and winning back a lost Tory stronghold in Nova Scotia. The Monday by-election results defied polling and a dour economy, which normally would have hampered the ruling party's electoral fortunes. Election Canada released the preliminary vote results Tuesday morning. Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives now hold 145 seats in the 308-seat House of Commons, versus 77 for the main opposition Liberals, 48 for the separatist Bloc Quebecois, 37 for the leftist New Democratic Party and one independent. In the electoral district Montmagny-L'Islet-Kamouraska-Riviere-du-Loup in ... Read Full Story

Canada's Conservatives strengthened their shaky grip on power Tuesday after unexpectedly winning two of four by-elections, thrashing separatists in Quebec and winning back a lost Tory stronghold in Nova Scotia. The Monday by-election results defied polling and a dour economy, which normally would have hampered the ruling party's electoral fortunes. Election Canada released the preliminary vote results Tuesday morning. Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives now hold 145 seats in the 308-seat House of Commons, versus 77 for the main opposition Liberals, 48 for the separatist Bloc Quebecois, 37 for the leftist New Democratic Party and one independent. In the electoral district Montmagny-L'Islet-Kamouraska-Riviere-du-Loup in Quebec, ... Read Full Story

Angry Liberals accused the Conservative government of reaching a new political low by circulating flyers accusing the Grits of being ant-Semitic. The "scandalous" flyers, endorsed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and which target ridings with large Jewish communities, accuse the Liberals of participating in an anti-Semitic conference in Durban, supporting terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah and specifically go after Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff for accusing Israel of committing war crimes.' Read more... Read Full Story

Parti Quebecois leader Pauline Marois wants to amend Quebec’s language law to restrict access to English daycares to only the children of parents educated in English in Canada. Marois is of the opinion that the French language, particularly in Montreal, is fading and that a stricter law would force immigrants to integrate more into the French language. While the PQ’s fears of their fading French language may be well-founded, their efforts at preserving the language with inward thinking laws has only served to isolate the province from the rest of North America. The Canadian government has spent billions of dollars on promoting and advancing ... Read Full Story