2025's Christmas stamps:
i like those canada post xmas 2025 stamps
The Maple Leaf Lounge
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i like those canada post xmas 2025 stamps
My very brief skimming suggests they didn’t support the budget but didn’t want to force an election. If I recall correctly, it was a mix of abstentions and non voting—whatever worked out as the minimum action to avoid triggering an election. Without a leader and with even less funding than usual, they understood it would be political suicide if they were seen as provoking an election. I think the retiring Conservative, whom many believed might have crossed the floor, chose not to vote.
No one actually wanted an election, except perhaps the Bloc. Poilievre is 25 points behind Carney in polling, the NDP would be erased, and it seems Elizabeth May wants to hold onto her seat a bit longer.
That's basically what I've heard, too. Davies was actually pretty open about the whole thing being strategic; most of the NDP voted against to show that they as a party don't support it, but two of their MPs abstained because they didn't want an election. (And word has it that although she might not like the budget as a whole, Idlout was happy with the infrastructure money earmarked for her riding of Nunavut.)
And Ovation is correct about Conservative MP Jeneroux not voting too, and another Conservative didn't vote, because she was away having surgery. So May voted in favour, 2 NDP MPs abstained (well, they don't have party status in the house, but you know what I mean), and 2 CPC MPs no showed, allowing the budget to pass.
And apparently Conservatives Andrew Scheer and Scott Reid both experienced "technical difficulties" trying to vote electronically, even though they were present, and didn't register their votes until the end of the process. So the word on the street is that was done intentionally as a "failsafe", so that they could ensure that the budget had enough votes to pass, before officially registering their own "no" votes, with the theory being that if something unexpected happened with the NDP voters, either one or both of them could vote "yes" if necessary. Because apparently even as much as he blusters, Poilievre doesn't want an election either.
And neither do I, so I'm glad it worked out so that we don't have to go to the polls again, even if Carney's budget isn't as left-leaning as one I would personally prefer.
I think that's in their personal favourability, but I think the parties themselves are only 2 - 3 points separated from each other. As much as people seem to think an election would be a slam-dunk majority for the Liberals, I'm not really so sure. Fortunately, we don't have to find out right now.
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You’re right but I think the gap between the leaders would seal the deal for the Liberals—at least if there had been an election. And even if the spread between the parties remained relatively thin, whichever party was blamed for triggering an election would have been punished by the electorate and it’s very likely that would have been in the Liberals’ favour (which might well explain their willingness to make no meaningful concessions and dare the others not once, but thrice, to trigger an election).
Thank goodness an election wasn't triggered. Given the usual writ period of 5 weeks, that would have meant voting day would be so close to Christmas as to not make a lot of difference. It would have had to be extended into January (2nd week, most likely). That's too long.
I think you're totally right that the party who was blamed for triggering the election would take a hit. I just have a lot of fears around going to the polls around now:
- Conservative supporters would be super engaged and very likely to vote, because they're still angry about the results from last time
- Liberal supporters, while still very approving of Carney, might feel less inclined to vote, because they think they've already got it in the bag
- A lot of people who usually support the NDP strategically voted Liberal to keep the CPC out of power. Would they do so again, knowing it cost their preferred party party status? Not to mention that Carney has moved the Liberals much closer to the centre than they were under Trudeau, so a lot of people on the left flank have been disappointed so far. If the NDP vote recovers, it's bad for the Liberals.
- And if you add in Timewalker's point about the holidays, people are going to be distracted, in addition to being angry about having to go through this again already.
just ask any invaders if they would happy to take Alberta and leave.
imagine if both alberta and quebec split up from canada
Fair point. Apparently some of them are even still mad about Trudeau Sr.
You say that as someone who is engaged in the subject matter and pays attention. I'm sure there are a wide swath of Canadians who tune out politics except for maybe a couple of weeks around the election.
I would prefer not to imagine that, thanks.
This was on the news earlier this week. It feels like such a Canadian thing to do! Bus driver got off to take a break, someone boards it and takes off and follows the route. I heard comments via another news story about this from I think the Hamilton mayor who said the thief actually did a good job of driving the bus and picking up all passengers. If the guy weren't mentally ill, I'd say give him a job 
Fair point. Apparently some of them are even still mad about Trudeau Sr.
You say that as someone who is engaged in the subject matter and pays attention. I'm sure there are a wide swath of Canadians who tune out politics except for maybe a couple of weeks around the election.
I would prefer not to imagine that, thanks.
i would not want to imagine it either
but from the news i heard awhile back about that quebec party pq i think its called wanting another referandom in the future while in alberta one of those right wing alberta political parties wants alberta to split up from canada because they do not like left wingers and the reds aka the libereal party
They're already here, whispering poison into "Stormy Danielle"/Maple MAGA's ears and throwing money at them.
The sane part of Alberta would fight back before being forced out of Canada or becoming any sort of part of the U.S. Literally.
Danielle Smith has many nicknames:
Trump in heels
Trump in pumps
Trumpette
Yankee Doodle Dani
Stormy Danielle (because of that photo of her, Trump, and Kevin O'Leary)
Danielle Sith
Marlaina (her real first name)
and there are more.
Danielle Smith is a narcissistic sociopath with nothing resembling a conscience. She's an anti-vaxxer, and so rabid about it that she deliberately put covid shots out of financial reach for many people unless they can score a free one at a clinic IF they qualify due to various medical issues or being on AISH (disability benefit). She refuses to encourage parents to have their kids vaccinated against measles, and so we've had a measles epidemic going on. Now there's an outbreak of tuberculosis in Edmonton.
Smith has used the notwithstanding clause FOUR TIMES in the last month alone, to order striking teachers back to work, and in a trio of bills that target transgender youth. We're dreading who she's going to target next, as she's discovered that hey, using that is just like Trump using executive orders to bypass the regular democratic procedures that are supposed to happen.
Why the Lieutenant-Governor (provincial equivalent of Governor-General) won't get off her rear end and refuse to give Royal Assent to these bills on the grounds of them being in violation of the Constitution/Charter of Rights and Freedoms, I honestly can't fathom. I guess she likes her nice, cushy job that means she never actually has to do the right thing - just do whatever Smith tells her to.
Smith, I think, is aiming for some kind of "Queen of Alberta"/"Governor of Alberta" kind of situation. Why else is she ignoring the MAGA Republicans that are up here engaging in their shady activities?
On a more cheerful note, here is one of Charlie Angus' latest episodes, shot in Gibson's Landing in British Columbia. Anyone here old enough to remember The Beachcombers should enjoy it:
As satisfying as this sounds, it would provoke a rather grave constitutional crisis as making such a decision falls outside the purview of the lieutenant governor’s power. The courts (the Supreme Court if necessary) have jurisdiction over such matters.
The GG can refuse to sign problem bills into law. I don't see why the LG couldn't do likewise. One of their duties is to prevent the exact situation that is happening in Alberta. Danielle Smith has essentially gone rogue, with her egregious use of the notwithstanding clause, her dismantling of public health care, her mishandling of public education, her planned dismantling of environmental protections for regions that are currently protected, her continued defunding and outright theft of the Canada Disability Benefit from the AISH clients, more corruption scandals than I can recall, and more.
And that doesn't even start to count her treasonous actions regarding electoral interference (oh-so-helpfully telling Trump's people the best way to "ensure" that Pierre Poilievre would become the PM; we the voters had to sacrifice the NDP to ensure that didn't happen).
And that doesn't even start to count her treasonous actions regarding electoral interference (oh-so-helpfully telling Trump's people the best way to "ensure" that Pierre Poilievre would become the PM; we the voters had to sacrifice the NDP to ensure that didn't happen).
whatever happened to danielle smith because i do not think she was ever like this before even when she used to be on global news
i did not even know that she was a republican
Go, Canada! The 1st look at Team Canada’s 2026 Winter Olympics uniforms - National | Globalnews.ca
The Team Canada athletic ensemble for the Olympics looks a bit darker than in years past.
globalnews.ca
People are roasting the uniforms.
She's not strictly speaking a Republican, though she is cozy with them. I've seen posts where people have said she's actually libertarian (which would fit considering one of her favorite authors is Ayn Rand).
Speaking of... Smith threw fits over the book ban she tried earlier in the year. Schools were directed to remove books that contained scenes/language pertaining to explicit or implied sex. The Edmonton Public School Board had the school librarians make a list of all the books that fit that directive, and it would have affected 200+ authors. I doubt Smith was particularly bothered by Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale being on the list, or Orwell's 1984. But she flipped her gourd when Ayn Rand turned up on the list.
I've never read any Ayn Rand books. One of the articles included a quote from one of Smith's favorite Ayn Rand books, that she read in high school and apparently LOVES. Holy crap, it was not only smut, but very misogynistic smut
Smith was likely embarrassed to have been caught out, and threw what people now refer to as a "Smithyfit." She accused the Edmonton Public School Board of "malicious compliance" and claimed that she only wanted 4 graphic novels banned - none of which were freely available in the school libraries anyway. Or at least not available to anyone younger than high school age.
Smith has always had bizarre ideas about public school. She once blathered on about how much easier it would be if one parent would just stay home and teach their kids (and maybe a couple of neighbor kids if they came from single-parent homes). Just home-school them around the kitchen table. The province would save hundreds of millions, not having to build new schools, do maintenance on the old ones, wouldn't have to hire all those teachers, specialists, support staff, and the province would have lots of money for things that the people would really want.
Of course she singled out the public system for this. She's still happy to throw money at the Catholic, private, and charter schools.
And now there are rumblings that she's planning to use the notwithstanding clause on the nurses who have served notice of an intent to strike.
It may be a political power on paper but no Governor General has ever exercised it, and the last time a Lt. Governor did was in 1961 in Saskatchewan, as far as I was able to find. When a power is not exercised over too long a period of time, especially by an unelected office, it loses its legitimacy for de facto, if not de jure, reasons. Hence the constitutional crisis that would emerge. Again, it would be very satisfying to see it occur in this instance (and a few others I can point to closer to my home) but if history is any guide, the ultimate result would, at minimum, lead to a more explicit restriction of any regal representative’s authority and available actions. At worst, it could lead to the formal withdrawal from the monarchy as has happened in other Commonwealth countries (worst in the sense of major political uncertainty—I’m not taking a position on the desirability of the monarchy itself).
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