2004 Democratic Primary

[Trilobyte]

Martin would resign if he gets anything other than a majority government. I just don't think he would want to sit through three or four years of minority power. He might stay for a year or so at the most, like Ernie Eves is doing after he lost in October.

Of course, if he does get a majority, all bets are off. But if he doesn't, that would be the end of Martin.

[Trilobyte]

Official party status means:

- federal funding for research
- right to ask questions during Question Period
- your MPs are referred to by party name rather than as an Independent

[Trilobyte]

Hey all,

I don't know how many people here are actually from Canada, but I am.  One of the things that I find most frustrating about our electoral system is that, when voting, I often clash between whether to vote locally and take my MP into consideration, or whether to vote federally and take the party leader into consideration.  For example, last election I hated my Liberal Candidate for MP but loved Chretien.  This election, I love my Liberal Candidate and hate Martin.

Then I started thinking about how I'd vote if our country was like the US and we elected our PM like a President.  Personally, I'd vote for a Liberal MP but Jack Layton (NDP) for Prime Minister.

Anyone else care to voice their opinions?  Or, for those outside of canada, any thoughts on which leader you'd prefer?

Unless your MP is in the cabinet, he/she doesn't really have any power. So if that's the case your best bet is to vote for the party leader you want, and forget about the MP.

For that matter, even if your MP is in cabinet, he/she MUST vote along party lines in Parliament. So I always just consider the party.

[Trilobyte]

This one's funny:

[Trilobyte]

Nobody has yet answered my question as to how is it determined which party gets to form a minority goverment if no party wins a majority of seats in the House of Commons.   If the Liberals won more seats then the Conservatives but the Bloc Quebecois plus the Conservatives won a majority of seats and were willing to form a coalition, could/would the two parties form a government together even if they had not been part of any arguable coalition before the election, or would the resulting governent have to include the Liberals?  If someone could answer this question for me I would appreciate it.

The incumbent party is given the first chance to form a government if no party wins a majority.

So lets assume we have a minority situation. Regardless of how many seats the Liberals win, Martin will be the first one asked to form a government. If Martin thinks he still has enough support to govern (i.e. if he thinks the Bloc or NDP will let his bills pass in parliament), then he can form a Liberal minority government.

So even if the Conservatives win more seats, they might never get to form government because the Liberals get their chance first.

If Martin can't find the support to govern (i.e. his bills likely won't pass, or he is likely to lose any vote of confidence brought forth by the Conservatives), then he would concede defeat and let the next biggest party (probably the Conservatives) attempt to form government.