Canadian federal election - October 19, 2015 (Official Campaign Thread)

[RogueBeaver]

Justin: Whoever wins the most seats should get the first shot at forming government, however Harper will not win confidence due to 10 years of failure.

[DC Al Fine]

Well, as I've said all along: that's what you get when you let your campaign get run by the brainiacs behind Sun News--and who still feel that Sun News' failure was an "outside fix"...

Just curious, what would you do differently if you were CPC campaign manager? Same for RB, Hatman et al. Not that the Tory campaign is spectacular but I'm having trouble thinking of specifics that would have them up 5% right now.

[Hatman 🍁]

Managing a Conservative campaign is such a foreign concept for me that I have no idea where I could even begin. I suppose I would start by unmuzzling my candidates?

[Hash]

Managing a Conservative campaign is such a foreign concept for me that I have no idea where I could even begin. I suppose I would start by unmuzzling my candidates?

Considering the intellect of some/many Tory candidates and even ministers, that's not a very good idea.

[Hatman 🍁]

Managing a Conservative campaign is such a foreign concept for me that I have no idea where I could even begin. I suppose I would start by unmuzzling my candidates?

Considering the intellect of some/many Tory candidates and even ministers, that's not a very good idea.

It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario.

[2952-0-0]

For starters, Harper can present himself as a more likable person. He could try strolling into Tim Hortons unannounced and talk about peoples' concerns over the economy where he still has some (diminishing) advantage. He can then prepare a dignified response when someone inevitably shouts abuse at him. Then, he can seize the initiative by releasing his party's grand vision for the country (something along the lines of a strong economy with a strong middle class under a strong government which keeps them safe, or something) 10 or 20 years from now, and how a re-elected government will implement it.

But, so far all Harper campaign announcements have been boutique tax credits. It's too late to play visionary.

[Hatman 🍁]

Maybe Harper should go rogue a la Donald Trump. At this point, what does he have to lose?

[HagridOfTheDeep]

As a sort of casual observer, it looks to me like the biggest issue this cycle is Harper fatigue. That is extremely difficult to combat in a Conservative campaign because it means politicos and the press are primed to always find something wrong with whatever Harper does. So I'm not optimistic that things could be much better.

That aside, I think the camp could try a bit harder not to play right into everyone's hands. Right now the most memorable things I can think of from the Conservative campaign are the initial "rules of access to CPC events," strict criteria for taking outside questions, snafus over the sources of images being used in campaign graphics, the transparently political response to the refugee crisis because Harper wants a foreign policy election, and a round of silly attack ads from that are uncharacteristically ineffective and laughable. This is the best they can do?

Unleash Harper, have him take a bunch of questions, walk him around in public, get him appearing on all sorts of media, dress the guy up in something a little more modern and approachable, have him show some emotion (I know I'm getting unrealistic now), own up to some mistakes, and do an about-face on some of the more progressive issues that people care about and wouldn't undermine the party's credibility (like the missing Aboriginal women inquiry). He needs to change the story, so do something crazy and fresh that might make people think you're still worth taking one last gamble on.

[Simfan34]

What should Harper be wearing?

[136or142]

What should Harper be wearing?

A Niqab?

[Vega]

What should Harper be wearing?

A Niqab?

It would be more fitting with where Canada is headed demographically.

[lilTommy]

What should Harper be wearing?

A Niqab?

It would be more fitting with where Canada is headed demographically.

in 2011 Muslims made up just over 3% of the population, Arabs just over 1%... so no, it wouldn't

[RogueBeaver]

Ipsos: 34/30/29.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

What should Harper be wearing?

A Niqab?

It would be more fitting with where Canada is headed demographically.

Tender?

[DC Al Fine]

As if on cue.

'Stephen Harper isn't perfect': New Tory message raises eyebrows online

[RogueBeaver]

Ivison on Justin's EI proposal.

[DC Al Fine]

Re: Tory campaign strategy

Much of what I've heard from the media and lay folk about what Harper needs to do different just isn't that feasible right now. I mean the leader is a guy seeking his fourth term in office. He's an oceanliner, not a Honda Civic, so we can't just do a 180 on his image mid-campaign.

Harper has two major issues. The first is Harper fatigue. Most have commented on it so I won't add anything. The second problem is that the Tories have spent the last couple of years preparing to fight Trudeau, and now Mulcair is leading a three way race. Mulcair is siphoning some of Harper's "politics for grown ups" mojo.

With that in mind, I'd change the following

1) Get some decent anti-Mulcair ads. The only people this "career politician" stuff will work for live in Quebec and won't vote for us anyway.

2) Join the debates. In a three way race, Mulcair and Trudeau will have to go after each other, which will help bring some swing voters back in the fold.

3) Release a decent flagship policy. People need to get talking about a Tory tax cut.

If I had the campaign from the start, I'd also loosen up a but on security, media etc. This is the first campaign I remember where HQ, not candidates are responsible for most unforced errors.

[Vega]

Where has all this talk of Elizabeth May somehow taking the Greens to the political right? Some people even call them centrist. Seems a bit odd to me, especially considering how they're to the left of the NDP.

[King of Kensington]

Where has all this talk of Elizabeth May somehow taking the Greens to the political right? Some people even call them centrist. Seems a bit odd to me, especially considering how they're to the left of the NDP.

"The Tories with composters" line hasn't been true since Jim Harris, a former PC, led the Greens.  Elizabeth May has moved the party to the left.

[RogueBeaver]

Mulcair DComm apologizes for anti-Catholic tweets.

[Vega]

What should Harper be wearing?

A Niqab?

It would be more fitting with where Canada is headed demographically.

in 2011 Muslims made up just over 3% of the population, Arabs just over 1%... so no, it wouldn't

Right now, yes. But given that Muslims/Arabs are one of the fastest growing groups in Canada, headed is the proper term.

[cp]

Well, yes, in the same sense that the North American plate is headed toward the Pacific plate or that the sun is headed toward its red giant phase (i.e. so far in the future as to render the statement meaningless, if not outright misleading)

[Hatman 🍁]

We can always make room for a few more shawarma restaurants.

[Boston Bread]

I don't think there is a non-xenophobic reason to worry about a gradual demographic change, at least in regards to Canada. We do a better job of integrating (rather than ghettoizing) immigrants and as a result the values of immigrant groups tend to converge towards Canadian norms after a generation.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Wow a whole three percent of the population! That's practically a majority!