Canadian 2021 Federal Election

[Avro Arrow]

Well, it’s official. The writ has dropped, and Canadians head to the polls on September 20. Oh, and did I mention that the fourth wave is just kicking into gear? The bill to modify the Elections Act to be more pandemic-friendly has died with the dissolution of Parliament, so this election will operate under the same rules as always.

This thread has been set up to share your thoughts and opinions over the five-week campaign, as well as on whatever we are left with in the aftermath.

 

[Marc]

Last time the country had a snap election was harper in 2008 (not that long after his passed the legislation for fixed 4 term years) and he was looking to try and secure a majority (so anyone who thinks o'toole or singh wouldn't have done the same in trudeau's position is kidding themselves).

the national post has well and truly got it's nickers in a twist over the election and wants o'toole to go full blown conservative which would torpedo his chances. The country simply doesn't want that.

Would also have been nice if trudeau had kept his promise and got rid of fptp. the conservatives bleated that it would favour the liberals going to something like preferential voting except Australia uses such a system and has had a conservative govt for 19 of the past 25 years.

 

[DEWLine]

The people at Chatham Asset Management who run Postmedia have their own ideas about what Canada's future should be, so I'm not surprised at the National Post's official stance on the matter. Had I my way, Postmedia would be broken up and the individual newspapers spun off to local ownership in all affected communities. Whether we get anywhere with that dismantling of Postmedia after this election...? I dunno.

Yes, getting rid of FPTP will be a good thing when we can finally make it happen. I hope.

 

[Marc]

The people at Chatham Asset Management who run Postmedia have their own ideas about what Canada's future should be, so I'm not surprised at the National Post's official stance on the matter. Had I my way, Postmedia would be broken up and the individual newspapers spun off to local ownership in all affected communities. Whether we get anywhere with that dismantling of Postmedia after this election...? I dunno.

Though couldn't the same be said for Torstar (Toronto Star)?

I don't think breaking out media conglomerates (Well as far a traditional media) goes is high on the government agenda. There push has been to try and stop news papers from closing (which has been spun as trying to buy good press).

Also I don't think the public is overly concerned about it. Internet and tv prices are is bigger concern.

the liberals have promised to do something and we're still waiting but the is also the utterly disgraceful decission the CTRC made a few months back that supported the big boys over the TPIA that needs to be correct (as one columnist in the Star put it - "bell always wins").

 

[DEWLine]

Who owns more Canadian newspapers at the moment and how big a geopolitical reach does each group have?

And yes, the CRTC decisions of recent months have been a severe disappointment.

 

[Marc]

Who owns more Canadian newspapers at the moment and how big a geopolitical reach does each group have?

And yes, the CRTC decisions of recent months have been a severe disappointment.

Best I could find was the readership for torstar vs post media for 2016 and the later was on top by 2mill readers..
https://financialpost.com/technolog...h-digitally-and-in-print-vividata-study-shows

From July this year the top three selling papers are the 1) The Globe and Mail 2) Toronto Star and 3) national post though I suspect the star's position has a lot to do with the size of the Ontario population, the other two are national papers.

 

[Owain Taggart]

September 20th certainly feels rather soon. I think I heard that it's the shortest time between an election being called and the date of the election.

Ahh yes, Postmedia. I don't like them very much. Our local publication, if it can be called that, is far too disassociated with local news, and they frequently like to post syndicated news from other outlets that don't have any bearing on local news. They're an example of how not to treat local content.

In contrast, our other major publication in town is one owned by Village Media and they take more care into providing local content that feels tailored to our community.

 

[Marc]

September 20th certainly feels rather soon. I think I heard that it's the shortest time between an election being called and the date of the election.

Ahh yes, Postmedia. I don't like them very much. Our local publication, if it can be called that, is far too disassociated with local news, and they frequently like to post syndicated news from other outlets that don't have any bearing on local news. They're an example of how not to treat local content.

In contrast, our other major publication in town is one owned by Village Media and they take more care into providing local content that feels tailored to our community.

The minimum time for the election campaign is 36 days and that’s exactly how long it is this time around.

personally think we could have it over and done with in a week but things wouldn’t be ready in time for the vote.

my local paper was one swapped between torstar and sun media/post media.

wasn’t crash hot under sun media and isn’t any better under the new owner. Most of the content comes from the star’s website though the local content is local though often rewritten media releases are passed as news. You can tell by the lack of byline.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, the thing about their 'local news' is that there's no sense of community and it's a very busy website. It all feels like coldly distant reporting, and I feel it's only gotten worse recently, so I tend to visit their website less frequently than I do the other one run by Village Media. That one is a smaller organization that seem to focus more on homegrown content, which I feel is important in getting the pulse of a community, as a result it still feels very local and independent.

 

[Avro Arrow]

So I wonder if Trudeau is losing any sleep about the Nova Scotia election results? The PCs won a majority, even though pre-election polls seemed to show that the Liberals would cruise to an easy victory. I believe I read that this was the first provincial election during the pandemic to not return the incumbent party to power.

 

[Marc]

So I wonder if Trudeau is losing any sleep about the Noca Scotia election results? The PCs won a majority, even though pre-election polls seemed to show that the Liberals would cruise to an easy victory. I believe I read that this was the first provincial election during the pandemic to not return the incumbent party to power.

others have raised the question but one analyst says not really.

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada...pert-says-after-houston-runs-as-red-tory.html

The N.S tories ran as red tories and the leader went out of his way to distance from the federal party (point out that he's not even a member).

Also the liberals dropped the ball on the campaign. It very well to talk about how you handled covid but it was a fatal mistake not having any to address the provincial problems post pandemic.

 

[DEWLine]

That...is an interesting factor. I'd have thought that the Harperites purged every provincial wing. Apparently not...?

 

[Marc]

That...is an interesting factor. I'd have thought that the Harperites purged every provincial wing. Apparently not...?

probably only as far as the federal party goes.

that the incoming N.S premier made a point of saying he's not a member of the federal party probably saved him being purged.

 

[DEWLine]

Now I'm worried again.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Not really enamoured with the thought of going to a crowded polling station in the midst of Delta, so I submitted my application today to vote by mail. Hopefully it's a painless process.

 

[Marc]

Not really enamoured with the thought of going to a crowded polling station in the midst of Delta, so I submitted my application today to vote by mail. Hopefully it's a painless process.

So you won't be like this woman in Ontario that was suprised she had to register to recieve a mail ballot.

I don't know which is worse - the woman or the Star's report.

https://www.thestar.com/politics/fe...ocked-to-learn-she-had-to-apply-to-do-so.html

 

[Avro Arrow]

^ I'm actually shocked that she assumed there *wasn't* some kind of registration/application process.

 

[Owain Taggart]

I'm not even really sure who I'll vote for, as I'm really torn and there hasn't really been much time to get used to the idea of voting again so quickly. Both Trudeau and Singh have visited the city yesterday because we're considered a swing-spot due to the University's insolvency. It's a sore spot given the area's been hit hard by it, and both want to say they'll be the ones to help.

The area has a long history with the Liberals, but we've also been known to vote NDP, and last time out it was the NDP that won in our area, given that we were tired of the Liberals and their local candidate scandal, which was widely publicized. This has resulted in a bind, of things not getting funded, which I think is exactly what happened when it came time to deliver covid-relief funds to institutions hit hardest by Covid, with the University not receiving it when it was the hardest hit. At the same time, the Liberals have done a lot for the area in the past, but there's been a prevalent feeling of having to tow the line if we want to get any funding, resulting in a cycle of never being able to get out of what I feel is black-eye syndrome. Suffice it to say, our area will remember when the Liberals have sat idly by on their watch when the Insolvency happened, but we'll still likely have to vote for them in order to get with the majority.

 

[Avro Arrow]

but we'll still likely have to vote for them in order to get with the majority.

The way the numbers are trending, that may no longer be the case.

Hopefully it's a painless process.

Although the website said that it typically takes up to 72 hours to approve an application, I checked my status, and in less than 24 hours my registration status has been marked as Approved, and it has been marked that my voting kit has been sent out. Pretty painless so far!

 

[DEWLine]

It feels more and more like the non-CBC news services have scripts to follow here. Certainly it's true of Postmedia given their allegiances in 2015.