Election Follies and Funnies #18: I am a Quebecois

Wednesday night was the French leaders debate:

#Trudeau with fire in the eye, brought the heat - scalded Blanchet "I am a Quebecois..have always been a Quebecois.. proud to be a Quebecois. You do not have a monopoly on Quebec" #Elxn44

— Charles Adler (@charlesadler) September 9, 2021

I was an adopted Quebecer for 6 years and I know their heart. A hand out stretched in cultural understanding and curiosity is almost always grasped back. #Elxn44 https://t.co/4bidbIW3E0

— Shawn R. Stevenson (He/Him) (@snstevenson) September 9, 2021

Trudeau is dominating tonight's debate with great respect for Ms. Paul. Erin O'toole doesn't belong there, Jagmeet Singh needs a nap, the bloc guy can't remember where he parked his car.

— Clay Thompson (@harryt59_harry) September 9, 2021

I think Paul has been doing pretty well, connecting and appealing. It's a reminder that the Greens might have had a really consequential impact on this election if they hadn't decided to burn their own barn down right before harvest #Elxn44

— Scott Reid (@_scottreid) September 9, 2021

Take off all the time you want . No one will even notice you are missing.

— keeping them honest (@BreadRiceCheese) September 8, 2021

Correctile dysfunction

— Paul Smith (@PaulSmithTO) September 9, 2021

The vitriol is jarring - Singh, in particular, appears to have such a personal dislike for Trudeau, even though in terms of policy directions I think there should be much that Liberals and NDP would be able to agree on.

O'Toole and Singh's standard response when they can't answer simple questions, is to respond with, " Why are we having an election?" Trudeau is the clear winner in tonight's debate! #VoteLiberal pic.twitter.com/TmttKlAUST

— KNugent4118🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 (@knugent4118) September 9, 2021

Anybody paying attention has seen Singh and the NDP work against the Liberals regardless of policy. Ask the disabled, who could have used some help but, both the Cons & NDP votes AGAINST that support. #VoteLiberal

— KCR 🐕🐕🐕🥂😷🇨🇦 (@kimcreynolds1) September 8, 2021

The reason we have an election is clear this debate.

No party wants to work with the liberal party in a minority government anymore.@JustinTrudeau is the only person telling us his true record and plan.

That’s who I trust.#IStandWithTrudeau #VoteLiberal #cdnpoli #Elxn44

— Dr. Matthew S. Johnston (@mattjohnstonca) September 9, 2021

I was surprised at the lack of attention paid to Indigenous issues, except for glancing comments about boil-water advisories and Indigenous languages.

Yuuuuuuuuuuuuup. https://t.co/j7v70F4Kxw

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) September 9, 2021

1st question is on Indigenous sovereignty & languages (making them official) all party leaders agree(even blanchet) but O'Toole doesnt.

No official language designation, only services, he also skated around sovereignty out right.

Brutal.

— kris meloche (@krismeloche) September 9, 2021

Clearly O’Toole doesn’t know that Ojibwa is different than Mohawk. 🤦🏻‍♀️

— Ishat Reza 🇵🇸 (@IshatReza) September 9, 2021

In fairness to Trudeau, he introduced the Indigenous
Languages Act. His platform promises to continue working on it and funding it.

— Justin Ling (@Justin_Ling) September 9, 2021

Though more than 100 boil-water advisories have been lifted under the Liberal government, there are still 32 communities with boil-water advisories in place, and COVID limited the amount of work that could be done in 2020

#Trudeau has failed? Really, #ErinOToole?

You say he doesn't deliver results.

Reality says otherwise.#OTooleLies #cdnpoli #elxn44 #debatsdeschefs pic.twitter.com/xmcj8tJRbR

— Jason Pugh 🏳️‍🌈 (@TheJasonPugh) September 9, 2021

I try to explain to ppl the complexity of building things in northern 🇨🇦 but most 🇨🇦 are fucking clueless about life in the North. And by North I’m not talking Barrie https://t.co/gGV72yya4B

— JimG (@jgib44) September 9, 2021

How can Erin O’Toole complain about long-term boil-water advisories when his party did absolutely nothing when in power - and, in fact, were content to uphold a 2% spending cap, which the current government removed upon being elected? #cdnpoli #Elxn44

— Diane Marie (@DianeMariePosts) September 9, 2021

Despite a national inquiry and 231 Calls for Justice, there were no questions on genocide or Indigenous women specifically. I am hoping this is not the case again tomorrow. #debatdeschefs #elxn44

— Lynne Groulx (@groulx_lynne) September 9, 2021

And this is from the post-debate media discussion:

This is a must watch! #Elxn44 @liberal_party

pic.twitter.com/6r7j8MBvgd

— Michael Coteau (@coteau) September 9, 2021

I think the Conservative consensus was that O'Toole didn't do as well as they wanted him to:

At the halfway point of the French language debate, @JustinTrudeau is galloping three lengths ahead and a limping @erinotoole fading in fourth. The opposition needed to draw blood on the Liberal leader. So far, not even a bruise.

— Don Martin (@DonMartinCTV) September 9, 2021

😬
“Other than that Carrie, how was the prom?” https://t.co/LtI2RLxXWe

— Greg MacEachern (@gmacofglebe) September 9, 2021

The restaurant coupon idea that the CPC announced earlier today isn't going to create any voting momentum either:

I’d rather have healthcare and daycare and pharmacare than discounted junk food certificates. #Elxn44 #cdnpoli

— Diane Reid 🇨🇦🌎 😷 💉💉 (@dianemariereid) September 9, 2021

😂 https://t.co/e5njSzZeaA

— Gerald Butts (@gmbutts) September 8, 2021

The elephant in the room, tonight and tomorrow, is the surging People's Party of Canada. Mainly I think, they are attracting anti-vaxxers from the CPC, but maybe some are also coming from the other parties as well. 

I thought this was an interesting observation too:

I keep thinking about this and how, under List PR, the PPC could easily hold the balance of power. And how, when we pointed this out back when electoral reform was promised federally, we were castigated for warning about this very really possibility https://t.co/w7qyEyEDdg

— Melanee Thomas (@MelaneeLThomas) September 7, 2021

And an update on today's polling news:

"There is no path to a CPC government, not now, not on September 20th, and not at any point between now and then. Let’s just hope Election Day doesn’t give way to shaky movements or require any improvisational skills"
Me @UnscriptedScrim on Canada https://t.co/G5MVnjkKuG

— Evan Scrimshaw (@EScrimshaw) September 8, 2021

Updated @338Canada Federal Model:

LPC: 139 (-18)
CPC: 138 (+17)
NDP: 33 (+9)
BQ: 26 (-6)
GPC: 1 (-2)

(Seat changes with 2019 Election)

Model Details Here: https://t.co/PH3p7jLQWa pic.twitter.com/2t0C2KVjda

— Polling Canada (@CanadianPolling) September 9, 2021

Today's funny:

If I’m re-elected, I will wear pants in the House of Commons. https://t.co/XLiKnFrc3d

— Nate Erskine-Smith (@beynate) September 8, 2021