Stormy weather over Stornoway

I keep waiting for wiser heads to prevail - will the Conservative party realize that they don't need Canada's version of the Trumpy Man-Baby as their leader anymore?

Listen to this interview with Bob Fife: "We like some of the policies you're doing about but we think your leader is a dick!"

Yes he's quite hated but I just can't get past him almost calling him Millhouse 🤣 #cdnpoli #canada #canadasky #elxn45

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— Jo (@darkcoffee8.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 8:39 PM

Now that Poilievre has lost his seat, its a perfect excuse for the party to say "See ya! Don't let the door hit you on your way out!"
Alternately, it would be a perfect time for Poilievre himself to be the bigger person and withdraw from public life for a while - use his pension to regroup, maybe get a job at a think tank or an NGO or some such - then start working his way back up. That's what ordinary politicians do when they lose.

CPC party dropped Andrew Scheer after the 2019 election and Erin O’Toole after the 2021 campaign. Both these leaders won the popular vote against the Liberals, but not the seat count. Mr. Poilievre lost both And, strike three, also his own seat. archive.is/L8c76 #cdnpoli

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— Pete Quily (@pqpolitics.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 10:41 AM

Post-election News: voting maps, Carney wins, Wexit update, Poilievre sad. Plus, it's always fun to ridicule Trump!

In Canadian events today, some interesting maps showing how Canadians voted -- much more clearly than just showing big empty blocks of red and blue:

In response to the election map of #Canada showing large areas voting Conservative blue, here's a graphic from reddit entitled "Land doesn't Vote, People Do". #Liberals are red. #canpoli #cdnpoli #CanadaStrong Source: www.reddit.com/r/onguardfor... h/t @ianbremmer.com

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— Bill Comeau 🇨🇦 (@bill-comeau.bsky.social) April 30, 2025 at 5:25 PM

And here's news: the Liberals don't actually need another party to vote with them!
The Liberals have 169 seats while the Conservatives and the Bloc have 166 seats in total. Therefore the Liberals actually do have enough seats to pass budgets and laws on their own, even if the Cons and the Bloc vote against them, provided the NDP and Elizabeth May abstain. So ha ha!!!

Here's what Carney accomplished:

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Let's take a break for some funny stuff -- good lines about our election plus other good posts, and of course, Animal Crackers

I have been seeing some great "takes" on the election results:

 

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Great routine from Colbert:

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Whew! Carney and the Liberals did it.

Whenever I get the Wordle answer on my sixth try, the computer says "Whew!" 

That's what I feel tonight. 

It was much closer than I wanted it to be, and Carney had to survive an onslaught of smears and fears, and it's going to be challenging for Carney and the Liberals to manage parliament on one hand and Trump on the other for the next two or three years. 

But they did it!

What newcomer Mark Carney did in this election is unparalleled. It's like a rookie joining a last place team and then leading them to the Stanley Cup in his first season. #cdnpoli #canpoli #CanadaStrong

— Bill Comeau 🇨🇦 (@bill-comeau.bsky.social) April 28, 2025 at 8:43 PM

Cole Bennett / Cole.notcole

Canada Strong: A New Chapter
...Mark Carney’s campaign was built on a simple but profound promise: Canada Strong.
Not strong because of bluster.
Not strong because of anger.
But strong because of fairness, integrity, and the belief that the success of one should lift the success of all.
Across every province, in small towns and big cities alike, Canadians said:
We are stronger when we care for one another.
We are stronger when we protect our environment and build a future worthy of our children.
We are stronger when leadership means service, not spectacle.
... Canadians proved something to themselves and to the world:
Our democracy is not for sale.
Our country is not for rage.
Our future is not for fear.
It is for all of us. Together.
It is for Canada strong, free, and forever forward....

An excellent summary here:

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One more sleep

Here are some good cartoons that sum up this campaign:

S

And some final words:

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Coming around the clubhouse turn, heading for the tape.....

It's just too damned hard to act all solemn and serious right now -- I'm laughing on the outside but quivering on the inside, just waiting for Monday to be over. 

In the meantime -- here are a few posts and cartoons to enjoy!

Lead on, Big Daddy!

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PM Mark Carney is considered as Captain Canada. Poilievre is the villain.

— Just al, Ontario (@chakula.bsky.social) April 26, 2025 at 4:19 AM

It comes down to this: the banker vs the wanker

(Illustration from Wayne Horton's substack )

We're almost at the end now, and the choice comes down to this:

Banker or wanker.

Your choice, Canada.#cdnpoli #elxn45

— Ian Morrison 🇨🇦 (@IanDMorrison) April 18, 2025

If you'd told me a few months ago that I'd be desperately hoping that a 60-year-old white male banker was going to be officially elected Canada's Prime Minister, I'd have told myself to fuck right off with that nonsense, but here we are

— Clare Blackwood (@clareblackwood.bsky.social) April 25, 2025 at 3:31 PM

Time to make fun of the Poilievre campaign!

Three days to go!

And I'm feeling deliriously hopeful (with a sliver of dread that Carney won't get the majority government Canada needs).

So I can't focus on anything serious right now, just the funny stuff.

On CBC's At Issue panel tonight, Chantal Hebert was on fire:

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Here's the whole piece:

April 24, 2025: All the major federal parties finally release their costed platforms, what path to victory looks like for each party, could some leaders lose their own seats? www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcH5... @rosiebarton.bsky.social @acoyne.bsky.social @chebert18.bsky.social @althiaraj.bsky.social 🍁

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— CBC's At Issue videos (@atissuecbc.bsky.social) April 24, 2025 at 8:15 PM

Today's News: He just couldn't help it!

Five more days. 

All Trump needed to do was to keep quiet about Canada for just five more days. 

He just couldn't do it.

Danielle and Pierre must be simply furious:

Eight-year-olds are trying to run the world. #ElbowsUp #CanadaStrong https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trump-canada-politics-1.7516951

- Nathan Sager

Read on Substack

Today's News: Just gotta laugh...

Here's some mid-week humour, as we sit on pins and needles waiting for next Monday. 

First, Poilievre finally released his budget plan and Canada was predictably underwhelmed:

Did this one make the cut? #cdnpoli https://t.co/XnLIj7uVuJ pic.twitter.com/ZYRnclwrfT

— Keith Torrie 🇨🇦 (@ktorrie) April 22, 2025

🚨Since releasing his hilariously vacant, ChatGPT-inspired "Platform" 3 hours ago, Poilievre has lost 4% points to Carney @Polymarket, who now leads PP by 58% pts... Polievre is prolly surprised that the rest of us can read...

- Dean Blundell

Read on Substack

Carney's "Liberal Strong" plan for Canada

Now, I am no economist nor can I make an informed analysis of election platforms. 

But I'm seeing some interesting posts from knowledgeable people about the Liberal Strong platform that Carney released:

This is a massive shift in approach from the 2021 Liberal platform. Building up Canada's assets to Trump-proof the economy. Ignore those who are pretending this is similar, it's literally the inverse of 2021, in terms of spending focus. pic.twitter.com/E28PMz8x49

— Bruce Anderson (@bruceanderson) April 20, 2025

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Weekend funny stuff: Some good signs, some good laughs, some little kids being cute, and Animal Crackers

Happy Easter, everyone!

pic.twitter.com/snWTyIqf1Q

— E. Jean Carroll (@ejeancarroll) April 20, 2025

Today's Heros: Universities, Pope Francis, Canadian voters

Universities
My love for my university is life-long and deep.
After I got my own degree, I spent much of my working life as an employee of my university. I had various positions over the years - writing the alumni magazine and other publications, assembling the college's course catalogue, advising students, assigning offices for faculty, working with faculty committees - it was interesting and rewarding work. 

Not only that, but my family's involvement with my university was historic - in the 30s, a time when many women never considered going to university, my mother and her three sisters all graduated from my university with degrees - two teachers, a nurse and an accountant. When I attended in due time, I met my husband there. And our children also got their first degrees there; now our daughter and daughter-in-law are on the faculty.
"Academic freedom" is a core value for my whole family.
So I am absolutely appalled by Trump's attempt to tell universities who to hire, what to teach, and what to research. 

And I am so proud that, led by Harvard, universities across the United States are now standing up to his fascism.

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Finally, its time to vote, vote, vote...

Doesn't this feel like the longest election campaign ever? 

It's actually an average length of 37 days, it only seems like Canadians have been waiting FOREVER to get this election decided so we can get on with whatever comes next. 
The advanced polls opened on Friday and the lines were long:

All good Americans stand with Canada during their election!! Good luck Carney!! 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

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— 🌸🌺Cindy Cardno🌺 (@cyn1422.bsky.social) April 18, 2025 at 8:37 PM

It's a lineup to vote!!! It's never been a lineup at advanced polls! That's why we do them! Wow!!!

— Catelli (@catelli.bsky.social) April 18, 2025 at 10:29 AM

Today's News: "Mark Carney made his case"

 

Tonight was the last of the federal election debates. The overall media conclusion was that nobody "lost". 

While the CBC At Issue panel discussion above was interesting, I found the Toronto Star columnists live-blog to be a detailed yet thoughtful survey of the entire debate, well worth reading. 

Here are a couple of excerpts:

Susan Delacourt
Carney made his case, despite Poilievre’s strong showing at final debate
Three leaders walked on to a stage in Montreal on Thursday night with one mission — to take the front-runner shine off Liberal Leader Mark Carney.
If there was any doubt about Carney’s lead in this election, it was dispelled within minutes after the opening of the English-language leaders’ debate.
None of it seemed to rattle Carney...

Justin Ling
Carney won the debate, and it wasn't close, says Ling
...Mark Carney won, and it wasn’t even close. He was even-tempered, he sounded prime ministerial, he rattled off plans, promises, and numbers without hesitation. He managed to turn questions about his record at Brookfield, including its use of tax havens, into a point about his experience. I think that for Canadians who are anxious and nervous about what the future holds, his performance was pretty comforting — particularly for those who may have watched him struggle in the French debate last night. He even managed to get in his favourite line about Trump: “They want to break us so they can own us.”
He was helped enormously by Jagmeet Singh, who was in fine form. ...I doubt it won him any converts tonight. Still, it may have stopped the bleeding.
And then there’s Pierre Poilievre. I think he may have excited his core supporters, but I think he looked ideological, defensive, and without any new ideas. It’s been clear that his campaign refuses to pivot or change from the strategy that they drew up long before the political ground shifted underneath them. If affordability and desire for change overcomes anxieties around this trade war and the fate of the liberal world order, Poilievre could still win this election. But I think tonight’s performance was a tactical error for Poilievre.

This was the most Important statement of the debate.

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— Aaron YVR (@areynaldos.bsky.social) April 18, 2025 at 1:12 AM