In Canada, is the right the same as in America? Or is the right wing a little less left than the left of center political parties of Canada. How successful are right wing parties in Canada. What is their agenda like?
I am a member of Canada's Liberal Party but for a couple of months back in 2008 I had been a member of the Christian Heritage Party. In my Liberal Party there is pretty much a one hundred percent consensus that climate change is real and that we should do something about it...but at least we are discussing the various options! Proposal for the creation of a Quebec provincial currency unit to save coastal communities from threat of rising ocean levels. In my opinion it is going to cost trillions of dollars to do what needs to be done to protect towns like Truro, and Antigonish, Nova Scotia from the consequences of the cracking and sliding of a large part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and the land based Greenland Ice Pack into the ocean. The province of Alberta attempted to create its own provincial currency unit during The Great Depression but enormous pressure was exerted to ensure that their experiment in monetary policy was unsuccessful. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberta_Social_Credit_Party The province of Quebec seems to be in much better position to create its own provincial currency unit without facing the massive backlash from the financial community and federal government that Alberta experienced. Dr. James Hansen has stated that the last time that global temperatures rose by three degrees ocean levels rose by 25 meters over four centuries. Canada and the world are NOT yet prepared for ocean rise of one meter every twenty years. Nearly one hundred million people in Bangladesh alone will become climate change refugees in the event of merely a one meter rise in ocean levels!
yes there are nutters on the extreme right here as well, but thankfully much much fewer...60% of the population is center to left...our moderate right is equal to the US Democrats IMO...
No. To be on the right in Canada generally means to hold responsible, mature, honest, conservative viewpoints. In some ways, Canada's right is to the left of American Democrats, in others ways it is more like a centrist party between the Republicans and Democrats. For example, there is very little appetite on Canada's right for the creationist, anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-immigrant, racist, pro-gun sort of nonsense typical of the ignorant, redneck American right. Canada is currently governed by the Conservative Party (its only significant right-wing party) under Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Their agenda is generally pro-business, but still realistic and responsible. They would much rather exercise governmental authority to stop banks from destroying themselves by their own greed and stupidity than have to bail them out afterwards. They also know they cannot dismantle Canada's social safety net and hope to be re-elected. Harper is a very intelligent and astute politician who has won three straight general elections despite having zero (0) charisma, and is generally regarded as the foremost political strategist and public policy innovator of his generation. He is also fluently bilingual, and while still in his twenties was one of the intellectual founders and first elected MPs of the Reform Party, which later merged with the Progressive Conservatives to form the Conservative Party. It was a bit embarrassing for Canada when Harper met with George Bush, as the latter was clearly far out of his intellectual depth before they even shook hands. Harper appeared to be asking himself, "Just how far do I have to dumb it down for this halfwit?"
As an American living in Canada I would agree. Canadians in general are much more liberal that the average American. Something that took me by surprise is just how different Canada and America are. The Parliamentary system is very different from the American system... that and Canada has a lot more Parties than America. I do like that MP's can cast a vote of no confidence to oust a rogue PM if need be, rather than waiting until the PM's term is up.
I used to be very active in politics in Canada, first very much so in the Progressive Conservative Party, then a bit in the Reform Party before I moved to the US. The big difference is that Canadian conservatives 1. Are much less socially conservative 2. Have accepted "socalized medicine" but are trying to improve it through market based reforms 3. Do not believe the ridiculous supply side idea that income tax cuts everywhere and all the time raise revenues I consider myself to be a diehard conservative in Canada - and Britain for that matter when I lived there - but not in America. I figured that when I moved to the US, I would be a diehard Republican as well. But after moving here and seeing the party up close, I was not impressed. I did register as a Republican when I naturalized, but that's mainly because Florida is a closed primary. If primaries were open, I'd probably be an independent.
it would be better yet if we switch to proportional representation, as it now we have phoney majorities where 35-39% of the vote gets a majority of seats in the parliament, and that puts far to much power in the hands of the PM who ends up with dictatorial power for 4-5 years...PR and multiple parties keeps the government balanced and under control...
