Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Bloc Quebecois

2011-05-31T15:14:08Z

Cheesefromcows: Removed Irrelavent reference.

The '''Bloc Québécois''' is a [[Socialism|democratic socialist]] separatist party in [[Canada]] that only runs in the province of [[Quebec]] during elections.

The party was created after the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, a pan-Canadian agreement on the recognition of Quebec as a distinct society, according the province a constitutional veto and other cultural rights. The treaty was signed in 1987 but was not ratified by enough provincial legislatures. Their first members of parliament were dissident Quebec Members of Parliament(MP) from the [[Conservative Party of Canada]] and the [[Liberal Party of Canada]] who had abandoned the federalist option after the failure of the Meech Lake Accords.

The is currently lead by [[Gilles Duceppe]] who was the first elected Bloc Québécois Member of Parliament in the [[Canadian House of Commons]] through a by-election in August 1990. He was elected leader of the party in 1997.

At their first general election, in 1993, the Bloc elected 54 MPs out of 75 seats in Québec. In November 2009, they had 51 elected MPs at the Canadian parliament. As of May 2 2011 they now have 4 seats, not enough for official party status.

In Québec they run against the [[Conservative Party of Canada]], the [[Liberal Party of Canada]] and the [[New Democratic Party]]. They are largely ignored by the rest of Canada, except maybe by the thousands of French-speaking Canadians living outside of Quebec.

It is now using its seats to further the French-Canadian nationalistic political agenda. Its provincial equivalant is the [[Parti Québécois]].

[[Category:Canadian Political Parties]]

Bloc Quebecois

2011-05-30T16:07:30Z

Cheesefromcows: added 2011 elections/seat number.

The '''Bloc Québécois''' is a [[Socialism|democratic socialist]] separatist party in [[Canada]] that only runs in the province of [[Quebec]] during elections.

Some people {{who}} relate them to the [[Front de libération du Québec]], which was responsible for over 200 bombings, kidnappings (including James Richard Cross, a British trade representative) and the deaths of 5 people, including Pierre Laporte, a provincial cabinet minister. The FLQ is now history and was far apart from the founding members of the bloc in the political spectrum.

The party was created after the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, a pan-Canadian agreement on the recognition of Quebec as a distinct society, according the province a constitutional veto and other cultural rights. The treaty was signed in 1987 but was not ratified by enough provincial legislatures. Their first members of parliament were dissident Quebec Members of Parliament(MP) from the [[Conservative Party of Canada]] and the [[Liberal Party of Canada]] who had abandoned the federalist option after the failure of the Meech Lake Accords.

The is currently lead by [[Gilles Duceppe]] who was the first elected Bloc Québécois Member of Parliament in the [[Canadian House of Commons]] through a by-election in August 1990. He was elected leader of the party in 1997.

At their first general election, in 1993, the Bloc elected 54 MPs out of 75 seats in Québec. In November 2009, they had 51 elected MPs at the Canadian parliament. As of May 2 2011 they now have 4 seats, not enough for official party status.

In Québec they run against the [[Conservative Party of Canada]], the [[Liberal Party of Canada]] and the [[New Democratic Party]]. They are largely ignored by the rest of Canada, except maybe by the thousands of French-speaking Canadians living outside of Quebec.

It is now using its seats to further the French-Canadian nationalistic political agenda. Its provincial equivalant is the [[Parti Québécois]].

[[Category:Canadian Political Parties]]

Talk:Stephen Harper

2011-05-25T18:44:00Z

Cheesefromcows: /* 2011 Election */

I love the characterization of the Conservatives as being for crime. I left it.
[[User:Canuck|Canuck]] 22:41, 30 July 2008 (EDT)

: I searched on "crime" in the entry and nothing turned up. What are you talking about?--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 23:31, 30 July 2008 (EDT)
:: This list -- "Harper's Conservative Government has largely followed his election platform of five key priorities. They are :

* Federal Accountability
* Tax Reform (including dropping the Canadian VAT, the GST from 7% to 5%
* Crime
* Child Care
* Health Care "

::Since the Conservatives are in favour of the first two, it logically follows that they are, in the opinion of the author, in favour of all five. It's closer to fact to say that they are in favour of the first two and against the last three. [[User:Canuck|Canuck]] 23:01, 17 August 2008 (EDT)

==Iraq War==
Someone appears to have deleted my addition that the Tories are not the only party to support the Iraq war. As I wrote there the Christian Heritage Party has staucnly supported the Iraq war. [[User:Jamhaw|Jamhaw]] 16:47, 19 December 2008 (EST)jamhaw
:The Christian Heritage Party has never elected a single MP, never topped 1% of the vote, is unknown to the public, and doesn't have official party status. Frankly, their position on issues is irrelevant. The true Christian party, the Conservatives, were the only party of any note to support the war. [[User:RodWeathers|- Rod Weathers]] 17:30, 19 December 2008 (EST)

== Abortion ==

There is no evidence that Harper is opposed to abortion. [[User:The Four Deuces|The Four Deuces]] 18:37, 24 December 2008 (EST)

== 2011 Election ==

The last paragraph on this page needs some reworking as he now has a majority (not a minority) government as he won the 2011 elections. I suggest some re-working of the article to suit this.
--[[User:Cheesefromcows|Cheesefromcows]] 14:33, 25 May 2011 (EDT)

I also suggest using a more up to date picture for Mr. Harper as the one currently is quite old (2004?). --[[User:Cheesefromcows|Cheesefromcows]] 14:44, 25 May 2011 (EDT)

John Baird

2011-05-25T18:42:08Z

Cheesefromcows: he is now foreign affairs minister.

'''John Baird''' is a [[Canadian]] politician, and is the Foriegn Affairs Minister for Canada. He has served as a Member of the Ontario House of Assembly and is now currently a federal Member of Parliament.

==Political experience==
Baird is a [[Conservative Party of Canada | Conservative]] Member of Parliament for the riding of [[Ottawa]] West-Nepean in 2006 and appointed to the Privy Council as President of the Treasury Board in Canadian [[Prime Minister]] [[Stephen Harper]]'s first cabinet.

As President of the Treasury Board, he steered and created the Canadian Federal Accountability Act (anti-corruption legislation). On January 4, 2007, he became Minister of the [[Environment]] and was later succeeded in that role by Jim Prentice. He currently serves as Minister of Transport in the Canadian government.

==Personal==
Mr. Baird is a life-long resident of Nepean, [[Ontario]], Canada.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baird, John}}

[[category:Canadian Political People]]

Conservative Party of Canada

2011-05-25T18:40:01Z

Cheesefromcows: PC were Center Right and the Reform is Right wing just fixed this up a bit.

[[Image:649px-Conservative Party of Canada.png|right|thumb|Conservative Party of Canada LOGO]]
The '''Conservative Party of Canada''', colloquially known as the '''Tories''', is a [[Canada|Canadian]] [[political party]], formed after the 2003 amalgamation of the national [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada]] and the [[Canadian Alliance]]. The party united right-of-center Canadians under one common banner and won a [[minority government]] in 2006, ending a 13-year reign by the [[Liberal Party of Canada]]. The current party leader, and [[Prime Minister of Canada]], is the Right Honourable [[Stephen Harper]].

After the 1993 defeat of the Canada's only female Prime Minister, [[Kim Campbell]], the Progressive Conservatives a center-right party were reduced to just two seats in the House of Commons. Another right-wing party, the [[Reform Party of Canada|Reform Party]], gained 52 seats in that election. In 2000, the Reform Party changed its name to the Canadian Alliance. After a decade of split votes between the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance, the parties merged.

The party is generally supportive of privatization, a smaller federal government, larger provincial governments, closer relations with the [[United States]], [[Canadian Senate|Senate reform]], and a stronger military. The party opposes legalization of [[cannabis]], and held a free-vote on reopening the issue of [[same-sex marriage]], which was ultimately defeated. They have also motioned for fixed election dates, raising both supporters and detractors among all Canadian political parties, and for government transparency and accountability.

== See also ==

*[[Conservative Links]]

==External links==
* [http://www.conservative.ca/ Conservative Party of Canada official site]

[[Category:Canadian Political Parties]]
[[Category:Conservative Political Parties]]

Liberal Party of Canada

2011-05-25T18:37:39Z

Cheesefromcows: updated after 2011 elections.

The '''Liberal Party of Canada''' is a federal political party within the [[Canadian]] Federal Government. Other Liberal Parties exist in all of the Canadian Provinces, but not all are directly afflicated with the federal party. The party's former leader [[Stéphane Dion]], was often portrayed as a very innefectual leader and is often lampooned in the Canadian media.<ref>Stéphane Dion [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLNfNsHooNo portrayed as an idiot by the CBC]</ref> He was ousted as leader in December 2008 by [[Michael Ignatieff]], who was been continuously seen as a opportunist and only in it for himself.

In the past, the party has been traditionally a center and slightly left of center party based chiefly in vote rich [[Ontario]] and [[Québec]], and has been known as "Canada's Governing Party" because of the large number of elections they have won. However, the party has been rocked by a sponsorship scandal in Québec of late, and their popularity has not returned. The Liberals have not been as popular in western Canada, where voters have voted for the [[Conservative Party of Canada|Conservatives]].

The Liberal Party is has been plagued for years by corruption scandals. It also wholeheartedly rejects [[conservative]] and [[family values]]; it instituted socialized medicine, legalized [[gay marriage]], decriminalized [[marijuana]] possession, upholds taxpayer-funded [[abortion]], and affirms man-made [[global warming]]. Stéphane Dion, a former sociology professor, claims to be a devout Catholic.

The Liberal Party, and liberals in Canada are known informally as "Grits".

They are opposed by the [[Conservative Party of Canada|Conservative Party]], [[New Democratic Party]] and the sovereigntist [[Bloc Québecois]].

In the 2011 elections the Liberals were demolished by the success of the Conservatives and the NDP bringing their seat total from 77 to record low of 34 making them the third party in Canadian politics.

==External links==
* [http://www.liberal.ca/ Liberal Party of Canada official site]

==References==
{{reflist|small}}

[[Category:Canadian Political Parties]]
[[Category:Canadian History]]

Talk:Stephen Harper

2011-05-25T18:33:39Z

Cheesefromcows: /* 2011 Election */

Talk:Stephen Harper

2011-05-25T18:33:27Z

Cheesefromcows:

Stephen Harper

2011-05-25T18:30:55Z

Cheesefromcows: This page was old, the elections are done, so I added that he won.

[[Image:Hoto.jpg|right|thumb]]
'''Stephen Harper''' is currently the 22nd [[Prime Minister]] of [[Canada]] and leader of the [[Conservative Party of Canada]]. He recently won the 2011 elections with 39.62% of the vote and 166 out of 308 seats giving the Conservatives a majority government. The election was started after the Liberal Party of Canada put forward a motion of Non Confidence on the alledged grounds of contempt of parliment.
==History==
Stephen Harper was born on April 30, 1959 in [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]]. He received a Master's degree in [[economics]] from the University of Calgary.

As a young man, Harper briefly worked as an intern in [[Ottawa]] as an assistant to the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada]]. However he eventually grew frustrated and disillusioned with the party, which he saw as overly pragmatic, insufficently conservative, and hostile towards the interests of western Canada.

Returning to [[Alberta]], he joined forces with conservative activist Preston Manning and helped found the [[Reform Party of Canada]], a "true" conservative party designed to challenge the dominance of the Progressive Conservatives and then-PC Prime Minister [[Brian Mulroney]].

Harper proceded to be elected to Parliament in 1993 as a Reform Party of Canada member to represent the riding of Calgary West. In 1997 he declined to run for re-election, however, becoming frustrated with parlimentary politics and Manning's leadership of the Reform Party.

Subsequently, he became the head of the National Citizens Coalition (NCC), a conservative advocacy group in Canada.

==Recent history==
When Manning resigned as leader of Reform in 2000 the party renamed itself the [[Canadian Alliance]] and was briefly led by [[Stockwell Day]]. Day was an unpopular leader, though the party did make some parliamentary gains during his leadership. When he stepped down in 2002 Harper re-entered politics to replace him, and was subsequently elected the new leader of the [[Canadian Alliance]] (CA).

As leader, Harper was instrumental in instigating a merger between the CA and his old rivals, the Progressive Conservative Party, which was now led by [[Peter MacKay]], a man who was open to the idea of joining forces to help "unite the right" in Canada, and create a party powerful enough to defeat the entrenched [[Liberal Party of Canada]]. Harper's eagerness to merge led him to compromise several key principles of the Canadian Alliance, however. In order to win the moderate MacKay's support, Harper "softened" many of the CA's positions on issues.

Once the deal was inked, Harper was then elected first leader of the new [[Conservative Party of Canada]]. Defeating Magna International CEO and Red-Tory, [[Belinda Stronach]] and Ontario Health Minister, Tony Clement.

==Prime Minister==
In an election in 2006, the Conservative Party of Canada elected enough members of parliament to unseat Liberal Prime Minister [[Paul Martin]] and form a [[minority government]]. Stephen Harper became the Prime Minister on February 6th, 2006.

Harper's Conservative Government has largely followed his election platform of five key priorities. They are :
*Federal Accountability
*Tax Reform (including dropping the Canadian [[VAT]], the GST from 7% to 5%)
*Crime
*Child Care
*Health Care

In addition Harper has focused his energy on rebuilding the Canadian Forces and the war in Afghanistan.

In 2007 Harper promised Canadian farmers over $1 billion Canadian in farm subsidies but at the same time promised to end the Wheat Board of Canada's sales monopoly in Western Canada<ref>[http://www.cwb.ca/public/en/ cwb.ca]</ref>, (a government group that manipulates the prices of wheat and barley through [[supply management]]). Some farmers believe this would cost the Canadian farming industry billions of dollars in lost revenues while others feel the industry would benefit by allowing farmers in the West to market and sell their produce as they see fit; just as farmers in the east are allowed to do. The [[United States]] also wants the Wheat Board of Canada removed from power because it claims price fixing is unfair to free-trade. Wheat exports to the United States account for only 10% of Canada's wheat production.

A fixed election date measure was passed, setting the next general election for October, 2009. However, the measure was not binding, and on September 7th, 2008, Harper advised the Governor-General to call a general election for Octber 14, 2008, one year early. The Conservatives won the election, increasing their total number of seats, however they did not win an outright majority of the seats in the House of Commons. This left open the possibility of the remaining parties forming a coalition and displacing the Conservative government, and an unofficial Liberal-NDP-Bloc coalition was formed a month after the election; however, Harper successfully had parliament suspended until February 2009 before the coalition could bring forth a vote of no confidence. Liberal leader [[Stephane Dion]] resigned his position after the suspension of parliament, and succeeding leader [[Michael Ignatieff]] has distanced himself from the coalition, meaning that the Harper government is theoretically safe for the foreseeable future (although not truly safe, like any minority government).

==Views==
Mr. Harper is a member of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, a conservative evangelical Christian group, and is generally considered to have [[socially conservative]] views on most issues. He opposes [[gay marriage]] and [[abortion]] and supports [[capital punishment]]. During the [[Iraq War|2003 Iraq War]] his party was the only one in Canada that supported the United States and George W. Bush. In his past careers he has also been strongly critical of taxation, multiculturalism, constitutional concessions to [[Quebec]], and socialized healthcare.

As Prime Minister, however, Harper has governed much more pragmatically. Canadian liberals often accuse Harper of being "right wing" and too similar to [[George W. Bush]] and American [[Republicans]]; analogies which are used to inflame anti-American sentiment in Canada. In the 2006 election Harper thus sought to distance himself from some of his strongly conservative positions of the past, usually by vowing to not pursue a radical social agenda while in office, but instead focus on certain economic prorities.

Regardless, as a minority Prime Minister whose caucus is still outnumbered by left-wing parties, Harper's ability to govern as a true conservative has been somewhat limited. He has, however, introduced reforms limiting Canadian gun control laws and may be able to implement a more conservative set of policies if his party wins re-election with a majority of the seats in the Canadian parliament.

== References ==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.thestar.com/News/article/164678 Stephen Harper's article on hockey in the Toronto Star]

[[Category:Canadian Prime Ministers]]
[[Category:Canadians]]
[[Category:Canada]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
{{DEFAULTSORT: Harper, Stephen}}

Talk:New Democratic Party

2011-05-25T18:25:43Z

Cheesefromcows:

== "making them the official opposition, though still in the minority" ==

That's redundant. All opposition parties are in a minority position: if they weren't a minority, they would be a majority, and if they were a majority, of course, they would form the government, not the official opposition. [[User:LloydR|LloydR]] 10:54, 23 May 2011 (EDT)

--

In Canada the party with the second most seats is called the Official Opposition. The NDP's leader Jack Layton therefore is the Leader of the Opposition.
--[[User:Cheesefromcows|Cheesefromcows]] 14:25, 25 May 2011 (EDT)

Talk:New Democratic Party

2011-05-25T18:25:25Z

Cheesefromcows: /* "making them the official opposition, though still in the minority" */

Jack Layton

2011-05-25T18:22:21Z

Cheesefromcows: added some more promises of the 2011 election and showed the current tax rate.

[[File:Jack Layton.jpg|thumb|Jack Layton<br>Photo by Joshua Sherurcij]]

'''John Gilbert "Jack" Layton''' (born July 18, 1950) is a [[social democrat]] and current leader of Canada's [[New Democratic Party]] and the Current leader of the Official Opposition of Canada. He went to York University in Toronto in 1970 to obtain a Ph.D in Political Science and has lived there since with his wife Olivia Chow

In 2006, he called for the return of Canadian troops from [[Afghanistan]]. In January 2007, Jack Layton called for a federal ban on [[ATM]] fees. In 2008 after the Conservatives when re-elected to a minority government. Layton was active in an attempt with [[Michael Ignatieff]] and Gilles Ducceppe to force the creation of a coalition government with the Liberal and Bloc parties. However, in the end, this attempt was unsuccessful.

In the [[2011 Canadian parliamentary elections]] Jack Layton ran as head of the NDP yet again. He has promised to increase funding for expensive, health care plans, increased social programs, and reduction of senior poverty all by raising corporate taxes to 19.5% from the current rate of 16.5%.

[[Category:Canadian Political People]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Layton, Jack}}

New Democratic Party

2011-05-25T18:17:39Z

Cheesefromcows: Fixed a minor grammer error and added that since it's a majority the NDP has little to no power.

The '''New Democratic Party''' or '''NDP''' is a [[democratic socialist]] [[Canadian]] political party. Its current leader is [[Jack Layton]]. It is noted for being the party of [[Tommy Douglas]]<ref>[http://www.mta.ca/faculty/arts/canadian_studies/english/about/study_guide/roots/ccf2ndp.html NDP Party history]</ref>, founder of Canada's [[universal healthcare]] system and grandfather of Kiefer Sutherland, star of the television series ''[[24]]''<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000662/bio IMDB trivia and Bio page for Keifer Sutherland]</ref>. Said of Douglas "He pursued his radical ideas relentlessly until they became so mainstream rival politicians claimed them as their own". Douglas also criticized [[liberalism]]. <ref>[http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/parties_leaders/topics/851/ CBC historical archive on Tommy Douglas and the NDP.]</ref>

The NDP has traditionally been an opponent to both the [[Conservative Party of Canada|Conservative Party]] and [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party]] as well as the separatist [[Bloc Quebecois]]. From their recent success in the 2011 elections the NDP beat their all time record of 43 seats of the Ed Broadbent era with 103 seats making them the official opposition, although they still have little to no power as the Conservatives have a majority government.
[[Category:Canadian Political Parties]]
[[Category:Canadian History]]

== References ==
<references/>