Is Canada Really Doing Well Right Now? There could be a Federal Election Very Soon?

                 On the surface to the outside world everything seems perfect in Canada at the moment. The Canadian economy and dollar is soaring at the moment. Unemployment is down to a thirty three year low at 5.9%.  Canadian shoppers are crossing the USA border in droves searching for bargains. However, beneath the surface there is tension that is going to boil over very soon if the real issues are not dealt with.  First, over seventy young Canadians soldiers have died and perished in Afghanistan. For what? I don’t even know. 

             The first picture is  Gerard Kennedy he should be the leader of the Federal Liberal party but he’s not.  I believe Canada now needs a “younger” leader someone that is optimistic someone that understands the concerns of younger people but also can balance the concerns of older people. Gerard Kennedy has the charisma, the talent, and the potential to be a great Liberal leader. Some Liberal strategists claim Kennedy’s youth and inexperience in Federal politics is the reason he’s not the leader yet. Kennedy is forty seven years old. Is that young? Guess so in Canadian politics. 

          The second photo is Jack Layton he’s the leader of the Federal New Democratic Party. The NDP party is what many call the “central left” party in Canada. The third photo is the new Liberal leader Stephane Dion. The Liberal party is thought of as being in the “center”.  The fourth photo is Stephen Harper the current Prime Minister of Canada he’s also the leader of  the Conservative Party of Canada. 

         Prime Minster Stephen Harper has visited Afghanistan to score political points. Harper is exploiting the dead to score political points. Harper has  proclaimed that the soldiers are making a great sacrifice.  Is this really true though? Is it a sacrifice when young fathers are dying and young women are now widows raising children that won’t know their dads? Is it a “great sacrifice” when soliders die?  And yes Harper definitely has scored a lot of political points. Some Canadians believe Harper is taking the right stand showing “support” for Canadian troops.

        Canada is in a precarious position at the moment there is  also a minority government and that means instability. The Liberals lead by the insipid Stephane Dion lost three seats in Quebec by-elections recently. Although Dion is French Canadian he is not popular with other French Canadians.  Since Canada has a minority and not a majority government there could be a snap fall election. Nobody really wants this of course. Elections cost money and even Federal Liberal strategists don’t want a Federal election right now because the Federal Liberal party could lose even more seats. And in Ontario we have a Provincial election on Wednesday we don’t want to have to deal with another election after this one.  

         Harper has definitely been coached well by his  public relations team by appearing patriotic and talking about national unity. However, in my mind Canadian troops in Afghanistan is a United Nations issue not a Canadian issue. I believe the death of  seventy Canadian soldiers is far too many. What are these young soldiers dying for anyway? Afghanistan is such an unstable country it will take years most likely decades for the country to find stability. CBC has been airing documentaries about young Afghan girls finally obtaining education which of course is positive. However, lets be honest here the majority of Afghan women still endure misogyny and male domination. A nation that is patriarchal does not change over night. Osama Bin Laden is still on the loose the country the world should be focusing on should be Pakistan. General Pervez Musharraf is a dictator and he cannot be trusted yet he is considered an ally of the United States.

                 Since the Canadian economy is doing very well at the moment there  is not a lot the Federal New Democratic Leader leader Jack Layton or the Liberal leader Stephane Dion can complain about with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. In fact, Canada also has a $14 billion dollar surplus which Harper says will be used to pay down the national debt. Harper is scoring a lot of political points with voters. A lot of “older” voters care about issues such as paying down the debt. However, why doesn’t Harper use the surplus to help the Canadian people? The excess money could be used to create more social housing, assist the Canadian health care system, help university students, assist women fleeing domestic violence. Violence against women is a very important issue an issue the Canadian government casually ignores. Again, the rights of women is obviously not an important issue for the Conservative party of Canada. Domestic violence is a top five issue it is a root to so many social problems. More needs to be done. Harper cannot say Canada doesn’t have the money now.

        Harper has no detour he should be focusing on improving the nation and he’s not.  Why is Harper using all of the surplus to pay down the debt? It sounds illogical to me that Harper is doing this.

        The problem for Canada right now is we have a spineless Liberal leader Stephane Dion he cannot challenge Stephen Harper. Dion is not a strong man. Dion doesn’t have any sophistication nothing at all that sets him apart he needs his own identity. Dion appears insecure and agitated when asked tough questions.  I wanted Gerard Kennedy to be the new Liberal leader. There was a Liberal party convention last year and Kennedy lost early in the rounds of voting. Kennedy cares about people he was once the executive director of the Toronto Daily Bread Food Bank he also was the former Provincial Education minister in the province of Ontario. The problem for Kennedy is that people are fearful of him due to his so called ” youth” and “inexperience” at the Federal level. Again Kennedy is  forty seven years old is that really young? Canadian politics is weird!

        However, Stephane Dion should not be the Federal Liberal leader. Dion just doesn’t have that spark. The last Canadian Prime Minster Jean Chretien may have been an old man but at least he had charisma and a personality. Chretien was like a street fighter he never backed away from a fight.  A leader cannot just speak the facts. A leader must be brave and bold. A leader must connect with the Canadian population and especially have the support of his or her own party. A leader must be someone that inspires the nation not someone that infuriates people.  Dion is losing support internally within the Liberal party. Don’t be surprised if there is a purging and Dion is removed as the leader.  Dion is bland and dry as burnt toast.  Its clear to me that there is a lot of tension inside the Federal Liberal party at the moment. The leader of a political party must be a strong man or woman that has charisma but also strength. Dion doesn’t exhibit any of these qualities. Dion comes across as  whiny, unlikeable, and as a nerd. Some in the media have suggested that Michael Ignatieff should be the new Liberal leader yet this man has only recently moved to Canada. Igantieff has lived off Canadian shores for most of his life. Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada will never be defeated until the Liberals get a stronger leader.

          There is a ray of hope though the Federal NDP is growing in strength the new NDP leader Jack Layton has seen a surge in popularity with his party. The NDP also holds the balance of power.  There is another Canadian political party that exists that really makes no sense the Bloc Quebecois lead by Gilles Duceppe. The Bloc Quebecois wants to destroy Canadian unity and separate Quebec from the rest of Canada. The problem for the Bloc Quebecois is that many French Canadians don’t want to separate from Canada. Canadian law already grants Quebec so many special powers. For instance, Quebec has their own legal system, they have specific immigration laws that apply to that province as well. French is the second official language in Canada. It looks like a Federal election could be taking place very soon. I don’t know what’s going to happen? Harper could win a majority and that would be horrible. The only positive thing about a minority government is that Harper cannot just pass any legislation he wants. The other political parties have to realize that they do hold power they can force Harper to make concessions. My belief is the other political parties should wait until next year and then maybe only then have an election. Its such a shame that Stephane Dion is the Liberal Leader he’s simply too weak.