We'll have to see how they play, can't tell from here : "'Both Paul Martin and Stephen Harper want to bring Canada closer to George Bush,' the female voice-over says. 'But Jack Layton thinks we can be good neighbours while still maintaining our values and independence...'" "'Both Paul Martin and Stephen Harper want Canada to have more private health care,' the voice-over says. 'Jack Layton believes in improving public health care with innovation, not privatization.'" ...

That's what I Iike to see: "Today I'm announcing a [tax] package of four practical steps that will help middle class and working families to make ends meet." "Unlike the other parties, we'll do it without breaking the bank or undermining healthcare, education or the environment -- and all within a balance budget." Jack Layton is reframing the central question of this election. What kind of change do Canadians want: the Conservatives, or just not the Liberals? While t...

Originally shot for This Hour Has 22 Minutes , this hilarious Ed Broadbent video was never aired: Real Video » Quicktime » Windows Media » The producers of 22 Minutes felt it was too 'pro-Ed'.

Good God : "Conservative values are Canadian values." This from the man who said that a "silent majority" of Canadians supported the War in Iraq. BTW -- the Conservative platform includes $58 billion in spending and $29 billion for the contingency debt reduction fund. This brings the total platform cost to $87 billion, not just fifty eight. Stephen Harper admitted last week that some of his promises, like aircraft carriers, can't be paid for within his own spending es...

In honour of Paul Martin's jarring leftward turn , I'm revisiting... Hypothetical NDP Ads: Paul Martin's platform cries out for the shamelessly thievery of one of Ralph Nader best ideas -- the Mastercard political commercial: Smiling pictures of a young, circa 1993, Paul Martin. VOICE OVER & CHYRON: Eliminate the GST, 1993 Red Book: $28 billion. Smiling pictures of a young, circa 1997, Paul Martin. VOICE OVER & CHYRON: Universal Child Care, 1997 Red Book: $5 ...

Qurious Quote : "Screw the Red Book... Don't tell me what's in the Red Book. I wrote the God-damned thing. And I know that it's a lot of crap." --Paul Martin

Paul Martin -- king, lord and saviour of conservative Liberals -- released his party's pseudo-progressive platform today: "Liberal Leader Paul Martin tried to push the focus of an attack-filled election campaign back toward policy Thursday, unveiling a left-leaning platform that focuses on social program spending." This was, I believe, a fatal error in judgement. Pundits will claim that Martin is shoring up his left flank while putting enough distance between himself an...

An alarming trend has developed in Paul Martin's floundering election campaign: the head of our responsible government refuses to take responsibility for just about anything . As we know, two Liberal cabinet ministers staged guerilla political events this week to attack Stephen Harper on budget and social issues. Today, Paul Martin claimed to have had no prior knowledge of the events. But tonight on Primetime Politics , head Liberal politico David Herle admitted that he not onl...

Tonight I saw the first half hour of The National 's Your Say with Jack Layton . It was a good performance. Layton didn't pretend to have all the easy answers, instead he engaged in a real discussion with the audience. That bought him the kind of credibility that a list of promises alone couldn't. The issue that kept him from a truly great performance, however, was taxes. Oddly, though, it wasn't even his position on taxes that hurt him. Layton failed to turn the issue to his ...

Here at Canuckistan we are going have to seriously consider a policy of limiting our coverage of polls, as I believe we're focusing too much on the horserace. However, like the CBC, we will likely break that promise as fast as having made it. Should, on the other hand, support for the NDP begin to falter, our polling coverage will decrease proportionately. But that day is not today! From SES : As of May 31st: Party Support Liberal ...

I don't understand what's going on with the wild Liberal/Conservative swings, but they've now got the NDP at a record high: As of May 30th: Party Support Liberal 36% Conservative 26% NDP 20% Bloc 13% Green 5% As of May 29th: Party Support Liberal 34% Conservative 31% NDP ...

Serious question: does The Clarity Act clarify anything? More to the point, will it -- in the long run -- help avoid Québec separation? Everyone would reflexively answer 'yes', I'm sure. But look a little deeper. We know The Clarity Act gives the federal government and the provinces veto power over any referendum result. Either through declaring a majority vote 'unclear', or by rejecting terms of separation, either level of government could theoretically cancel a province's re...

CPAC and SES Research are conducting a joint tracking poll, public released each day during the election campaign. Sign up. As of May 29th: Party Support Liberal 34% Conservative 31% NDP 19% Bloc 12% Green 3% As of May 28th: Party Support Liberal 34% Conservative 34% NDP ...

Leslie McKinnon, CBC News, Toronto : "First, there is no evidence of a 'rapid rise' in deaths of homeless people in Toronto, in the years Jack Layton was talking about." Wrong, says a 1997 article in The Toronto Star : "According to Diane Patychuk, city public health social epidemiologist, a look back at deaths of people with no fixed address or from hostels and drop-ins, revealed some 40 a year from 1979 to 1993. 'That's an underestimate,' she says." "From P...

Jack Layton : "I believe that when Paul cancelled affordable housing across this country it produced a dramatic rise in homelessness and death due to homelessness. I've always said I hold him responsible for that." As journalists furiously typed, Jack Layton's passionate criticism of Paul Martin's neglect of homelessness was distorted beyond recognition in a matter of hours. Layton's comments are clearly an attack on policy: Martin's choice to cancel federal funding for ...