[goldstategop]

A good review of Quebec's fulcrum importance to Canadian federal politics. Its the only majority French speaking province in Canada and indeed in North America and its identity underpins Canada's origins as a nation founded by two peoples - the English and the French. Quebec since the 1960s has been a bastion of the Left. With the rise of the Action Democratique Party, there's a resurgent conservatism in the province. That would be to the good of Quebec, Canada and the world. Whether the federal Conservatives can win a majority in the next federal election will be influenced in no small part by whether Quebec joins with Alberta to help remake Canada as a conservative country.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[Army Air Corps]

Something for the ping list, mate.

[dangus]

I’m not sure if it’s a good thing if the Conservatives are wresting seats away from the Bloc Quebecois. Oh sure, each seat they win in such a contest is a good thing, but the BQ has usually sided with Conservatives in chosing the leadership of Canada. Each seat the Conservatives hold pressures the BQ into taking an oppositional role to Conservative policies. Obviously, if a Conservative beats a BQ MP, that MP must’ve been taking too much of an oppositional role in the first place, so that’s a plus. But what happens to all of the other BQ MPs? Do they drift to the right to shore up their conservative support, or do they start attacking the conservative positions, making it impossible for them to credibly govern with conservatives? The fact that they vote liberal but “caucus” (to use an inappropriately American term) with the conservatives suggests to me that they are more likely to become liberals; if running to the right were the way to stay in office, I’d suppose they’d’ve tried it long ago when their opposition came chiefly from the Left.

On the other hand, if Quebec is actually FOLLOWING a conservative trend, we might actually get the happy result of BQ moving to the right to retain their status as the dominant non-Leftist party of Quebec.

Can I get a third hand? :^D The Left may be overplaying its card with gay marriage and its ties to the so-called Religious Left. Under the leader of Marc Cardinal Ouillette, the Catholic Church is becoming a more authentically conservative institution. These two events may be significantly empowering the Catholic Church to renewed moral authority. Is the BQ losing some of the most religiously/politically tone-deaf of its members?

[Blind Eye Jones]

Quebec has survived from the Good Times Revolution: smoke hash, slum around in bars, kinky sex and plenty of heroin and LSD. This revolution was more or less a statement about taking freedom beyond the strictures of the RC Church, the English & American cultural influence and anybody that threatened their new found way of life. I use to know a FLQ sympathizer who embodied all the above and was also a bicycle thief to boot. Quebecers are now becoming conservative because many have died in finding this Utopian freedom and the survivors have kids who want to get a college education without dad having to ply his bicycle stealing skills around the clock. Separatism means less than it ever did... health care is still free and the vacations to Cuba and Florida would all but stop if Quebec seceded from the federation. The hard lesson is that life is good in Canada for Quebecers.

[what's up]

I find that both Anglo and French Canada often follow their bigger cousins in Europe.

Thus, it's no surprise to me that Quebec is following the recent move right in France under Sarkozy.

[Para-Ord.45]

Ontario isn`t part of the equation mainly because it`s to the far left.

[Catholic Canadian]

Well, they are Roman Catholics after all, and I’m sure there are a great many issues put forth by the Libs and the NDP to which they are fundamentally opposed.

[Catholic Canadian]

Canada may once again become a majority conservative country,

This makes me giddy. Not only that, I can already see this coming into fruition as evidenced by the raucous screeching of the lefties up here. It's fun to watch them all freaking out. I pretended to be a leftie in the pub the other day just so I could join in a group of other lefties absolutely screeching about Harper. I took twisted pleasure in listening to them, especially this old lesbian couple. You'd think Harper was the spawn of satan, lol.

[Squawk 8888]

Quebec since the 1960s has been a bastion of the Left

It would be more accurate to say that Montréal and Québec City have been bastions of the Left. The rest of the province has always been fairly conservative.

[Clive]

-

[Heatseeker]

I'm fascinated with the ADQ; they are hardly social conservatives in the way most of us Yanks hereabouts would understand it, yet I think they have a lot of potential with the modern Quebec context.

I love how the accent mark on the new logo points to the right. ;)