Aboot 4 weeks to Canadian election

[mechamind]

It's a political thread. Expect opinions ahead. Initiate!

October 19th is coming, and eligible voters will have until evening to be able to vote. This one looks like it's going to be a huge nail biter both for parties and ideals.

The leader of the current Conservative Party, Stephen Harper, had the election campaign called in the beginning of August, with many speculating an attempt at financial attrition.

For the parties, research polls suggest a three-way-race between the Conservative Party, the New Democratic Party (NDP), and the Liberal Party. This time, it really could mean anything, including the most extremes (in that mathematically, the current "first-past-the-post" system could either give a party a majority or zero seats). Additionally, there's a slim chance that the recent and historic Alberta election will also leave a mark. Of course, there's no real way to know until after the election is over.

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Where do I stand? I do have an idea, and I also know one area where I don't stand. Traditional "Capital C" conservatism runs on my dad's side of the family, and he doesn't like the Conservative Party's direction. I don't like it either.

I'm sure the "Capital C" conservatives would oppose Harper, given his consistency with the Republican Party and criticism that the latter has received in the past. Internet activists really want him out, and Anonymous made threats over C-51 plus election "cheating". The United Nations has also slammed him over human rights. Harper does get plenty of support from people who want a party on the political right, and this is why "Capital C's" would argue for big changes.

There's also so much crap flung from bare hands around Parliament hill. Someone from an Alberta think tank had posted in my local newspaper claiming that we would be better off without provincial or federal politics, leaving everything at the local levels. A little extreme, but I do see where he's going with it. (If only I still had the newspaper; I looked at one provided at a public place.)

Someone really needs to make a feature-length movie out of the federal situation, be it serious, parody, or documentary. I think they'd have a lot of material to work with.

As an aside, the Conservative Party also supports the infamous Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the support might be a follow-up to copyright Bill C-11 (formerly C-32) from 2012. The bill itself was attacked by the Department of Justice for failure to defend "private use".

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TL;DR - Many against the one, but the one who exploits. And can Ottawa rise from the ashes?