Like their Conservative counterparts who have already felt the Carney burn three times, federal New Democrats will be none too happy about the not-completely-unexpected news late yesterday that Nunavut MP Lori Idlout has crossed the floor to join the Liberal Government as it creeps toward a post-election majority.
When I predicted in yesterday’s post that Prime Minister Mark Carney would soon try to poach some NDP MPs facing hard days for their party, as well as some additional Conservatives, I didn’t expect it to happen until after the NDP leadership vote is counted in Winnipeg on March 29.
But, hey, Carney’s gonna Carney!
Now Mr. Carney only has to win two of the three by-elections on April 13 to have a majority, albeit a narrow one, and as the folk wisdom goes, two outta three ain’t bad!
Ms. Idlout is the fourth MP to switch parties since last year’s April 28 election. The other three were Conservatives disaffected with Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre, including most recently Edmonton Riverbend MP Matt Jeneroux, whose decision on Feb. 18 came as a shocker to the always confident Alberta Conservatives who thought they’d talked him out of it.
Ms. Idlout’s decision may well have had something to do with the prime minister’s plans for nation-building (and nation-defending) projects in the Arctic as well as the parlous state in which the NDP has been left by former leader Jagmeet Singh.
In a statement on social media, interim NDP leader Don Davies – who had just seen his caucus shrink from seven to six MPs – expressed his disappointment, which was certainly sincere, and his party’s pro forma disapproval of floor crossers.
“The position of the New Democrats on floor crossers is longstanding and clear,” he wrote. “We believe that when someone rejects the decision of their electors and wants to join another party, they should put their decision to their voters.
“In a democracy, something as important as the choice of party representation in Parliament must always remain with our constituents,” he continued. “We believe that should happen here.”
Well, OK. That is a fair argument that can be made in good faith – although one that’s most often made by parties that have just lost a caucus member to another party.
In the modern Parliamentary system, a lot of voters – probably the vast majority – make their choice based on the party, not the candidate, so as such a floor crossing, especially one soon after an election, is bound to feel like a betrayal.
Still, the right of MPs and MLAs to switch parties, or answer to no party at all, is a fundamental part of the Parliamentary system we know as Responsible Government, in which the cabinet is responsible to the elected members of the House. Responsible Government has been at the heart of Canadian government since Lord Durham’s famous Report in 1839, and a good thing it is, too!
Just ask Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who has a little experience with floor crossing herself, if you get the chance!
Indeed, a popular complaint among voters – many of whom would also vocally disapprove of floor crossing at any time in a party’s mandate – is that the party system usually doesn’t allow MPs to vote with their conscience or the feelings of their own constituents when that runs counter to the government’s agenda.
A few floor crossings, or even a lot of them, won’t change this. But the spate of recent ones in Canada do demonstrate a desire among more than a few MPs to be able to operate at least some of the time outside the constraints of party discipline, on points of principle as well as pure self-interest.
I imagine in the case of Ms. Idlout, first elected as a New Democrat in 2021, she would like the constituents of her vast electoral district to have a voice at the table in decisions that will dramatically impact their lives and their environment, in the broadest sense of that word.
It is well understood that an Independent MP in the House of Commons has little influence. Unfortunately, at this moment in history, being an MP elected as a representative of a party without official party status is arguably little different. Job No. 1 for whoever is elected as NDP leader on March 29 will be fixing that in the next federal general election. It’s possible that will be their only chance.
In the meantime, while there is sure to be no joy in NDP circles today, one imagines that there may be some satisfaction among the leadership of the Opposition Conservatives. After all, the last thing they want right now is another election. This is true no matter what they may say.
It is obviously better from the Conservative perspective that Mr. Carney get his majority in a way that appears to be through machinations, even possibly Machiavellian ones, than through a demonstration of popular support, which he certainly enjoys at the moment. All the better if the latest defector comes from another party’s ranks.
Yeah, Mr. Poilievre and Andrew Scheer were likely wiping their brows last night and raising a quietly celebratory toast to Ms. Idlout.
I feel who will cross next may have become a popular parlour game in Ottawa. It is unusual for this to happen so often, but then it is also unusual for a party to be so close to a majority.
Much of the speculation so far has been correctly on Conservative MPs. After all they have a large group for an opposition and it is hard to keep everyone happy. Poilievre may have certain political skills, but caucus management does not seem to be one of his strongest ones.
Of course it may also be hard for an interim leader with a small caucus to really motivate his party’s MPs. However, we still do need the Federal NDP and it can’t afford to lose many more MP’s, so hopefully any more floor crossers will come from the party where most have so far.
The Beaverton today put out a post that said “gotta catch ’em all” (riffing on Pokémon), and saying Carney was working on pulling a Bloc MP over.
https://www.thebeaverton.com/2026/03/carney-eyes-bloc-mp-to-complete-his-collection/
The NDP floor crossing is surprising, but not unexpected. The NDP are, for the most part, broken and directionless. And it looks like none of the prospective leadership candidates are able to (re)define what the party’s mission is, and this is very concerning. Ideally, the party should be social-democratic, but defining the social democracy part seems to elude them. While Avi Lewis comes from a proven line of thoughtful and articulate leaders (grandfather David and father Stephen) he appears to be not that far removed from his Much-Music personae; he’s shallow, flighty, and sensationalist. It’s like that time when Much-Music tried to emulate MTV’s “Rock the Vote” theme, and brought the political parties and their leadership to their viewing audience. Avi Lewis contribution was something called the Abolitionist Party of Canada. Lewis’ on air earnestness proved he hadn’t done any honest research on this party, or its leader stood for. Turns out, the party’s leader was an alcoholic grifter, who spent his entire segment calling the studio audience idiots and throwing unhinged tantrums. Lewis must have thought his M-M gig was about to go down in flames. And he’s been travelling in his wife’s wake ever since.
If the NDP hopes to live, it has to do better than the current gang.
The threats to Greenland from the US were likely a contributing factor in Lori Idlout’s decision. The Idlout family holds a special place in Canada’s history. Lori Idlout has shared her vision of the future. As such, this floor crossing may well be a case of representing what her constituents want, in order to put their needs in front of the federal government during this critical moment for the Inuit people in Canada’s Arctic.
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/with-trump-setting-his-sights-on-greenland-nunavuts-mp-says-people-need-to-reassured
https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/greenland-is-not-for-sale-say-iqaluit-demonstrators/
https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/ntis-push-for-inuit-self-government-the-right-thing-says-idlout/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Idlout
About 2 years ago Rick Salutin in his column in the Toronto Star opined that the NDP at the federal level should merge with the Liberals because, at least, these individuals would have some form of political party and hence have some effect in Canadian politics. As “left wingers” of the Liberal – they are more viable than a political party virtually with no “footprint” as NDP/CCF, long since a corpse with advent of Layton and Mulcair and the latest leader — who again ? Neither Carney, Poilievre and now anyone in the NDP have any moral standing, in politics and/or as leaders of any form of governemental represention, because of their full throated support for Trump and Israel’s war of agression on Iran with the killing of the Iranian leader(s) and school children within 24 hours of initiation of war. These are very dark days but the aforesaid “leaders” will backtrack when the war tanks big time, slowly and very suddenly, as they say about going bankrupt. Cynicism is not the issue, I am simply, very simply, think realistically. I am ashamed to call myself a Canadian. Canadian tourists and travellers would be well advised not to attach a maple flag on their persons and luggage – self identifying as a Canadian.
@Ginger
This did not work out well in the USA for the so-called “Justice Democrats” who were, within a month, completely subsumed by the larger Democratic Party and left at the kiddie table.
We need an actual pro-worker left party. Otherwise, we will just keep drifting right because that’s how the history of capitalism, works.
Seems to me that anyone who is so openly ashamed to call themselves Canadian these day, should earnestly look for the door and catch the first bus out of town. I am not one of those by the way. A couple weeks ago I was suddenly overcome with a real appreciation for what a great country we actually have. I’m thrilled that we are a country who for the most part, welcomes new comers and help them build a place here where they can lend their skills and creativity to our country. I’m thrilled that we are an openly bilingual country (even though I can’t speak French myself), and that we allow/encourage small community enclaves of people who speak other languages to bring colour and new perspectives to our great land as they hold on to some of their own culture’s customs. I’m thrilled that we have matured enough to begin properly appreciating the gifts that our First Nations neighbours bring to every province and to apologize for our past bad behaviours and are trying to remedy those failings. I’m also thrilled that we reach out beyond our borders with the aim to support others who need some support or guidance,so that the world can be a better place for humanity.
I would never suggest that Canada is perfect or that we don’t still make mistakes, but we’re heading in the right direction and the world sees that and is also very appreciative in this time of global turmoil. And our current great leader has demonstrated most astutely with his recent pronouncement on how Canada will not be joining the USA in their fight with Iran, we remain teachable and willing to take a step back and course correct when the need arises.
So if you’re ashamed to identify as Canadian, then maybe it’s time to look for some new hook to hang your hat. I hear any of the Red states down south, are lovely in the spring time.
You may not have read why I am ashamed. Carney, Poilievre, et al. gave full support to Trump even though they were fully apprised of a targetted assassination of a country that was in active negotiation in order to avoid war and the FUBAR targetting of children within the first 3 hrs of the first salvo. Carney has not recanted and neither has he apologized for his tasteless wordsmith. Don’t forget Carney was tasked by Harper to strong arm Canadian banks to sell their mortgage based assets to CHMC to the tune of $120 billion because the federal gov’t was getting ahead of the curve as they say between 2008-2011. The Federal Reserve did not strong arms trillions of US dollars from JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs (became a bank at that time in order to shovel and transfer AT FACE VALUE depreciated paper for cash instead PE (private equity non-bank). Harper was terrified that Canadian banks would find themselves in the same predicament as their US brethren. Carney was the strong arm, giving no quarter but a shovel of Canadian dollars to Canadian banks at rhe trough. For those with short memories there were hundreds of financial reports of the sagacious and wise Canadian banks’ not practising the same fraud as the US banks. Canadian banks were reluctant they were forced to open their books the Canadian gov’t for a peek as to their creditworthiness. But due diligence on the gov’ts in Canada laid bare the risks. For that consigliere role Carney was rewarded with positions of Gov of Bank of Canada and then of England because of his knowledge of the actual situation of the financial position of: Canada, United States and Great Britain. Prior to that he was a “banker” of Goldman Sachs and had more than a passing knowledge of the financial world as he was one of many involved in the Russian FUBAR in the Russian implosion in the 1990s (Yeltsin, et al). He has a more than passing relationship with the current arch critic of US foreign policy Jeffrey Sachs who had been a leading adviser to Poland and Russia in 1990s. Carney is not a neophyte. Or in other words, he understands power and as we see now is so used to power that he is gaffe prone. His support is just the first of more gaffes to come.
Once upon a time in CanadaLand there was no such thing as legislation forcing politicians to “Vote the Party” or be punished. They could be persuaded, they could be coerced sometimes but they could vote freely.
In those ancient of times, voters voted for the person they thought best represented their interests and would fight for their constituency. Nobody cared if their politician “crossed the floor” because they would still vote the same way, hopefully. It happened more times than you’d think that a politician would vote against their own party. This was an especially hot topic before abortion was legalized which is why I recall it.
Now, I searched far and wide, I remember something of the sort, happening, I remember writing about it–but apparently the interwebz has a shorter memory than I do or perhaps it doesn’t like information that happened before its birth. Someone smarter than I am could prolly find this info and when that changed.
Either way, it’s a politician’s legal right to switch parties but it often hurts them in the next election.
***
People in Nunavut are particularly vulnerable to starvation, job loss and heating supplies, loss. Global oil shortages will hit them, first.
Carney may have had something to offer, there. Let’s just hope that the Liberals don’t do what they always do–promise more than they can deliver.
B: There is still no legislation forcing MLAs and MPs to vote with their parties. Indeed, there is legislation to the contrary, the Constitution of Canada. Nevertheless, party discipline is a real thing and has been basically since Confederation. I know there are those who will disagree with me on this, but it is naive to imagine the legislature of a modern democratic state could operate without political parties. They are essential to the management of the legislative process. However, in a state where all parties agree on the on the fundamental way the economy should be organized – even though in all cases they are wrong – floor crossing is a legitimate and even necessary option for elected representatives who disagree with the party’s evolving leadership over strategy and tactics, or who like Ms. Idlout face a real danger that their constituents could be effectively shut out of decisions impacting them if they do not switch to another party that has, for all intents and purposes, the same program as their old party. DJC
@DJC
I just wish we had *more* parties so there was more wiffle-waffle back and forth and more ideas, rather than less. I prefer minority governments where there must be stringent debates and cross-pollination before decisions. Sadly, the libs are now con-lite and the cons are well, a nickle away from fascism. That’s not a lot of choice.
I’d like proportional representation or at least some other such system where the government has to co-operate to get agreements. It’s the only reason I voted for Trudeau and then he bailed on it. Yes, it’s messier and slower but there’s a few places where I think Carney is make massive blunders (buying overpriced American jets in the age of drone warfare is one of them) that could stand better scrutiny. Who wants to be stuck between Mulroney and a MAGat?
I can’t blame a Nunavut rep for crossing the floor, hoping to get someone to listen to their very real concerns and the NDP has lost its way and can’t seem to phone home, E.T. The Greens are pretty much dead at this point and nobody has the sense of humour to run as anything that points out the hypocrisies of the other parties.
B: I agree that proportional representation would be an improvement and would change things considerably. Alas, those who benefit most from single-member plurality, or those who think they will, have ensured that we will never get a chance to implement such a change. The last best chance ended when Justin Trudeau broke his electoral reform promise. DJC
Trudeau broke his promise, for sure. But Proportional Representation gives Parties greater control, and weakens the influence of the riding voters, over their representatives in an assembly! We must be careful what we wish for.
Cheers!
David, like you and many Canadians I too want a better system! But one that delivers!
In this regard my read of the actual electoral tealeaves before our very eyes is that a huge majority, well over half of Canadians dislike our present voting system. But is not the devil in the detail when you too left unsaid what you want to be more proportional, not to mention what is actually wrong with the present system?
Not unlike the electoral “reformers” wanting the parties to be our even stronger proxies for democracy than now, I would welcome an engaged evidence based call beginning with the fact that our Single Member Plurality (SMP) system is highly vulnerable to votesplitting and that a vote123 ranked ballot and not so-called PR systems actually corrects this problem. And does so by requiring the vote-rich Bell Curve population in the middle to be part of the final more than half say in who is elected. Not merely in the moment the largest Casino outcome extremist plurality fraction left or right of the vote rich middle.
Incidentally, toward same, do you know that many PR advocates drool about Mixed Member Proportionality such as in Germany and NZ except what they never mention is those countries ballots contain not one but two separate choices? Namely each of their two choices is like our system limited to a single-x-mark even when there are more than two choices. More specifically are you aware that their first of their two-fold ballot question is 100% identical to our hated system in that their local candidate too like ours is within an SMP district and totally identical to our oft so-identifies as if a First Past The System when its not?
Moreover their second ballot party “fix” is also limited to a single-x-mark regarding party preference when their field is filled with more than two parties.
To see these realities via your own eyes would you be interested in receiving a copy of the two choice German ballot? If so please advise how I can pass on or post on your site.
Last and not least, our best chance is still before us when Canadians in any voting district are prepared to conduct our own vote123 ranked pre-election poll of all the candidates in our district and on voting day vote accordingly without risk of any of the lesser of evils slipping up the middle.
“I just wish we had *more* parties so there was more wiffle-waffle back and forth and more ideas, rather than less.”
In fact, Canada has a total of 15 registered political parties. Most have never elected a single MP, but they’re there.
https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=pol&dir=par&document=index&lang=e
A little reading of Great Britain history from Cromwell to the present proves beyond doubt that political parties are simply the political practice of Parliament, time immorial. These “parties” were simply more inchoate. Now the reps are kept in line by a financial guillotine wielded by the money controlled and the party’s control over recognition as a member of a political party. Currently in the US GOP politicians will have their lips unsealed as soon as they beyond the “primaried” period at the end June 2026. We will see full-throated condemnation by GOP of Trump as the garroting threatens “throw the bums out” in November US federal elections.
Hello David
Rigid party discipline was a cornerstone of the Reformers of the 1830’s and 40’s, pre-Confederation. It was seen as the only way to influence the Governor Generals of the Canadas to act in some accordance with the aspirations of voting public. Very interesting struggle in very interesting times. Happy February 2nd to your readers in Nova Scotia, and happy March 11th to your readers in Ontario and Quebec. This year is the 178th Anniversary of Responsible Government. From Canada, came to be the model for most other British Colonies around the world.
Lately I have fallen out of the habit of visiting Alberta
Politics, to my own detriment. As usual, you are turning out interesting articles and inspiring many thoughtful comments from readers. And, today, one of my favourite topics comes up! Thank you!
Douglas you and I both made a comment about PR nearly at the same time and because of moderation I did not see/visit yours until day later.
How and on what basis did you come to your view as very VERY few people really know about this reality and the “reformers” like so-called Fairvote go out of their way to not only hide this reality but actually make the statement that FPTP must be eliminated but then never raise the fact that their loved MMP still has 100% of the local candidates in SMP districts aka FPTP!!!
FYI, in principle I provided the detail why your comment is correct on the basis of the available evidence and would welcome further word from you.
I would love to make connection and you may email me via the contact means at eduardhiebert.com except you due to an error, you need to add your email address in the body before I get to see it.
Glad you made the much deserved PR point begging for public disclosure. But also wonder why your and my comment can not be replied to. Though in the article the day before re Avi Lewis my comments there work.
Best!
Given we need much better government that what we are getting
Mr. Hiebert: I’m going to let this go tonight, but let’s not use this comments section as a meeting app, OK? DJC
“In the modern Parliamentary system, a lot of voters – probably the vast majority – make their choice based on the party, not the candidate…” I would argue that this is not the case in Nunavut. Nunavut and NWT have consensus governments – no parties. As a former resident of the NWT and Nunavut, the person is far more important than the party.
Jane: I agree and believe that to be true. I didn’t want to boldly make that point in this piece, though, because I have never lived in Nunavut and thought it was a step too far to make that claim on behalf of the people who do live there. DJC
Wanna bet that McPherson will hop to the Libs if she loses out on the NDP leadership?
That would be a real leap!
She’d feel right at home.
While every conservative I know says Carney is a lot like Lougheed he proves he cares about the well-being of all Canadians and isn’t like these Reform Party fools Smith and Poilievre whose only solution to any problem is blame it on the Liberals, that’s how stupid they are.
I bet he gets his majority and kicks out this idiot Poilievre. The conservatives would be fools to keep him in power. But in Alberta they vote for the word conservative and don’t care what they are doing to us, that’s how stupid we are, isn’t it?
Alan K. Spiller: You are right. These are Conservatives, only in name.
Idlout says we can stand up to the Drumpf by obeying his edict demanding that we get up to 5% of GDP for the Military Industrial Complex. Maybe the South Korean submarines can be turned into housing co-operatives. Sky of blue and sea of green!
The last thing we need is Pierre Poilievre ruining things. Danielle Smith and the UCP are bad enough.
Anonymous– as for Pierre Poilievre ruining things, keep an eye out because apparently he’s on his way to Washington to get the tariffs removed on the auto sector. What could possibly go wrong? He’s trying to out Jamil Jivani’s little excursion. As the bloggers put it “Pierre’s European Adventure ” and, now we have Pinnochio goes to Washington.
Since his take your wife to Europe for her birthday, oops I mean his talking to Europeans about the grifting elites in Canada, sorry again, that should have been making deals for more powerful paycheques and have leverage— okay, I give up. It was a photo op for the leader of his majesties loyal opposition to show how primeministerial he could be >>> bangers and mash and bratwurst for all.
Meanwhile the fan club was chirping about how at least he wasn’t going on the taxpayers dime like the PM was (sigh). They haven’t figured out that they paid for his trip from their “sign here” contributions.
You really can’t tell a Heinz pickle nuffin!!
Anonymous– as for Pierre Poilievre ruining things, keep an eye out because apparently he’s on his way to Washington to get the tariffs removed on the auto sector. What could possibly go wrong? He’s trying to out Jamil Jivani’s little excursion. As the bloggers put it “Pierre’s European Adventure ” and, now we have Pinnochio goes to Washington.
Since his take your wife to Europe for her birthday, oops I mean his talking to Europeans about the grifting elites in Canada, sorry again, that should have been making deals for more powerful paycheques and have leverage— okay, I give up. It was a photo op for the leader of his majesties loyal opposition to show how primeministerial he could be >>> bangers and mash and bratwurst for all.
Meanwhile the fan club was chirping about how at least he wasn’t going on the taxpayers dime like the PM was (sigh). They haven’t figured out that they paid for his trip from their “sign here” contributions.
You really can’t tell a Heinz pickle nuffin!!
Sidebar— And why exactly did the police chief go to Israel in February? Curious minds want to know. Hmmm!??
I fear that Ms McPherson has been jinxed: I voted for her as my first choice. I haven’t picked the winner in any federal NDP leadership this century. Behold:
Federal NDP Leadership Races this century:
* 2003:
* major candidates: Bill Blaikie, Lorne Nystrom, Joe Comartin, Jack Layton
* who I supported: Bill Blaikie
* winner: Jack Layton
* 2012:
* major candidates: Niki Ashton, Nathan Cullen, Paul Dewar, Tom Mulcair, Peggy Nash, Brian Topp
* who I supported: can’t recall exactly; may have been Niki Ashton
* winner: Tom Mulcair
* 2017:
* major candidates: Charlie Angus, Niki Ashton, Guy Caron, Jagmeet Singh
* who I supported: Charlie Angus
* winner: Jagmeet Singh
So, if my track record holds, it’ll be Avi Lewis, who I didn’t choose as any of my preferentially choices. ;-).
Jerry: I have talked to so many people who admit they voted for Rob Ashton that I’m starting to wonder if there’s some sort of Putney Swope phenomenon going on here. DJC
Klown Kollege continues to hand out doctorates like they’re going out of style. The Carny Banker is doing what he can to roll the last vestiges of the Canadian economy that does not consist of real estate speculation and fast food into the military industrial complex. Here’s a great clip of Drumpf-fellator Mark Rutte, the head of NATO, admitting that the bloc exists to project US power. At 06:58 he states unequivocally that it is a “platform for the United States to project power on the world stage”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELNl5s42KjM
This is a right-wing derp news site, but nevertheless, it’s straight from the horse’s mouth. The comments on the video are absolutely priceless, and prove why the whole fairy tale of Russia giving the Drumpf the 2016 election is slightly less reasonable than the account of Xenu coming from space and infecting the human race with Thetans. These people voted for Drumpf, just as “people” voted for the Fords, and Marlaina, and Harpo and Mike Harris and Ted Cruz.
This didn’t arise under the Carny Banker, it has always been thus. “Pragmatic centrists” lived in a fantasy world that is at least as ridiculous as that of the MAGAtards. It takes a tenth of a second to identify the danger posed by grifters like Skippy and Scheerer and Harpo, but progs are much more dangerous and insidious because they adhere to a script that could be swallowed in the context of the propaganda created in the chaos and systemic reconfiguring of the globe during the Big One. It was semi-coherent in that 1945-1972 context. But there’s no denying now that pragmatic centrists support the settler colonial ethno-supremacist state in Palestine, and rule by billionaires, while pretending to address colonialism at home through various absurd identitarian divisions of society. The actual left used to focus on materialism, that is to say, a reality that one could attempt to identify, whereas what is passed off as a left today consists solely of pretending that reality is whatever anyone chooses to make it in “their truth”. Atomizing the 99.99% to ensure continued rule by the 0.01%. As a great, great person once said, “In Alberta we ride horses, not unicorns”. This remains as true today as the day it was first uttered.
I have been having some interesting conversations with a man from Vietnam about the stupidity of Americans, although 3 of my 4 grandparents were Americans they came to Canada to get out of the stupidity that was going on down there.
It’s no secret that they love starting wars but can never win one or finish them. While visiting Hawaii years ago I went to Pearl Harbour and was told that they knew there were 350 planes coming towards them but never bothered to check them out to make certain they weren’t there own that’s how stupid they were. Even though they had upset the Japanese a while before. Then there was General Custer who assumed that 4,000 Indians would run away from his 200 troops, they didn’t. The wars they started in South Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan, and Vietnam helped absolutely no one and we both doubt that what Trump has done in Iran will be any different, do you? Wasting billions of dollars and putting lives at risk by a lunatic doesn’t make a lot of sense to us, does it you?
Wasn’t surprised when the NDP lost so many seats. Was expected because in the past when the NDP supported the Liberals the NDP lost seats and then they’d rebuild. This time, will they be able to rebuild? Haven’t seen much that I’d want to buy.
Crossing over to the Liberals makes sense for the riding and the M.P.’s career. If Carney is going to focus on the North and spend a lot of money there, it is best to have a seat at that table.
Better a Liberal government led by Carney than a Conservative government led by PP. Had enough of the Conservatives when Harper was their leader.
This morning I heard on MoCo Radio that Alberta’s ministry(?) of health(?) will deploy Ai to help hospital staff affect triage. Get to a certain age and you just gotta shake your head. The marble in my tin can is suggesting things is changed one heckuva lot.
My Ma used to remind us kids to consider just how much change our grandmother had seen in her life. Born when houses were gas-lit, just a lass when her father’s new Tudhope, built in Orillia, Ontario, needed everybody but father get out in order to make hills we here in BC wouldn’t even notice, then a World War, then the Great Depression when she had to swallow her pride and take a retail job in women’s wear, then marriage and children, then another War, thence a world moving so fast (for a Tudhope girl) it fairly left her behind. Sharp as a tack, she lived to one hundred. She lived with Ma in her 90s. Ma said the only thing kept her alive was the OJ Simpson trial on CNN. She never would have predicted it in a million years.
Of course we kids just saw her as a tall, spindly, vain, snooty and imperious woman who’d drive our father crazy (neither anticipated that one day their respective urns would be so close together as to achieve electrolysis–which I fixed by placing his in the hole I’d just finished digging in the cemetery near our old house, only feet away from hers in the boot of Ma’s car, opened as if to surveil –and doubtlessly disapprove the brief proceedings).
I used to recall Ma’s wisdom of perspective when dealing with my aged father who imagined he was a reincarnated Canadian soldier shot dead in France, and who saw almost as much change as his mother-in-law–except that he was always fairly current, absorbing the new fangled radio technology to navigate bombers, then becoming a cinematographer in the new fangled field of television, almost making it to the video age, and in retirement marvelled at my kid brother’s adeptness on the new fangled personal computer. Nevertheless, in his opinion my generation “blew it.” At the time I wasn’t sure what exactly he meant. He welcomed the ever-after.
I’m approaching the same perspective, defying all prognoses, but becoming as befuddled by “progress” and Moore’s Law as my elders would have been, my youth, relative to grandmother and father, equalized simply by the speed of change now. Were they both here I’m sure they’d be surprised to concur with each other–that maybe even a first.
Another test is the fact that I attended a two-room school, grades one to eight, pre-ballpoint pens and, like my elders, living a last snippet of a bygone age that’s still imprinted on my back pages. The principal, Mr Cawthorn, a tweedy, tobacco-soaked Brit, an autodidact who in retirement set out to learn Ancient Greek and Hebrew so’s to retranslate the Bible the way he wanted was my favourite teacher of all I’ve had. He believed in prehistoric giants–Nephilim, I suppose. A von Daniken aficionado, fascinated with everything, a Vico freak and the smartest man I ever knew. He considered electric adding machines to be a kind of Ai and expected pupils to do “ciphers” in their heads as well as memorizing and reciting in front of the classroom short Biblical passages. Yet, for a man so utterly retrospective, he seemed okay with the world’s hyperbolic course. Perhaps oblivion such as his has something to recommend it.
So I wonder if Covid and tRump and Ai have turned a corner of my own aging perspective. It seems hard to believe the party I’ve cast for my entire life might be in sunset mode.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t begrudge Lori Idlout’s floor crossing–I might have done the same thing in the circumstance. Yes, she made a deal with the party which bankrolled her successful candidacies, but the permutations of fast-changing times are testing all of us, and when the Dippers fell below official party status, when her effectiveness as a voice for her vast Nunavut riding was blunted further by exclusion from parliamentary committees, and when tRump threatened both Greenland’s and Canada’s sovereignty, crossing to the government side of the HoC was really the only thing she could do the represent her Arctic constituents. It was a smart move, even if it left the left smarting.
Last night I poured a stiff drink and voted online for Rob Ashton for leader of the NDP, even as it was being diminished to only six seats by Ms Idlout’s defection. My darling, a founding member of the NDP, is totally done with the NDP ever since Premier Eby sacked his higher-education minister for a very, very slight sleight of Palestinians she made in a speech to an all-Jewish audience. She, like me, disdains a party composed of radical tree-huggers, social-justice-warriors, and pro-rep wonks. The party has probably changed more from her perspective than mine–that is, from a feminist point of view.
What happened to the party of and for workers? I guess –at least in federal politics–it has been reduced such that I’m compelled to vote for the only leadership candidate who devotes his entire platform to workers and labour unions. And it’s almost certain he won’t win. Should I pour another one or go to bed?
I know, I know, the first of the Boomers are now attritting on the backside of their eponymous demographic bulge, four-fold bigger than fore and aft, and government parsimony with respect healthcare can probably be attributed to the fact that us geezers will start becoming less of a democratic force, the generation that demanded and got whatever it wanted. So many of my peers have replaced their hips I have to conclude we haven’t changed all that much. But we won’t miss ourselves when we’re gone. The world has–or, rather, is–changing too fast. It’s simply natural that geezers can’t keep up.
Has the nature of work changed so much that a “workers’ party” is becoming irrelevant? Is Ai breeding a generation of genuine stupidity? Is there no solace that “conservatism” has become all of that? Somehow I ain’t feeling it.
Go Rob Ashton! Go!!–What?–oh, nothing, dear, just me talking to myself …again… no worries…
Good night, my Alberta compatriots.
I was quizzing my provincial NDP rep recently about why the party, not content with shooting itself in the foot on a weekly basis, seems committed to capping off each individual toe.