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Well, I'm on my way back to Canada. I've had a good holiday and a relaxing and refreshing vacation but I’m really looking forward to being home and starting classes again. America was not as jarring as I expected, but it also wasn't as inquisitive as I expected either. (I should have remembered, Americans aren't preoccupied with Canada the way Canadians are about Americans) I was also reminded by one of my fantastic readers how much I love poetry and trying to communicate using its structure, so I warn you that there may be some posts in poetic form in the future.

 

I am very glad that I will be out of the country for the 2012 elections. I'm sure it will be frustrating to feel like a spectator (don't worry, I will be exercising my rights and voting absentee) and play the role of interpreter when I don't even feel like I know/understand all the action, but I already found the coverage overwhelming when I was here . . . And I didn't visit Iowa and only briefly visited NH. I assume it will only get worse in the coming months. It's kind of odd how crazy the election season is when it seems like each successive government elected does less and stalls more.

 

Probably more to come in the following days as I finish my trip and decompress.

redleaf: (falls)
So, classwork is gearing up, and i'm run down with a cold. Guess it is time for a round of politics!

There is a provincial election next week - so everyone is gearing up. I've been trying to figure out what's what up here but honestly everyone is generally either too disinterested or too partisan to give me an accurate picture of every party (so much like the US!). Anyway, I have scraped some info up:

Liberal Party - was dominant federally for ages until a couple of elections ago (~8 years?). Now they are so down and out they are expected to lose their stronghold of Ontario in this election. (this is a middle of the line party between NDP and conservative)

Conservative Party - currently dominant (since the liberal party's downfall), though not so much in Ontario so I haven't been able to talk to a supporter. Expected to gain some seats. (When thinking conservative - think democrat . . . seriously . . . every other major party - not minor though - is more liberal then our democrats it seems)

NDP - The charismatic leader of the NDP passed away the week after I arrived from cancer. The party expanded greatly in the last couple of years under the direction of this former leader - so they have a lot of momentum but are a bit up in the air as they don't have a strong leader right now - kind of a wild card in the race. (this is the most liberal major party, and fair disclosure, it seems to be the party I would side with if I could vote here)

There are several other parties (green, LDP(?), bloc . . . .) but none is expected to gain significant (or any) seats in Ontario this election.

It's interesting - because you think they have many parties up here, but in any given province, there seems to only be three players at most . . . . it is just that there are more then three players nationally.

Results next week!

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