New strategy to counter the Bloc?

[Machjo]

Seeing that in Quebec most ridings face 1 sovereigist party (the Bloc) for 4 federalist parties (the Liberals, the Conservatives, the NDP, and the Greens, along with possibly some independent and fringe party candidates), would it not make sense for federalist parties to perhaps agree to some kind of pact that none of them would run a candidate in the province of Quebec?

This would likely reduce the number of federalist candidates to possibly one or two (a handful of independent candidates) facing the Bloc, thus increasing the chances of a federalist candidate winning.

I wonder how many parties would be prepared to put Canada before their party?

 

[damngrumpy]

The Bloc may be a separatist party on paper but they have no more intention of leaving
Canada than fly to the moon. The Bloc is a movement designed to get as much for
Quebec as possible. In reality as long as the people representing the Bloc are Canadians
and they are, there is no problem except in the minds of people who don't like them.
As long as the rest of Canadians makes so much noise about them they are effective,
if we chose to ignore them, and stop screaming them at every hands turn, their ability
to get more would diminish. I see no need to attempt to wipe them out, the prevent either
the Conservatives or the Liberals from having a majority and that is fine with me.

 

[Johnnny]

Put up a bunch of signs saying "Men who love other men vote for the bloc" across the country and in quebec

 

[MHz]

Perhaps the rest of Canada can vote to separate from Quebec.

 

[wulfie68]

I wonder how many parties would be prepared to put Canada before their party?

Easy: none. No one is willing to be " the better" person/party/etc because they know to do that they'd be ceding power to a rival, and most die hard partisans view the other parties to be a great a "danger" to the country as the Bloc. We can see it in these forums, particularly from the doom-criers against the Conservatives (mostly because they are the incumbents and look to have the edge in the polls), but it crosses all the political boundaries.

 

[Machjo]

The Bloc may be a separatist party on paper but they have no more intention of leaving
Canada than fly to the moon. The Bloc is a movement designed to get as much for
Quebec as possible. In reality as long as the people representing the Bloc are Canadians
and they are, there is no problem except in the minds of people who don't like them.
As long as the rest of Canadians makes so much noise about them they are effective,
if we chose to ignore them, and stop screaming them at every hands turn, their ability
to get more would diminish. I see no need to attempt to wipe them out, the prevent either
the Conservatives or the Liberals from having a majority and that is fine with me.

I actually agree with you overall. That said, any party that really opposes the Bloc could put its votes where its mouth is by choosing not to run candidates so as to not split the federalist vote. I guess the main reason I proposed this was simply to show how even those parties that purport to be so concerned about sovereignists in the House are still prepared to split the federalist vote.

 

[Bar Sinister]

Marvelous strategy. Why don't we use it in the rest of Canada to make sure the Conservatives don't get back in?

 

[Machjo]

Marvelous strategy. Why don't we use it in the rest of Canada to make sure the Conservatives don't get back in?

You mean all other parties simply refuse to field Candidates across Canada and simply back whatever independent candidate might choose to run? I could go for that. Heck, I'd be ecstatic to have more independent candidates to choose from.

 

[Bar Sinister]

You mean all other parties simply refuse to field Candidates across Canada and simply back whatever independent candidate might choose to run? I could go for that. Heck, I'd be ecstatic to have more independent candidates to choose from.

I don't believe I used the word independent in my reply. I was referring to the practice of vote swapping. That is, a Liberal voter will vote NDP if the NDP candidate is the front runner or the other way around if the Liberal is the front runner. I beleive it is called strategic voting.