Colpy, in the other forum, one conservative poster seriously claimed that Canada was much better off under Mulroney than under Chrétien. Now, I know many conservatives believe that anything good in Canada was done by a conservative, anything bad was done by a liberal. I can understand political partisanship.
But to claim that Canada was better off under Mulroney (with huge deficits, huge unemployment, economy in the tank, huge deficits, unheard of corruption, patronage etc.) than under Chrétien/Martin shows an effrontery rare even for a conservative.
Anyway, I never get mad, I get even. So I did some careful research as to how Canada really did perform under Chrétien/Martin. Canada had what I can only describe as the Golden Age under Chrétien/Martin. I think in years to come it will be remembered as a golden age.
By every criterion imaginable, Canada was a much better place when liberals left power, than when liberals took power. In the 13 years of Liberal rule, Canada progressed in every field; there was economic progress, cultural progress and social progress. Canadians were much healthier in 2005 than in 1992. Anyway, I have a link to my post in the Canada.com forum.
Why don't women vote for Harper? - Share It
It considers many categories to see how Liberal did in the 13 years, 1992 to 2005. Let me give some of the numbers here.
- Budget deficit - 40 billion $ deficit to 10 billion $ surplus. Economy went from being on life support to roaring ahead.
- Per capita income. Per capita income grew at the rate of 2.1% annually between 1993 - 1998 and 2.8% annually between 1999 and 2005.
- Life expectancy
1993 - 77.7
2005 - 80.1
- Infant morality.
Infant morality: 5.4 per 1000 births in 2005.
6.3 Per 1000 births in 1993.
- % of children living below poverty line.
1993 - 22%
2005 - 17.6%
- 1993: overall crime rate - more than 10,000 per 100,000 populations.
2003 : overall crime rate: 8132 per 100,000 population
I have provided links to all these statistics in my original post.
Let us recap. After 13 years of Liberal rule, Canadians are richer, safer and live longer. The prosperity is shared by the poor as well as by the middle class; child poverty is down (though not down to the same level it was before Mulroney caused serious damage, caused a serious increase in child poverty).
It was truly a golden age in Canada. When conservatives came to power, of course, the economic shenanigans started almost immediately. One of the first acts of Harper was to give tax cuts (benefiting mostly the rich) which wiped out most of the surplus. Now we are looking at huge deficits as far as the eye can see.
Being a conservative, I can understand that you are proud of Messiah and ashamed of Chrétien/Martin, that is to be expected. However, objective facts don’t support your view. Canada prospered like never before under Chrétien/.Martin.