I believe that most Canadians are more libéral-conservative at heart, but still expect a competent leader of a character that is compatible with theirs.
On the economic front, the Conservatives had it on the bag. Had the Conservatives run a campaign that was even close in quality to the Liberal campaign, they would have won.
I believe that that the Conservatives made three big mistakes:
1. On the economic front. Had the Conservatives focused on promising particular expenditure cuts and explained the rationale for these cuts in a knowledgeable manner, that could have won it some votes.
2. Link deregulation to social policy. Some who consistently vote left are conservatives at heart who simply falsely believe that the only way to help the most disadvantaged is to regulate the markets ever more. Strategic market deregulation targeted to benefit the poor could have changed some minds on the matter. For example, the Conservatives could have proposed that any business that serves its customers in a sign language or the local indigenous language would be completely exempted from all linguistic provisions from all Federal laws. This would be a way to deregulate language policy in such a way as to show a softer side to deregulation to socially compassionate conservatives.
3. Logical thought, consistency, and avoiding redundancy. When Harper argued that we should not allow women to wear the niqab because he would not force his daughter wear one, it probably made him seem mushy-brained in the eyes of many who properly analyzed that logic. Would this mean that if he doesn't force his daughter to wear cotton that he will therefore force all women to wear cotton at citizenship ceremonies? It just didn't make sense. The idea of taking away a woman's freedom to wear what she wants on the name of women's equality was also an oxymoron in the eyes of some, especially in the context of refusing to establish a commission to study the matter of murdered and missing aboriginal women.
The 'Canadian values' argument also ran hollow in an electorate bombarded by the media concerning the horror of cultural genocide in the residential school system in recent years.
If instead he had focused on legitimate concerns surrounding security he would have had a case except for the fact that the court had already agreed that she would have to show her face for identification purposes already.
In short, because of the rationales surrounding it, the niqab debate was a philosophical landmine.
We can see something similar with the Office o Religious Freedom which can criticize governments beyond Canada over which the Government has no power anyway but can't make recommendations concerning the one country the Government has the power to legislate in, thus making it not only redundant given the work the the UN High Commission for Human Rights but also relatively useless for the money spent
4. General character.
Harper stripped his MPs of all freedom to vote their conscience, he focused more on mean-spirited attacks (e.g. I can imagine many Canadian international businessmen, diplomats, military servicemen stationed in Germany and elsewhere abroad, and other former ex-pats feeling enraged at Harper's insinuation that to live abroad makes one less than Canadian in his attacks on Ignatius for 'just visiting'), his constant focus on attacking his opponents personally rather than focus on explaining the rationale for his own policies to people. He could sometimes be outright arrogant and insulting of other world leaders and states, even allied ones. In short, he came across as a nacissistic bully.
Dividing between Canadian and non-Canadian in immigration policy. Forgetting that international marriages have become more common than ever in Canada, sometimes even between 'Old Stock' Canadians who speak an unofficial language and foreign nationals. To attack immigrants was inevitably to attack the spouses and in-laws of immigrants, many of whom would be Old-stock themselves. I guess it boiled down to the fact that Harper would never force his daughter to marry a foreign national.
I could go on, but I think I'ce made it clear enough that the Liberals did not win. The Conservatives lost.
On the economic front, the Conservatives had it on the bag. Had the Conservatives run a campaign that was even close in quality to the Liberal campaign, they would have won.
I believe that that the Conservatives made three big mistakes:
1. On the economic front. Had the Conservatives focused on promising particular expenditure cuts and explained the rationale for these cuts in a knowledgeable manner, that could have won it some votes.
2. Link deregulation to social policy. Some who consistently vote left are conservatives at heart who simply falsely believe that the only way to help the most disadvantaged is to regulate the markets ever more. Strategic market deregulation targeted to benefit the poor could have changed some minds on the matter. For example, the Conservatives could have proposed that any business that serves its customers in a sign language or the local indigenous language would be completely exempted from all linguistic provisions from all Federal laws. This would be a way to deregulate language policy in such a way as to show a softer side to deregulation to socially compassionate conservatives.
3. Logical thought, consistency, and avoiding redundancy. When Harper argued that we should not allow women to wear the niqab because he would not force his daughter wear one, it probably made him seem mushy-brained in the eyes of many who properly analyzed that logic. Would this mean that if he doesn't force his daughter to wear cotton that he will therefore force all women to wear cotton at citizenship ceremonies? It just didn't make sense. The idea of taking away a woman's freedom to wear what she wants on the name of women's equality was also an oxymoron in the eyes of some, especially in the context of refusing to establish a commission to study the matter of murdered and missing aboriginal women.
The 'Canadian values' argument also ran hollow in an electorate bombarded by the media concerning the horror of cultural genocide in the residential school system in recent years.
If instead he had focused on legitimate concerns surrounding security he would have had a case except for the fact that the court had already agreed that she would have to show her face for identification purposes already.
In short, because of the rationales surrounding it, the niqab debate was a philosophical landmine.
We can see something similar with the Office o Religious Freedom which can criticize governments beyond Canada over which the Government has no power anyway but can't make recommendations concerning the one country the Government has the power to legislate in, thus making it not only redundant given the work the the UN High Commission for Human Rights but also relatively useless for the money spent
4. General character.
Harper stripped his MPs of all freedom to vote their conscience, he focused more on mean-spirited attacks (e.g. I can imagine many Canadian international businessmen, diplomats, military servicemen stationed in Germany and elsewhere abroad, and other former ex-pats feeling enraged at Harper's insinuation that to live abroad makes one less than Canadian in his attacks on Ignatius for 'just visiting'), his constant focus on attacking his opponents personally rather than focus on explaining the rationale for his own policies to people. He could sometimes be outright arrogant and insulting of other world leaders and states, even allied ones. In short, he came across as a nacissistic bully.
Dividing between Canadian and non-Canadian in immigration policy. Forgetting that international marriages have become more common than ever in Canada, sometimes even between 'Old Stock' Canadians who speak an unofficial language and foreign nationals. To attack immigrants was inevitably to attack the spouses and in-laws of immigrants, many of whom would be Old-stock themselves. I guess it boiled down to the fact that Harper would never force his daughter to marry a foreign national.
I could go on, but I think I'ce made it clear enough that the Liberals did not win. The Conservatives lost.
