Today is election day so I thought I’d quickly summarize the newsmedia that has endorsed the conservatives.
First, locally, are the Oakville Beaver, the Burlington Post, and the Milton Canadian Champion, who have united to endorse the Conservatives and local candidate Lisa Raitt over encumbant Garth “I like the sound of my own voice” Turner:
After careful consideration, we believe it is time for change in both ridings. In Oakville, Bonnie Brown has represented the Liberals since 1993.
In Halton, Garth Turner won in 2006 for the Conservatives, but was subsequently kicked out of the party and is now carrying the Liberal banner.
The main problem we have with both candidates is their support of the Liberal Green Shift.
While we have no issue with the goal of putting a tax on pollution, our difficulty lies with believing the Liberals will follow through on the second part of their campaign promise and that is to offset this by reducing taxes.
Our distrust is based on history. Liberals, both federally and provincially, are well known for promising one thing on the campaign and delivering another when elected to office.
Speaking of Garth:
Frankly, it sounds like Turner will say anything to get himself elected. While this may ingratiate him to many of his constituents, and even his followers across Canada, we fear his rebellious, party-be-damned approach will be counter-productive to the team-building environment we think Canadians want and need from their next government.
Expanding into the rest of Ontario we have, the Toronto Sun:
To us, the choice for prime minister is clear. It’s Harper.
For 31 months, Harper provided Canada with a stable minority government, the longest-serving continuous minority in our history.
He pursued sensible, tax-cutting policies, fulfilling the Conservative pledges to lower the GST two points, to get tough-on-crime laws enacted in a soft-on-crime Parliament, to pass a new accountability act in the wake of the Liberal sponsorship scandal and to target more money to help working families.
The Ottawa Sun:
Canadians know Harper is a better leader than Stephane Dion. Along with the battered economy, leadership is the central issue of this race. Daily tracking polls from Nanos Research suggest none of the leaders can touch the prime minister on his ability to lead.
And while the ballot does not allow for a majority-or-minority vote, the prospect of a Dion-Layton spending coalition in power or opposition is unnerving.
On the big question of the day Tuesday, the answer this time is Stephen Harper.
The Kitchener-Waterloo Record:
Each voter will have to respond to this question as he or she sees fit. The way The Record’s editorial board views the situation, there are only two viable options, one coming from Harper’s Conservatives, the other from Stéphane Dion’s Liberals.
And when we weigh things as fairly and carefully as we can, we conclude that Harper and his party deserve another term in government.
Let’s be clear what’s at stake. It is an understatement to call the situation grave. The International Monetary Fund warned yesterday that the world economy “is entering a major downturn in the face of the most dangerous financial shock . . . since the 1930s.”
So far, and Harper is correct to point this out, Canada has escaped the worst of it. We are not in recession. There have been no collapses in our banks or lending institutions. There have been no bailouts. Instead, the Bank of Canada has already intervened to secure the liquidity of our banks and facilitate the flow of money. But we are not an island that can escape the storm. We are a trading nation peering out at thunderclouds and surging seas.
The Brantford Expositor:
Like many Canadians, we have been fairly satisfied with Harper’s government since it took office in January 2006. The Harper government has cut taxes and the national debt. It has promised to remove our forces from Afghanistan. It has belatedly responded to the crisis on the stock markets.
Locally, the Conservatives got negotiations going with Six Nations, which is more than the Liberals did during 13 years in power.
The Windsor Star:
Of all the leaders, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a trained economist, seems the most capable of steering the nation through these rocky times. He has not panicked on the campaign trail, even as his approval ratings have fallen in tandem with the Toronto Stock Exchange, never wavering from his contention that Canada will be hit, as will every country, but is still well-positioned to weather this global economic storm.
His prescription of low taxes, debt reduction and surpluses coupled with targeted measures to boost the automotive, manufacturing and aerospace sectors is not a panacea for our economic woes, but is better than the schemes and uncertainty offered by his opponents.
The only paper that appears to have endorses Stephane Dion and the Liberals is the Toronto Star, something that I think would hardly surprise most people. One wonders when they Star will change their logo to match the party…
Nationally we have, The Globe and Mail:
An election rarely offers perfect choices. Voters are called upon to sort through a catalogue of inputs — issues, policies, past records, regional affiliations, personalities, etc. — in casting their ballots. On balance, Mr. Harper remains the best man for the job in the tough times now upon us. He deserves if not four more years, at least two more years.
The National Post:
Last month, Stephane Dion called the upcoming federal election “among the most important in the history of our country.” He may be right. Next week’s vote will determine whether Canada’s tax system is overhauled through the imposition of a massive levy on carbon-based fuels; the nature of our continuing presence in Afghanistan; and how our government will respond to the historic meltdown unfolding in financial markets. Faced with these high stakes, we believe, Canada would be best served if Stephen Harper’s Conservative government were to receive a second mandate, this time in majority form.
and even The Economist:
And yet, in a sinking world, Canada is something of a cork. Its well-regulated banks are solid. Growth has slowed but not stopped. The big worry is the fear that an American recession will drag Canada down with it.
Mr Harper says, rightly enough, that his government has taken prudent measures to help Canada weather a storm it cannot duck: he has offered tax cuts and selective aid to help vulnerable manufacturing toA nuwns. But it is his seeming non-reaction to what is so far a non-crisis that looks likely to deny him the majority he was seeking, and could even let in the opposition. In what is the first credit-crunch election in a big Western country, Mr Harper’s ejection would set a dispiriting precedent that panic plays better politically than prudence.
This pattern continues in other provinces. In Quebec, the Montreal Gazette writes:
On balance, however, we believe that considering the Conservative record and the goals, policies, and personnel of the other parties, it is the Conservatives who deserve to be re-elected on Tuesday. Amid all the unfair and misleading advertising of this campaign, one Conservative message is truer now than when the writ was dropped: Constancy and prudence with the country’s finances are even more important when we’re in the economic doldrums.
In B.C., the Vancouver Province:
Rather than roll the dice, protecting Canadians during these difficult and unstable times calls for proven, rational measures from a federal government that uses workable fundamentals, such as keeping taxes low, paying down debt and maintaining controlled spending.
That’s why we are endorsing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservatives and urge voters to give them a majority on Oct. 14, a majority incidentally that should include stronger representation from B.C.
In Alberta, the Calgary Herald:
Canadians need a prime minister who will act with clarity, thoughtfulness and foresight. In the past week, Prime Minister Harper has been accused of lacking all three as the effects of the U.S. subprime crisis became clear.
The critics could not be more wrong. It was the Harper government that moved earlier this year to stop the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corp. from offering zero per cent down, 40-year mortgages. The Conservatives saw what was coming and moved to block problematic U.S. practices from being replicated en masse in Canada.
Thus, the choice is simple. The Calgary Herald endorses Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservatives. They deserve to be re-elected based on their record, competence, and on the prime minister’s steady hand as Canada heads into uncharted, choppy economic waters.
And the Edmonton Journal:
It’s decision time. With only three days to go before the polls open, voters and newspapers alike must set aside thoughts of leaders, parties and policies they’d like to have on offer in a perfect world, and choose among available options in the real one.
And in that real world, both Canada and Alberta in particular will be best served if Stephen Harper’s Conservatives are re-elected with the strength to be more than caretakers until we have to go through all of this again.
In Manitoba, the Winnipeg Sun:
While we respect all the national party leaders, realistically, Canadians Tuesday must choose between Stephen Harper and Stephane Dion to lead us through tough economic times. To us, the choice for prime minister is clear. It’s Harper.
Clearly the national news media has, in overwhelming majority, endorsed Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada. The common perception that Stephane Dion is not ready to be a leader, that his Carbon Tax will only increase the tax burden on Canadians, and that his stewardship of the economy will leave much to be desired appears to be shared by most of the news media.
Ultimately, the question for Canadians is: is not the time to turn our economy upside down with a carbon tax? I think the answer to that is a resounding “No”.
- Rafael.
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