Because It's 2016: Canadian Politics in Sunnier Days

i mean they should increase it

I disagree, actually. I thought it was great when the NDP got a bunch of undergrads into the House in 2011 and would like to see more participation by young adults.

There's something to be said for life experiences

Young adults can be more ideologically imo

They can, although I was probably less ideological as a young adult than I was either as a teenager or as an older adult. (Actually, I voted PC when I was 18 in 1997! Weird transitional period after my anarcho-communist adolescent days.) Clearly, Canadian young adults in general are not even ideologically driven enough to show up on Election Day, for the most part, so I'm not really concerned about the thread of radicalization. 18-25 year olds are adults in the eyes of the law, vote, pay taxes, are often responsible for their own bills (I was when I was 20), generally either work or are part of the post-secondary system, so I think it is fair for them to be involved in government, and I think they have a perspective to offer.

it's not an issue i lose sleep over

i never voted conservative in any of its forms eg (unless you're including the liberals)

my lowest point was voting for the communist party when i was 19 or 20 (chalk it up to dumb things you believe when you're a naive university student)

Reform was the hard-right option in '97. Charest's PC were practically a centrist option to the Liberals (who were probably at their furthest right, economically) and I thought their foreign policy was more principled (although I can't remember what it was).

I'd sooner reduce the voting age than raise it.

same

Blah, sorry, brainfart. I don't know why I thought we were talking about voting ages rather than age eligible to run.

https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/vbbvqj/conservatives-finally-ditching-the-rebel-have-a-lot-to-answer-for

rats leaving the sinking ship over at the rebel.

legit concerned by the preponderance of MAGA chud types on canadian social media and below the line contributions at newspapers. these "mainstream" conservative voices only now deciding to distance themselves from such a vile and extreme publication shows the current state of canadian conservatism, the real depths it will sink to, and the almost imperceptibly infinitesimal distance between tories and the alt-right

i'd rather they distance themselves a little too late than outright embrace it like south of the border.

that being said, i remain extremely pessimistic as to how Quebec nationalist parties will distance themselves from the increasingly racist and xenophobic sections of the population.

it might surprise you to learn some of the most important figures in quebec nationalism are pretty fuckin outspoken on this issue:
http://plus.lapresse.ca/screens/e9020f7c-0021-4659-a972-e2908ac6db6b%7C_0.html

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/jean-francois-lisee-racism-immigration-burqas-1.3785382

though "systemic racism" aside, of course lisée's still on his party's fuckin anti-burqa tip

i still think there is a large degree of separation between PQ/Lisée/Drainville and organisations like Atalante Québec and lol La Fédération des Québécois de Souche (Federation of pure-bred Québécois, kid you not). i don't think the PQ are as openly xenophobic as those proper french alt-right organisations, nor do they live in the same sphere of politics. the same way John McCain and the american alt-right are not exactly the same battle. the question now is how influent one will try to be on the other in the coming elections, because yeah, PQ will use the white nationalism card for sure.

I c&p-ed the discussion to the 2017 thread: Canadian Politics 2017: I've Got a Pipeline Straight to the Heart of You

thanks sund4r!

My union joins in:

http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/ontario-elementary-teachers-union-calls-for-renaming-john-a-macdonald-schools

I used to supply at one of the (what I take to be many) Sir John A.s occasionally.

Moved it to the 2017 thread:

Canadian Politics 2017: I've Got a Pipeline Straight to the Heart of You