According to the Pontiac riding poll from projectdemocracy.ca, he's in trouble: http://www.projectdemocracy.ca/projectdemocracyca....

This is the first election where the parties have really used social media, and that this is engaging youth voters for the first time. My guess is that this is part of the reason for the NDP's increase in popularity. This seems more likely than what I heard one pundit mention today, that the surge started due to Layton's performance in the debates.

I'll be really interested to see the demographics of voters after the election.

I don't think he can touch the voter subsidy without a majority. The other parties cannot permit him to cut off their primary source of funding; as soon as that bill hits the house, the government will fall.

I have a question - does the Globe and Mail's endorsement actually change anyone's vote?

More votes in this election will be affected by social media.

Another side-effect of the boomers retiring is that economic growth will become that much harder to achieve. We've had roughly 50 years of (relatively) easy growth as boomers were promoted up the corporate ladder and spent more money. That's gone once they retire and cut back on their spending.

The parties all seem to expect a certain amount of economic growth to boost government revenues - but how will they manage if the growth just isn't there? That leaves them either raising taxes or cutting spending to balance the books, and I don't see that anyone has the will to do either of those to the level that will be required.

Could we just, for one day even, talk about issues that matter? All of this talk about coalitions in various forms is essentially pointless until the results of the election are known, and tells us nothing about a particular party's ability to govern. All it has told us is that any leader of a second-placed party in a minority Parliament is going to be tempted to consider the option - and they'd be fools not to think of it. Any talk of the Bloc as separatists is a red herring, as it'll be a Parti Québecois provincial government that calls a referendum on separation. It's not like a Liberal or Tory coalition government would agree to Québec separation in order to have the support of the Bloc.

During the election there has been little or no discussion on topics such as the environment, the effects of aging baby boomers on our social programs, our future in Afghanistan, and so on. MacBeth had it right: "it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing."

He's an MP - giving up your dignity is part of the unwritten job description, especially for Question Period.

Donate to the Tories, apparently.

I read Ibbitson's piece after the by-elections, and it read very much like he'd written it the day before, and then stuck in a line or two about how gaining a seat in Manitoba didn't matter, since only Southern Ontario was important.

It was one of the worst columns I've seen in a long time; the guy should be ashamed for writing it.

I agree that Québec City would be a wonderful place to hold the Olympics - except that Vancouver just hosted them, so that would mean 20+ years before there would be another Games in Canada. If they build the arena now for the 2034 Olympics, it would need to be refurbished before the Games.