Michael Ignatieff Liberal leftist, held back from power by the likes of Jack Layton and a Canadian public who put survival in a shaky economy in front of his agenda to bring North America under Obama control, Ignatieff, whose forebears were Russian born, works, in effect, toward the formation of a North American Union.
But while sovereignty may be up for grabs in Obama’s America, Sovereignty is a hallmark worth fighting for by Canadians.
Robbing Canadians of their Sovereignty is something bound to evoke the fighting spirit of Canadians when it is comes from a parachuted back to Canada politician who spent almost three decades living outside the the country he wishes to lead, including five years teaching at Harvard University.Ignatieff boasts he has friends in high places in the USA.Some Canadian pundits claim he is being groomed as Czar of the North by no less than Larry Summers, economic adviser to Obama.We have found Iggy's hidden agenda?http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/14869
Irene Jackson - 15 years ago
I wonder if Mr Ignatief has a bet going with his American buddies that he can come north and take over a "banana republic" like Canada without half trying and move it in lockstep with the US.
Anita - 15 years ago
Ignatief gives off an aura of pomposity, vanity and arrogance that is absolutely grating. Mr.Ignatief, you really need to get your unruly eyebrows to behave a bit more - how can you expect people to listen to you when your eyebrows don't even do so!
He cannot hold a candle to Prime Minister Harper. He was away for 34 years and as far as I am concerned it was the best thing that happened to Canada. Now if only Harvard could take him back and put us out of our misery.
Andre - 15 years ago
At least he has more decency than Harper. He does not need to lower himself to resort to TV ad campains to attack his opponents like Harper does. What are the conservatives afraid of after all? Having an opponent who is better than Harper? The Conservatives TV ad campains prove only one thing. They resort to attack their opponents who are more educated, intelligent, than Harper is. Any way we know where Harper's loyalty stands. It is with the oil companies. Remember that he used to work for them as an economist (filling his pockets). He claims that ther is no collusion between oil companies who raise gazoline prices every so often. Weekends the prices go up! Beginning of the week the prices go down!... Need I say more? Seems than they run the country...
At least, with the Liberals we will get a prime minister who is in touch with the world, the environment ( the Conservatives protect only the interests of oil companies, not ours) and ou economy.
Personally, I trust more Mr. IGNATIEFF than P.M. HARPER. (Mini-Bush)
Simon - 15 years ago
The question of whether it bothers me, that Ignatieff spent 30 years outside of Canada, is flawed!! The three answer-choices are also flawed.
My opinion:
It makes me happy that our (next?) Prime Minister spent 30 years studying/working abroad.
The answer-choice closest to my opinion is number 3: No, it makes no difference to me. Ideally, I select the answer choice that reads: I support Ignatieff precisely because he spent 30 years abroad, in addition to other factors.
helen Swanson - 15 years ago
I don't care if he came from Mars! He's a smart man and he thinks for himself. He hasn't been influenced by Liberal in-housers. His experience and education outside Canada is an extreme benefit for our Country for reasons already mentioned. I personally welcome the change.
Nick - 15 years ago
I am sorry not to see a 4th option in this poll, one that would say "I think Ignatieff's 30 years abroad make a better candidate for leader", or "I have more confidence in Ignatieff because he's lived abroad"...
What kind of poll is this anyway, where there are two negative answers and one neutral answer...? What about the positive?
Richard - 15 years ago
The trash ads that the Conservatives are running ... really bother me. I suspect they cater to the lowest common denominator ... I further suspect the shallow content of these ads will eventually backfire. Particularily if the Liberals and other parties take the higher road. Integrity has a way of surfacing in the strangest ways.
Gene Rayburn - 15 years ago
"Remember he professes to be a human rights expert, not an expert in international relationships." Yes Kingston and Stephen Harper claims to be an economist and claims to be writing a hockey book yet proof of either is non-existent.
I'm sure if we inspected the CVs of every MP we'd be sure to find plenty of fluffing. So to put the twist on you earlier hypothesis how come you dont have a problem with people like Harper fluffing their CVs but you get your knickers in a knot because someone actually does something with their life? Is actual progress really worse than claiming to write a book or claiming to be an economist (yeah I got a degree in Urban Planning over a decade ago but I don't claim to be an urban planner)?
Gene Rayburn - 15 years ago
"But a PM who has no feel for the country isn't."
Nice try Matt but you still come off as rehashed Conservative talking points. So say a person immigrated after all those watershed moments you mention (the NEP is regional so I wouldn't call it national, I lived in Canada during that time and it didn't affect anyone in my part) would you argue that they aren't Canadian enough and are not worthy or running for public office. If you take all the people that actually have done something and make them "not worthy" of running for office we're going to end up with a country run by rubes.
Gene Rayburn - 15 years ago
Actually Kingston I'm not worried. I'm comfortable with my own Canadianness and being a former expat myself, have no worries about Ignatieff's stance on Canada. I find your xenophobic stance to be a bit too pure laine for me. What exactly constitutes an acceptible Canadian that doesn't come across as bigoted and backwards.
As for your "if he was a Conservative" argument, nice try. I'm a self confessed policy person and I find plenty of criticism within the lack of policy or re-re-rehashed announcements of things already announced previously. I dont need to rely on such a weak argument as "just visiting".
Kingston, I'd like to think as Canadians we are capable of more. Why can't an adult argument of Ignatieff be put forward. To be honest I dont find the humour and angle of the Conservatives to be mature nor worthy of discussion for Canadians. It's sad that they have to rely on win at all costs tactics instead of putting forth a vision. That's what bothers me, not some trumped up xenophobia about where someone goes to school.
Kingston - 15 years ago
Angry, To your first first point, your absoutely correct, Harper said thoses things and he has worn them many times thanks to the loyal opposition as he should have, now it is Iggy turn to wear his comments. And where is this vast international experience that Iggy has, he worked as a talk show host in England, and a professor in the the States, just because you live out of the country doesnt give you any experience in international relationships. You might be reaching on that one. Remember he professes to be a human rights expert, not an expert in international relationships. His CV not mine
1) Harper at one time proposed having "firewalls" around Alberta; very Canadian, eh?
2) He's also neglected to properly address the issues of the economy until it was too late, preferring denial instead; so what makes him any good to run the country over Ignatieff?
It's not like Ignatieff was scrubbing dishes in Nice. He's gain plenty of experience in international relations and whatnot around the world.
kingston - 15 years ago
Actually Gene, The fact that Iggy has called himself and American as in an American citizen does concern as much as it should concern you. The fact that he is starting to show a serious habit of saying what an audience wants to hear and not having any firm convictions should worry also concern you. The fact he said the only thing he missed in the great country was a national park, should also concern you. I have no doubt if Iggy was a conservative in the exact same scenario as right now you would be howling at the top of your lungs at what a carpetbagger he is and you know what,, you would be right. Now you can spin this however much you want, that is fine, I am sure that WK is well into planning many different ways to do just that, but I have the feeling that these cute little quotes from Iggy are just beginning and when the ads air about his comments about la belle province, the LPC numbers will drop like a stone in a deep pool of water. As always just my thoughts
matt - 15 years ago
Gene - I like to think I write better than Tory talking points. And to be fair, they might have been Team Dion talking points from 2007 or Team Rae talking points from early 2009. Also, I have no issues with Ignatieff being elitist. That's fine. But a PM who has no feel for the country isn't.
Delford - I'm going to assume you're asking me the question about Harper not having visited other countries (because, obviously as PM he has now). To be fair, I think he had visited Mexico and maybe the UK? My answer regardless is that I think it was a bona fide liability and a valid point of criticism. But so what? I don't care that Ignatieff worked outside the country. I've lived outside of the country as well, and very well might do so again.
What significantly reduces the chance of me voting for Ignatieff, however, are two things: a) he only came back to be PM, and b) he was away for so long, missed so much, and hasn't been back long enough to catch up. Things like the NEP, Free Trade, Meech, Charlottetown, '92 recession, '95 referendum, currency crisis, spending cuts, Supreme Court reference - those are all watershed moments for Canada - he wasn't here for any of those things.
delford t louis - 15 years ago
this is a non issue which is actually backfiring...a similar question...how do you feel that pm harper has never visited other countries?
Gene Rayburn - 15 years ago
Wow Matt, those sound just like the Tory talking points. How original of you. Are you still capable of individual thought or has the implant curbed that?
REX - 15 years ago
How many more of these nauseating Conservative commercials are the public going to have to tolerate ? No wonder voters are refusing to vote. This childish BS reeks of an ignorant school-yard bully ! ! Obviously Harper has no wisdom to offer Canadians and has to resort to idiocy trying desperately to keep playing "king of the castle". Ignatieff's education and international experience is an asset to be able to negotiate with the global village world that we now live in. Harper can't seem to get along with anybody. Even apologizing for age-old wrongs hasn't bought him the majority and popularity that he so desperately wants. Continually nauseating the voters with the inane name-calling won't buy votes either. Quit and find some private enterprise to play in, Mr. Harper---public service is NOT your bag.
Matt - 15 years ago
It's not that he spent 30 years outside of Canada. It's that the only reason he came back was to become PM. And I don't think being parachuted into a Toronto riding and spending a year as each of a) Mr. Dion's competitor for the Liberal leadership, b) Deputy Leader of the Opposition, c) Leader of the Opposition qualifies as boots-on-the-ground time to make up for the absence and afford Mr. Ignatieff an emotional and intuitive sense of the country.
Radolf - 15 years ago
David, are you talking about the media that overwhelmingly endorsed Harper last election? The media that did a hatchet job on Dion at every chance they got?
Ah yes, they are real shills for the Liberal Conspiracy.
divid - 15 years ago
PJ; have you looked at the place where Canada is situated lately. You will see that it is in America and that is how Europeans see us and spills into how it has been inducted into Mr. Ignatieff's language. No big deal. That's globalization fer y'.
PJ - 15 years ago
It is not the fact that Mr. Ignatieff spent so many years outside the country but the fact that he said publicly that he was American is what bothers me. Where do his real loyalties lie?
Why do the Liberals need to raise mountains of cash for the next election. After all, they have almost the entire media (print,TV,etc) acting as shills for them. On CTV from Taber andOliver and Kent, to Rex Murphy, and all the others except on CPAC, the Grits dont need money. After all, the Conservative party has to to to th people for its small individual donations of a few hundred dollars each.
Bill from U.K. - 15 years ago
If we can get him elected, We will have a P.M. who understands much more of the rest of the world than we have had before. That would benefit us all.
Michael Ignatieff Liberal leftist, held back from power by the likes of Jack Layton and a Canadian public who put survival in a shaky economy in front of his agenda to bring North America under Obama control, Ignatieff, whose forebears were Russian born, works, in effect, toward the formation of a North American Union.
But while sovereignty may be up for grabs in Obama’s America, Sovereignty is a hallmark worth fighting for by Canadians.
Robbing Canadians of their Sovereignty is something bound to evoke the fighting spirit of Canadians when it is comes from a parachuted back to Canada politician who spent almost three decades living outside the the country he wishes to lead, including five years teaching at Harvard University.Ignatieff boasts he has friends in high places in the USA.Some Canadian pundits claim he is being groomed as Czar of the North by no less than Larry Summers, economic adviser to Obama.We have found Iggy's hidden agenda?http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/14869
I wonder if Mr Ignatief has a bet going with his American buddies that he can come north and take over a "banana republic" like Canada without half trying and move it in lockstep with the US.
Ignatief gives off an aura of pomposity, vanity and arrogance that is absolutely grating. Mr.Ignatief, you really need to get your unruly eyebrows to behave a bit more - how can you expect people to listen to you when your eyebrows don't even do so!
He cannot hold a candle to Prime Minister Harper. He was away for 34 years and as far as I am concerned it was the best thing that happened to Canada. Now if only Harvard could take him back and put us out of our misery.
At least he has more decency than Harper. He does not need to lower himself to resort to TV ad campains to attack his opponents like Harper does. What are the conservatives afraid of after all? Having an opponent who is better than Harper? The Conservatives TV ad campains prove only one thing. They resort to attack their opponents who are more educated, intelligent, than Harper is. Any way we know where Harper's loyalty stands. It is with the oil companies. Remember that he used to work for them as an economist (filling his pockets). He claims that ther is no collusion between oil companies who raise gazoline prices every so often. Weekends the prices go up! Beginning of the week the prices go down!... Need I say more? Seems than they run the country...
At least, with the Liberals we will get a prime minister who is in touch with the world, the environment ( the Conservatives protect only the interests of oil companies, not ours) and ou economy.
Personally, I trust more Mr. IGNATIEFF than P.M. HARPER. (Mini-Bush)
The question of whether it bothers me, that Ignatieff spent 30 years outside of Canada, is flawed!! The three answer-choices are also flawed.
My opinion:
It makes me happy that our (next?) Prime Minister spent 30 years studying/working abroad.
The answer-choice closest to my opinion is number 3: No, it makes no difference to me. Ideally, I select the answer choice that reads: I support Ignatieff precisely because he spent 30 years abroad, in addition to other factors.
I don't care if he came from Mars! He's a smart man and he thinks for himself. He hasn't been influenced by Liberal in-housers. His experience and education outside Canada is an extreme benefit for our Country for reasons already mentioned. I personally welcome the change.
I am sorry not to see a 4th option in this poll, one that would say "I think Ignatieff's 30 years abroad make a better candidate for leader", or "I have more confidence in Ignatieff because he's lived abroad"...
What kind of poll is this anyway, where there are two negative answers and one neutral answer...? What about the positive?
The trash ads that the Conservatives are running ... really bother me. I suspect they cater to the lowest common denominator ... I further suspect the shallow content of these ads will eventually backfire. Particularily if the Liberals and other parties take the higher road. Integrity has a way of surfacing in the strangest ways.
"Remember he professes to be a human rights expert, not an expert in international relationships." Yes Kingston and Stephen Harper claims to be an economist and claims to be writing a hockey book yet proof of either is non-existent.
I'm sure if we inspected the CVs of every MP we'd be sure to find plenty of fluffing. So to put the twist on you earlier hypothesis how come you dont have a problem with people like Harper fluffing their CVs but you get your knickers in a knot because someone actually does something with their life? Is actual progress really worse than claiming to write a book or claiming to be an economist (yeah I got a degree in Urban Planning over a decade ago but I don't claim to be an urban planner)?
"But a PM who has no feel for the country isn't."
Nice try Matt but you still come off as rehashed Conservative talking points. So say a person immigrated after all those watershed moments you mention (the NEP is regional so I wouldn't call it national, I lived in Canada during that time and it didn't affect anyone in my part) would you argue that they aren't Canadian enough and are not worthy or running for public office. If you take all the people that actually have done something and make them "not worthy" of running for office we're going to end up with a country run by rubes.
Actually Kingston I'm not worried. I'm comfortable with my own Canadianness and being a former expat myself, have no worries about Ignatieff's stance on Canada. I find your xenophobic stance to be a bit too pure laine for me. What exactly constitutes an acceptible Canadian that doesn't come across as bigoted and backwards.
As for your "if he was a Conservative" argument, nice try. I'm a self confessed policy person and I find plenty of criticism within the lack of policy or re-re-rehashed announcements of things already announced previously. I dont need to rely on such a weak argument as "just visiting".
Kingston, I'd like to think as Canadians we are capable of more. Why can't an adult argument of Ignatieff be put forward. To be honest I dont find the humour and angle of the Conservatives to be mature nor worthy of discussion for Canadians. It's sad that they have to rely on win at all costs tactics instead of putting forth a vision. That's what bothers me, not some trumped up xenophobia about where someone goes to school.
Angry, To your first first point, your absoutely correct, Harper said thoses things and he has worn them many times thanks to the loyal opposition as he should have, now it is Iggy turn to wear his comments. And where is this vast international experience that Iggy has, he worked as a talk show host in England, and a professor in the the States, just because you live out of the country doesnt give you any experience in international relationships. You might be reaching on that one. Remember he professes to be a human rights expert, not an expert in international relationships. His CV not mine
Two things:
1) Harper at one time proposed having "firewalls" around Alberta; very Canadian, eh?
2) He's also neglected to properly address the issues of the economy until it was too late, preferring denial instead; so what makes him any good to run the country over Ignatieff?
It's not like Ignatieff was scrubbing dishes in Nice. He's gain plenty of experience in international relations and whatnot around the world.
Actually Gene, The fact that Iggy has called himself and American as in an American citizen does concern as much as it should concern you. The fact that he is starting to show a serious habit of saying what an audience wants to hear and not having any firm convictions should worry also concern you. The fact he said the only thing he missed in the great country was a national park, should also concern you. I have no doubt if Iggy was a conservative in the exact same scenario as right now you would be howling at the top of your lungs at what a carpetbagger he is and you know what,, you would be right. Now you can spin this however much you want, that is fine, I am sure that WK is well into planning many different ways to do just that, but I have the feeling that these cute little quotes from Iggy are just beginning and when the ads air about his comments about la belle province, the LPC numbers will drop like a stone in a deep pool of water. As always just my thoughts
Gene - I like to think I write better than Tory talking points. And to be fair, they might have been Team Dion talking points from 2007 or Team Rae talking points from early 2009. Also, I have no issues with Ignatieff being elitist. That's fine. But a PM who has no feel for the country isn't.
Delford - I'm going to assume you're asking me the question about Harper not having visited other countries (because, obviously as PM he has now). To be fair, I think he had visited Mexico and maybe the UK? My answer regardless is that I think it was a bona fide liability and a valid point of criticism. But so what? I don't care that Ignatieff worked outside the country. I've lived outside of the country as well, and very well might do so again.
What significantly reduces the chance of me voting for Ignatieff, however, are two things: a) he only came back to be PM, and b) he was away for so long, missed so much, and hasn't been back long enough to catch up. Things like the NEP, Free Trade, Meech, Charlottetown, '92 recession, '95 referendum, currency crisis, spending cuts, Supreme Court reference - those are all watershed moments for Canada - he wasn't here for any of those things.
this is a non issue which is actually backfiring...a similar question...how do you feel that pm harper has never visited other countries?
Wow Matt, those sound just like the Tory talking points. How original of you. Are you still capable of individual thought or has the implant curbed that?
How many more of these nauseating Conservative commercials are the public going to have to tolerate ? No wonder voters are refusing to vote. This childish BS reeks of an ignorant school-yard bully ! ! Obviously Harper has no wisdom to offer Canadians and has to resort to idiocy trying desperately to keep playing "king of the castle". Ignatieff's education and international experience is an asset to be able to negotiate with the global village world that we now live in. Harper can't seem to get along with anybody. Even apologizing for age-old wrongs hasn't bought him the majority and popularity that he so desperately wants. Continually nauseating the voters with the inane name-calling won't buy votes either. Quit and find some private enterprise to play in, Mr. Harper---public service is NOT your bag.
It's not that he spent 30 years outside of Canada. It's that the only reason he came back was to become PM. And I don't think being parachuted into a Toronto riding and spending a year as each of a) Mr. Dion's competitor for the Liberal leadership, b) Deputy Leader of the Opposition, c) Leader of the Opposition qualifies as boots-on-the-ground time to make up for the absence and afford Mr. Ignatieff an emotional and intuitive sense of the country.
David, are you talking about the media that overwhelmingly endorsed Harper last election? The media that did a hatchet job on Dion at every chance they got?
Ah yes, they are real shills for the Liberal Conspiracy.
PJ; have you looked at the place where Canada is situated lately. You will see that it is in America and that is how Europeans see us and spills into how it has been inducted into Mr. Ignatieff's language. No big deal. That's globalization fer y'.
It is not the fact that Mr. Ignatieff spent so many years outside the country but the fact that he said publicly that he was American is what bothers me. Where do his real loyalties lie?
Why do the Liberals need to raise mountains of cash for the next election. After all, they have almost the entire media (print,TV,etc) acting as shills for them. On CTV from Taber andOliver and Kent, to Rex Murphy, and all the others except on CPAC, the Grits dont need money. After all, the Conservative party has to to to th people for its small individual donations of a few hundred dollars each.
If we can get him elected, We will have a P.M. who understands much more of the rest of the world than we have had before. That would benefit us all.