[LINK] Two links on Canadian politics

[rfmcdonald]

• Over at Spacing, Shawn Micallef links to an article at Slate claiming that much of the nastiness in the current electoral campaign can be traced back to Canada's lack of experience with sustained periods of minority government. Keep in mind that the author at Slate is a former Liberal Party speechwriter.


• At The Globe and Mail, John Duffy argues "The first North American election?" that in both Canada and the United States, traditional electoral structures based on, respectively, race and regionalism are breaking down in favour of urban-rural divides based on cultural identity and economic interest. Since the Canadian political system, at least, discriminates in favour of rural areas--Prince Edward Island has 4 MPs, while a Mississauga with at least four times PEI's population has 6 MPs--this could create some interesting issues insofar as rural depopulation and pressure for a redistribution of electoral seats grows.