Why Martin won't call a spring election
Posted to Jim Elve's Group Election Blog.
In 1979, in the immediate aftermath of the Montreal Canadiens winning the Stanley Cup, the Conservatives won a minority government after a long Liberal reign.
In 1984, mere months after the Edmonton Oilers won the Cup after a 4 year American visit, the Conservatives won a majority and held that majority for two mandates. The Cup remained in Canada until 1991 when Pittsburgh won back-back titles. The stress of seeing the Cup go State-side, coupled with the return of Lord Stanley's mug to Quebec and the slow demise of the Albertan teams, broke Mulroney's Western/French coalition and resulted in the One Party Liberal rule we have seen since.
The stage has been set for a Canadian team to win the cup and with it, the return of the Conservatives to power.
The three western Canadian NHL teams have returned to respectability after a long decade in the hockey wilderness. The three eastern teams all made the playoffs with Ottawa and Toronto both sporting solid chances to take the Canadian torch into the final. The strength of all six teams was the major reason that a Conservative merger occured and is why Paul Martin has seen his party's support plummet as the hockey season went on and why he is hesitating in calling an election.
Should the Senators, Flames, Canucks, Habs, or even, God help us, the Leafs win the Stanley Cup it would undoubtedly lead to a Conservative government.
Martin is delaying because he is banking that the impending CBA negotiations will result in a lockout next fall. This hockey blackhole would suck into it all hope that the Conservatives had and would ensure that the Liberal reign continues.
A going concern I have is the depths the Liberals will sink to try to prevent a Canadian team from winning the Stanley Cup. Some of the obvious Liberal manuverings are:
- Fixing the standings to guarantee at least two teams will be eliminated after the first round
- Pressuring 4 of the 6 teams to instill uninspiring European captains - only the Conservative influenced Albertan teams resisted this Federal intrusion
- The Bertuzzi incident
- The patronage appointment of Liberal stalwart Gary Bettman
- The attempt to destroy the Canadian small market franschises by pushing the Canadian dollar down
- Global warming to prevent outdoor rinks
Despite all of these attempts, there is a solid chance that the Cup could return to our country and bring with it responsible government in Stephen Harper and the Conservatives.
In 1979, in the immediate aftermath of the Montreal Canadiens winning the Stanley Cup, the Conservatives won a minority government after a long Liberal reign.
In 1984, mere months after the Edmonton Oilers won the Cup after a 4 year American visit, the Conservatives won a majority and held that majority for two mandates. The Cup remained in Canada until 1991 when Pittsburgh won back-back titles. The stress of seeing the Cup go State-side, coupled with the return of Lord Stanley's mug to Quebec and the slow demise of the Albertan teams, broke Mulroney's Western/French coalition and resulted in the One Party Liberal rule we have seen since.
The stage has been set for a Canadian team to win the cup and with it, the return of the Conservatives to power.
The three western Canadian NHL teams have returned to respectability after a long decade in the hockey wilderness. The three eastern teams all made the playoffs with Ottawa and Toronto both sporting solid chances to take the Canadian torch into the final. The strength of all six teams was the major reason that a Conservative merger occured and is why Paul Martin has seen his party's support plummet as the hockey season went on and why he is hesitating in calling an election.
Should the Senators, Flames, Canucks, Habs, or even, God help us, the Leafs win the Stanley Cup it would undoubtedly lead to a Conservative government.
Martin is delaying because he is banking that the impending CBA negotiations will result in a lockout next fall. This hockey blackhole would suck into it all hope that the Conservatives had and would ensure that the Liberal reign continues.
A going concern I have is the depths the Liberals will sink to try to prevent a Canadian team from winning the Stanley Cup. Some of the obvious Liberal manuverings are:
- Fixing the standings to guarantee at least two teams will be eliminated after the first round
- Pressuring 4 of the 6 teams to instill uninspiring European captains - only the Conservative influenced Albertan teams resisted this Federal intrusion
- The Bertuzzi incident
- The patronage appointment of Liberal stalwart Gary Bettman
- The attempt to destroy the Canadian small market franschises by pushing the Canadian dollar down
- Global warming to prevent outdoor rinks
Despite all of these attempts, there is a solid chance that the Cup could return to our country and bring with it responsible government in Stephen Harper and the Conservatives.
