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We have a lot less gerrymandering than the States, but the process is still open to political influence. Incumbent MPs do a great deal of lobbying to try to get their ideal districts. With how centralized the Harper Conservatives are, there is a lot of worry that they will go further than other...

In the riding next door, Olivia Chow won all of the Bay Street condos in her riding. If that can happen, then with the right candidate and a lot of resources the NDP could win Toronto Centre. They put next to no resources in the riding this time around. More realistic is that after...

Currently the voters per riding in Quebec is just a bit below the national average. The new arrangement would bring Quebec slightly over the national average. Adding one or two seats in this new distribution would drop them back to the average. While folk might be fine with Quebec also...

Yup, health care, pensions, environmental protection. Those are in no way good for the general public.

If the proposed increases for Ontario, Alberta, and BC go through then Quebec ridings would be larger than the national average, and thus underrepresented in the House of Commons. Why then is it so horrible to give Quebec an extra seat or two?

New Angus Reid poll: Cons 35%, NDP 30%, Liberals 22%. In the last couple of days the NDP seems to have begun grabbing a lot of Conservative support.

I disagree about a Liberal/NDP merger. There is still a strong section of the Liberals that aren't to the left. Parts of the Liberal coalition such as Bay Streeters, Anglo-Montrealers, and rural Catholics are not terribly progressive and would very likely prefer the Conservatives to a merged...

A third poll is out with the NDP first in Quebec, and ahead of the Liberals nationally. If this is sustained (a big if) Jack will be leader of the opposition. There is also 10% of the electorate who prefer Jack to Ignatieff, and NDP policies over Liberal ones, but have so far been planning to...

When did the NDP ever prop up the Conservatives? It's almost always been the Liberals who've voted for Con budgets and thrones speeches, and when it hasn't been them it's been the Bloc.

Yep, the new EKOS poll has the NDP at 33% in Quebec, to the Bloc's 30%. It also has the NDP at 25% nationally, only a point behind the Liberals.

Speaking of surprises: NDP moves into tie with Liberals

Latest round of polls are in, and they all seem to have the Conservatives around 40%, the Liberals around 25%, the NDP around 20%, Bloc around 10% , and the Greens around 5%. These numbers would give a majority Harper government. The NDP-Liberal gap is narrower than it almost ever has been in...

Wikipedia's map of the area:

I think I might have seen some of this crack down on "fare evasion" last night. I was on the Queen streetcar and a couple, who were clearly tourists, got on at York St with a transfer from the University subway line. The driver proceeded to lecture them on how such a transfer was only valid at...

I find the numbers attached to this article odd. Only a small portion seems to be what most of us think of as fare evasion (hopping a turnstile or getting on the Queen car from the back) It seems that the vast majority of fare evasion is from invalid transfers. I have to think that most of this...

60% is a very low number for this early in Ford's term, and gives a real shot that he will be a one termer. Approval tends to degrade over time. If you look at Miller, McGuinty, and Lastman, they all saw their support erode by about 5% per year. If Ford is at anything below 50% come 2014 he will...

As to index funds, you're argument only works if Canadian index funds have been consistently under valued compared to their global peers. I'm far from a believer in efficient markets, but even I don't think the world trading community would have missed that one. Differences that do exist between...

What is the reason that the TSX has so many big resource companies like First Quantum, Orsu Metals, Americas Petrogas that have no operations in Canada? If you're looking to start a company like this you come to Toronto because you know this is where the people who invest in these areas...

There is a reason everyone has focused on mining, because it is those specific areas of expertise where this deal will have an effect. The benefits in terms of capital raising are minute. There is already a common market for international stocks. As you mention you have no problem buying...

You state that the TSX lead in mining is "because we're the world's richest country in natural resources." That explains the origins of the specialization, but it doesn't explain why Toronto is the go to exchange for resource firms from around the world. We have that position because our large...