News   Feb 04, 2026
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PM Mark Carney's Canada

Well my heritage is also British or so I thought. My paternal ancestors always spoke about their heritage from England. Turns out, after some research, that they lived in Northern Ireland for a couple of hundred years. Yet they always claimed to be from England because it would be somehow shameful to admit that they were from Ireland.

My point? People bring their crap wherever they go. The English aren’t immune. They are just more subtle than some.

And then there is the other side of the family with the Scots and the Brits and their centuries of discord.
 
So.. in an interesting turn of events the MPP for Scarborough Southwest crossed the floor and joined the Federal Liberal Party to run as their candidate.

See here: https://www.qpbriefing.com/news/ndp-mpp-doly-begum-resigns-seat-to-run-as-liberal-in-scarborough-southwest-byelection

As a Scarborough Southwest Resident, I personally won't vote for her. If she was not in this for herself, she would have ran for the Federal NDP normination in the riding not the Liberals..

I wish her all the best but she's a turncoat and I would not be disappointed if she lost miserably.
 
So.. in an interesting turn of events the MPP for Scarborough Southwest crossed the floor and joined the Federal Liberal Party to run as their candidate.

See here: https://www.qpbriefing.com/news/ndp-mpp-doly-begum-resigns-seat-to-run-as-liberal-in-scarborough-southwest-byelection

As a Scarborough Southwest Resident, I personally won't vote for her. If she was not in this for herself, she would have ran for the Federal NDP normination in the riding not the Liberals..

I wish her all the best but she's a turncoat and I would not be disappointed if she lost miserably.
I'd argue provincial and federal parties are different. C.f. Bob Rae.

But you are most definitely entitled to your beliefs! (Not meant ironically), and I'm sure others will feel the same
.I see it as a way for the right-turning federal Libs to keep a bit of their left flank, but we shall see whether the gambit works
 
So.. in an interesting turn of events the MPP for Scarborough Southwest crossed the floor and joined the Federal Liberal Party to run as their candidate.

See here: https://www.qpbriefing.com/news/ndp-mpp-doly-begum-resigns-seat-to-run-as-liberal-in-scarborough-southwest-byelection

As a Scarborough Southwest Resident, I personally won't vote for her. If she was not in this for herself, she would have ran for the Federal NDP normination in the riding not the Liberals..

I wish her all the best but she's a turncoat and I would not be disappointed if she lost miserably.

I heard the rumour from a Dipper friend a few weeks ago. It’s surprising given she was one of the more the left leaning members of the ONDP caucus and is likely to join the most conservative Liberal government in half a century.
 
I heard the rumour from a Dipper friend a few weeks ago. It’s surprising given she was one of the more the left leaning members of the ONDP caucus and is likely to join the most conservative Liberal government in half a century.

Unfortunately, the NDP does not have strong candidates anymore. Now they have Billy-Bob no name running in Scarborough Southwest that does not appeal to the riding.
 
Think Begum's switch to LPC is interesting but speaks mostly to the inability of the NDP, at either provincial or federal levels, to find an overarching purpose and goal to work towards. They really feel rudderless at the moment and I can't blame someone from leaving that tent.

I'd argue provincial and federal parties are different. C.f. Bob Rae.
Indeed.
I see it as a way for the right-turning federal Libs to keep a bit of their left flank, but we shall see whether the gambit works
Either the LPC is still a place for more left-leaning politicians to have a voice or Begum is willing to change her views to suit whatever party they're with.

I heard the rumour from a Dipper friend a few weeks ago. It’s surprising given she was one of the more the left leaning members of the ONDP caucus and is likely to join the most conservative Liberal government in half a century.
The key question is whether they approached Begum or Begum approached them.
 
Unfortunately, the NDP does not have strong candidates anymore. Now they have Billy-Bob no name running in Scarborough Southwest that does not appeal to the riding.
I'd say the federal NDP is finished until at least PM Carney calls it quits in the mid to late 2030s. He's only sixty years old. Provincially, the NDP as opposition is basically ensuring Doug Ford a fourth, fifth or even sixth mandate.
 
I'd say the federal NDP is finished until at least PM Carney calls it quits in the mid to late 2030s. He's only sixty years old. Provincially, the NDP as opposition is basically ensuring Doug Ford a fourth, fifth or even sixth mandate.

I would consider attempting to run again but I cannot be bothered with the bureaucracy within the NDP leadership. I considered contesting the candidacy provincially in 2007 but I was advised against it as the Riding Executive had a candidate in mind.

That Candidate was Jay Sarkar who came in third.

I wanted to win, the riding executive wanted a token candidate who they believed would appeal to a segment of the riding who could not vote.
 
Well my heritage is also British or so I thought. My paternal ancestors always spoke about their heritage from England. Turns out, after some research, that they lived in Northern Ireland for a couple of hundred years. Yet they always claimed to be from England because it would be somehow shameful to admit that they were from Ireland.

My point? People bring their crap wherever they go. The English aren’t immune. They are just more subtle than some.
Technically, part of my family is Irish. That side spent several generations in Courtmatrix. But as with all things it's complicated, as they were Irish Palatinates. So, they fled Germany (and the frequent attacks by France) to somewhere safer. They often married within their own culture, kept a lot of their traditions and didn't really integrate much in those early generations (there are a few marriages between Kellys and the like later on). The disdain of France was still being held onto by my grandmother however, generations removed from those ancestors who fled.

So, am I Irish or German on that side? I don't really know.

Does it really matter because nations are made up ways for the rich and powerful to lord over others? No, not really.
 
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Technically, part of my family is Irish. That side spent several generations in Courtmatrix. But as with all things it's complicated, as they were Irish Palatinates. So, they fled Germany (and the frequent attacks by France) to somewhere safer. They often married within their own culture, kept a lot of their traditions and didn't really integrate much in those early generations (there are a few marriages between Kellys and the like later on). The disdain of France was still being held onto by my grandmother however, generations removed from those ancestors who fled.

So, am I Irish or German on that side? I don't really know.

Does it really matter because nations are made up ways for the rich and powerful to lord over others? No, not really.
Be as proud - or ashamed - of your heritage as you see fit. Eat haggis, play bocci ball or whatever else floats your boat. But leave the baggage at the door.
 
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Well my heritage is also British or so I thought. My paternal ancestors always spoke about their heritage from England. Turns out, after some research, that they lived in Northern Ireland for a couple of hundred years. Yet they always claimed to be from England because it would be somehow shameful to admit that they were from Ireland.

My point? People bring their crap wherever they go. The English aren’t immune. They are just more subtle than some.

And then there is the other side of the family with the Scots and the Brits and their centuries of discord.

This reminds me of the experience that immigrant groups like the Koreans and Chinese in Japan, from around 1910 and onwards. There's always been historic population and cultural migration from the Asian mainland in the earlier stages of national formations, but this refers for moreso to the times of Imperial Japan following the Meiji Restoration. Where immigrants faced issues such as resentment, social exclusion, and structural barriers in employment. Even with the common practice of adopting Japanese names to assimilate and blend into the native population more, there remains a sense of otherism.
 
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