By-elections Sep 8 2008

(RCI) CANADA WILL HOLD EARLY FEDERAL ELECTION
Canadians will vote in an early election on October 14.  On Sunday morning, Prime Minister Stephen Harper met Governor General Michaelle Jean, the representative of Canada’s head of state, Queen Elizabeth, to request the dissolution of parliament.  Mr. Harper’s bid to strengthen his minority government comes at a time when opinion polls show that his Conservative Party is leading the opposition Liberal Party and New Democratic.  The prime minister has repeatedly said that parliament is deadlocked and that he needed a new mandate to govern. In announcing the election, he said that a weakening economy and the gridlocked House of Commons were good reasons to call the election.  But the Liberal Party leader, Stephane Dion, said that Mr. Harper is ignoring a law that the Conservative Party passed to hold elections on a fixed date every four years.  Mr. Harper launched his election campaign on Sunday in the mainly French-speaking province of Quebec.  The province is the stronghold of the separatist Bloc Quebecois, a party that fields federal candidates only in Quebec.  There are signs that Mr. Harper’s Conservative Party could win support in Quebec at the expense of the Bloc Quebecois.  The Green Party is also hoping to win votes by making the environment a major campaign issue.
Federal byelections scheduled in September were immediately cancelled.

Now that’s all over, thanks to Stephen Harper. What a waste!.

September 4
Liberals lead NDP with education, culture and environment main issues
P.A. Sévigny, The Suburban
The Westmount-Ville Marie by-election may not happen because Prime Minister Stephen Harper will probably pull the plug on his own government only days before Election Day.
Harper was going to lose the by-election, said NDG resident Urbain Gervais, ?so he?s got nothing to lose by calling a general election.
After five weeks of regular polling, voters in every sector of the riding have told The Suburban how and why they agreed with Gervais.
19 August
A strong roster for Sept. 8
Westmount Examiner Editorial
The nomination deadline has passed and the candidates are locked in. On Sept. 8, voters in the Westmount – Ville Marie riding will be asked to choose between six people, most of whom are already well-known to anyone who has recently ventured outdoors. The big faces smiling down at us from every light standard and utility pole all convey the same message — “Never mind the others, VOTE FOR ME!”
One thing is certain. No matter what happens here on election day, no matter what happens across the country in the aftermath of these three by-elections, the overall calibre of the people on the ballot indicates that Westmount is guaranteed excellent representation in Ottawa in the foreseeable future.
Just look at who we have in the running. There’s lawyer Guy Dufort, the witty and affable Tory; broadcaster and ardent environmentalist Claude William Genest supporting the Green cause; and broadcaster Anne Lagacé Dowson, whose NDP is mounting a fervent campaign in the hopes of maintaining the momentum from Tom Mulcair’s recent victory in Outremont.
All three have been working hard every day, knocking on doors and shaking hands in a tireless effort to convince people against betting the farm on the big red Liberal machine driven by Marc Garneau, a national hero and role model running in what is considered one of the safest Liberal ridings. For their part, Garneau and his team are not taking a single vote for granted, and have kept up a full schedule of events.
2 September
(Westmount Examiner Editorial) The main event in the Westmount – Ville Marie federal election campaign was held last Wednesday, and if the turnout and intensity of the exchanges are any indication, we are in for a much more interesting race than the last few federal elections combined.
18 August
Meet the candidates Aug. 27
While the race heats up for the highly anticipated Westmount – Ville Marie federal by-election, local voters will have a chance to meet and question those whose names will be on the Sept. 8 ballot next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Westmount High School, 4350 Ste. Catherine St. W. As in all previous Meet the Candidates evenings held over the past 10 years, The Examiner is co-organizing the event with the Westmount Municipal Association.
The program will follow much the same format as in previous years. In a randomly selected speaking order, each candidate will be invited to introduce themselves and present their respective platforms. This will be followed by a question period, during which the public may address questions to one or more of the candidates. Then the candidates will give their closing statements in reverse speaking order.

The event will be moderated by Victor Drury.After nine months of pre-campaign preparations and meeting the residents of Westmount — Ville-Marie, the writ has been dropped for a by-election September 8, 2008, and Marc Garneau is picking up the pace of his campaign.
Mr. Garneau’s Campaign Office, located at 1248 Greene Avenue, in Westmount, will be open to the public as of Monday July 28 at 9:00 a.m. More

NDP campaign off to roaring start in Westmount-Ville-Marie
Montreal – NDP candidate Anne Lagace Dowson’s campaign is off to a roaring start in Westmount-Ville_Maire. More than 100 volunteers turned out to put up more than 3,000 signs in the riding last night. Campaign office: 4909 Sherbrooke St. West, (514) 369-0277
25 July 2008
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced today that by-elections will be held on Monday, September 8, 2008 in the ridings of Guelph (Ontario), Westmount-Ville Marie (Quebec) and Saint Lambert (Quebec).

(RCI) Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper has called three federal by-elections for Sept. 8. Two of the by-elections will be held in the province of Quebec and the other in the province of Ontario. The elections will not change the balance of power in the House of Commons, where the governing Conservative Party is in a minority. The calling of the three by-elections has aroused speculations that the outcome could decide whether the opposition Liberals will seek an opportunity to overthrow the government on a question of confidence in the House of Commons, or on the other hand whether the Conservatives will see a favourable outcome as a incentive themselves to dissolve the House in the hope of winning a majority. The Liberals, who hold the balance of power in the minority parliament, have abstained from bringing down the Conservative government during several confidence votes during the past year. The Conservatives have been in power for two-and-a-half years of a possible five- year mandate.
MONTREAL: LIBERAL LEADER WANTS BYELECTION VOTERS TO SEND MESSAGE
The leader of the official opposition Liberal Party, meanwhile, has reacted to the announced by-elections by asking voters to send a clear message to Mr. Harper. Stéphane Dion says he’s confident that voters in the Montreal area and Guelph, ON, will support the Liberal slogan of “a richer, juster and greener Canada,” recalling as well that his party has made the environment and jobs its priority for the next national election campaign. Mr. Dion has been flirting with the idea of provoking an election this fall, but says he refuses to make a hasty decision. He explains that he has avoided provoking a summer election because such a moment wouldn’t favour a careful consideration by voters of the major issues.

Lagacé Dowson to run on NDP ticket
(Westmount Examiner) As the anticipation continues to build for the federal government’s announcement of Westmount-Ville Marie’s impending by-election, the NDP has jumped into the fray with its candidate — broadcaster Anne Lagacé Dowson.
With Lagacé Dowson’s candidacy confirmed this week, the NDP is the last of the major parties to announce a candidate in the race to replace former Liberal MP Lucienne Robillard in Parliament. Guy Dufort (Conservative), Marc Garneau (Liberal), Claude Genest (Green Party) and Charles Larivée (Bloc Québécois) have all announced that they will be on the ballot.