Last night I got an email from my riding's Federal Liberal Party calling the meeting this coming Friday night to renominate our MP, Steven Owen, for the next federal election.
And today (for those following the story),
the Globe and Mail reports Harper's reaction to the Liberal-NDP deal:
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper sharply criticized a deal made between the NDP and the Liberals to help the Liberal minority government survive, saying the $4.6-billion agreement has increased his party's determination to bring down the government.
"As soon as we get back [to the House of Commons], I will be asking our caucus to put this government out of its misery at the earliest possible opportunity," Mr. Harper said during a speech for business leaders in Amherstburg, Ont., on Wednesday.
Harper's turning on the "Liberal-NDP [lefty left, socialist! hiss! spit!]" budget means the government is likely to fall:
With 307 sitting MPs, the government would need 154 votes to pass a no-confidence motion. The Liberals would require the help of all 19 NDP MPs, all of their own party's 131 MPs, the three independent MPs and the Speaker of the House. At least one independent, a former Tory, has said he will vote against the Liberals. It is assumed that the Tories and the Bloc Québécois, who number 153, would vote for the motion.
A separate article finds that support for seperatism in Quebec has reached 54%, which I think is the highest since before the 2000 election, with 49% of Quebeckers now looking for another referendum. That's basically what Mr. Duceppe means when he says the current budget is "bad for Quebec": the Bloc will gain seats in the spring election. Harper's anti-left ranting against "this NDP budget" suggests he thinks the Tories can too, though I think he underestimates Canadian affection for the NDP, at least in the provinces where it matters.
Anyhoo, it looks like we're headed for a spring election up north.