15% of Canadians would rather vote in the U.S.

Perhaps the feelings that motivate these people are the same as the feelings that draw me to this website.   Being a Canadian the importance of what happens in the US is very dear to me.  The cbc just did this new poll that suggests that many Canadians feel the same way.   Most of them would likely vote for a democrat!

In Canada we have a balance and it's far left of what you have in the states.  Currently the conservatives hold onto power but live in a minority situation.   So I can see why people would rather vote over in the US.  As for 2008

"What they're saying is that in the whole scheme of things, the race will have impact on the world and Canada," said Neuman, Environic's group vice-president, public affairs.

Here is the link to the article:

CBC poll

Now this poll had lots of other intersting tidbits.   Most Canadians fell that it doesn't matter who wins the whitehouse for Canada.   Those that do care pick democrats over republicans at a rate of 7 to 1.

Perhaps we think it's important because of this:

U.S. cited as negative force in the world
While Canadians see the United States as important, when asked what countries stand out as being a negative force in the world, 52 per cent of respondents named the U.S.

The next most common answers were Iran (22 per cent), Iraq (19 per cent) and China (13 per cent).

Thats more then half of Canadians thinking that the US is the most negative force in this world.   I disagree but I cna see how people may come to this concluesion.

•  Tip jar

  Eh!

  by Mikecan1978 on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 08:46:37 AM PDT

•  I wouldn't describe the NDP as very left

  or the Liberals as center left. I'd describe the Liberals as centrist, and the NDP as center-left. There are plenty of Trotskyist and other left-sectarian splinter groups (CPC, CPC ML) to vote for if you want real left.

  by gracchus on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 08:49:11 AM PDT

  •  Perhaps

    I was going from a US perspective

    by Mikecan1978 on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 08:51:06 AM PDT

    •  I'm not sure about that kind of relatvism

      The US political system skews right, I know...but I think it skews right in US terms too, leaving a large portion of the left side of the field very lightly occupied.

      by gracchus on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 08:53:07 AM PDT

  •  NDP Would Be Beyond Center Left Down Here

    wouldn't you think?

    Nothing resembling real left is visible in the US to anyone but academics, politics junkies and Fatherland Security.

    by Gooserock on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 08:56:28 AM PDT

    •  Thats what I was thinking

      The Liberals are actually further left then the democrats for most issues....Gay Marriage universal Health Care etc etc.

      The NDP are much further left then Democrats..

      The Conservatives funny enough have 2 wings one looks like a conservative Democrat or Liberal Republican (Snowe)The other wing look alot like Bush:)

      by Mikecan1978 on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 08:59:29 AM PDT

      •  British take

        From a British (and I suspect Western European) perspective the Canadian political system is skewed to the right - just not so much as in the United States.

        From where I stand the Harper ex-Reform wing of the Conservatives are far right, the ex-Progressive Conservatives and the Liberals are centre-right and the NDP is centre-left.

        Of course the British political system has also skewed right in the last generation, but I am old enough to remember when the Laboue Party was at least semi-socialist.

        by Gary J on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 10:02:13 AM PDT

    •  This American, who's resided in Canada

      for 8 years now, has said for a while that Canada is a far more liberal country under Harper than the US was under Bill Clinton.

      There are a lot of Canadian RESIDENTS who'll be voting, since we're US citizens - and I assure you, 80%+ of them will be voting Democratic (or further left). Collectively, we're the equivalent of a small state (over 687,000 total residents, most, like me, in southern Ontario) - and bluer than any state in the US.

      There's really no reason for a true GOPer to reside in Ontario, at least - too many daily "irritants", LMAO.

      by grndrush on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 10:35:04 AM PDT

•  .

  I think the great Canadian band Zit Remedy summed up America's role best with these lyrics:

  Everybody wants something
  They'll take your mon-ey!
  And never give up

  by 54cermak on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 08:53:03 AM PDT

•  Hey Mike!

  {{{Hugs}}}

  Tell your compatriots that we're peddling as fast as we can.  :o)

  by Terre on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 08:57:54 AM PDT

  •  Peddle Hard

    I'd like to have someone with a D behind there name visiting canada.

    by Mikecan1978 on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:00:00 AM PDT

    •  You got it!

      Flexing those GOTV muscles as we speak.  :o)

      by Terre on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:04:05 AM PDT

    •  It's safe to say

      most Americans agree with you.

      The rest of us just want to send the "R" on a one-way trip to The Hague.

      by Youffraita on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:29:04 AM PDT

•  Interesting Article

  I saw this one earlier this morning and if I wasn't at work I actually might have written up a diary myself. Thanks for saving me the effort... ;~)

  by apocryphoto on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 08:58:07 AM PDT

•  Speaking as an American living in Canada...

  Even the Canadian Conservative Party is left of the U.S. Republican Party.

  Here is what a True U.S. Patriot stands for. 

  by SaraBeth on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:12:27 AM PDT

  •  The Conservatives are left of most Democrats

    There are few Conservatives who would be willing to voice an objection to equal marriage.

    Few that would advocate that the US stay in Iraq a moment longer.

    Few who would think it's OK for the US to monitor all electronic communication world wide with the unpunished complicity of the telcos.

    They're a nasty bunch, but they are positioned far left of where Landrieu, the Nelsons and the other Dixiecrats live.

    by alisonk on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:34:10 AM PDT

    •  Nor would the Canadian Conservatives

      actually touch our healthcare system here. They make noises about it...but they also KNOW they would get lynched if they actually tried to corrupt it.....  ;)

      Here is what a True U.S. Patriot stands for. 

      by SaraBeth on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:50:09 AM PDT

  •  yes!

    by TexMex on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:34:13 AM PDT

•  Count me in that 15%

  I trust my fellow Canadians to vote further left than Americans, always.  The USA, on the other hand, needs all the progressive votes it can get!

  by Karen Wehrstein on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:13:36 AM PDT

•  I bet most Canadians would gladly trade Harper

  for PM Obama....

  by gobacktotexas on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:17:16 AM PDT

•  You may be able to vote in the US, after all!

  If you are serious about voting in the US elections, you may want to do some genealogy. A very large share of Canadians - by some estimates up to 25% - don't know that they actually have US citizenship, usually inherited from ancestors who moved north at some point. One case I'm familiar with involved children of a Vietnam deserter, and another case involved somebody who inherited US citizenship because enough of his grandparents or great-grandparents had moved north from the US decades or even a century ago.

  The rules for inheriting citizenship are complex, but if you qualify, all you'd have to do is show the proof at the US consulate and apply for a certificate of citizenship.

  by sdgeek on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:29:36 AM PDT

  •  No thanks n/t

    by lifexpert on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:53:15 AM PDT

•  Wow, 46% of Canadians say...

  That the US Presidential election matters a great deal to them! And another 36% said that it matters "somewhat"! These are BIG numbers! And it's true, it does matter a great deal not just to Canada but to the whole world who becomes the nominee!

  by the man23 on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:31:44 AM PDT

•  Well..If Your Next Door Neighbor...

  ....was about to do some remodeling job on his house that you could see would have a hideous outcome and drag down your home's value as well being next door to such a mess...wouldn't you offer some assistance and advice to your neighbor if for no other reason than enlightened self interest..?

  .

  by chicagorich on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:32:53 AM PDT

  •  LOL very true! n/t

    by Mikecan1978 on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:39:55 AM PDT

•  hey!

  It's Alberta.....
  You can only really vote Conservative. Anything else is a waste.

  by TexMex on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:33:15 AM PDT

  •  Not necessarily

    In my old neighbourhood in Calgary last provincial election we got a Liberal MLA in. I think the conservative hold in Alberta is slipping, especially with Stelmach's current lack of... well... anything, plus the massive population increases from other perhaps less-redneck parts of the country.

    by apocryphoto on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 10:18:13 AM PDT

    •  i luves me some

      Stelmach!
      He is cute, got some dimples!
      I actually really do like him a lot. It says a lot to me when a person is described as honest.

      Well we have a liberal MLA where I am at and they attend conservative dinners.  Conservative and liberals cross over and hang out together some in southern Alberta.

      by TexMex on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 03:24:14 PM PDT

•  Also,

  Horray for 37% or so of Canadians picking a Demcrat for our President, vs. only 5% for a Republican! FIVE PERCENT!?! That's pathetic!

  by the man23 on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:34:35 AM PDT

•  Why it matters

  There is also another reason why it matters. Canadians are influenced by US popular culture and trends. The rise in recent years of a small right-wing fundamentalist Xtian movement in some rural areas in Canada helped Harper get his minority government in 2006 to some degree.

  Of course, other indigenous factors were also in play (Liberal fatigue, weak and undecisive leadership by Paul Martin, the sponsorship scandal), but the orwellian right-wing talking points (pro-war, pro-pollution, anti-tax, "law and order", etc) from down south helped.

  by ClaudeB on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:44:19 AM PDT

•  Let's face it

  There really isn't much of a rationale for a Canada at all, except for Canada Dry Ginger Ale. Canada is basically the history of two Companies: The Canadian Pacific Railroad and the Hudson Bay Company. Canada is to the USA what New Zealand is to Australia, an historical reminder of the consequences of failed vision. The best thing that could happen to Canada and the USA is the emergence of a plan to create a North American Union that would stretch from the Panama Canal to the Arctic circle. Unless this takes place, the USA and the rest of North America will gradually decline in relevance and importance in this century as supra-national entities like the EU and mega-nations like China and India gain increasing power.

  by Anne Elk on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:45:55 AM PDT

  •  Hmmmm, interesting

    I'd disagree that Canada is a hostory of 2 companies, thats a very simplistic and incorrect genralization.

    I don't forsee A union like the E.U with North America anytime in the future and I fail to see how it would benifit Canada.   One could say Nafta already makes NA one uniform economic body.

    by Mikecan1978 on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:50:16 AM PDT

    •  On the contrary

      it would benefit the USA and Mexico in the short run. But in the long run, it would benefit the entire continent to be able to function as an EU-like community.

      by Anne Elk on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 11:38:14 AM PDT

  •  Personally ...

    ... I think we (Canada) should apply for EU membership.

    Then we'll seal up the border and leave you to enjoy your dystopia.

    by lifexpert on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 10:00:49 AM PDT

•  annex canada

  we would all get along great.  beer, ice hockey, northern lights, and great snow skiing.  it would make for a great couple of states

  by elephantitis on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 09:52:56 AM PDT

  •  My ancestors said no... in 1775

    Battle of Quebec

    by ClaudeB on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 10:02:29 AM PDT

    •  i respect your decision n/t

      by elephantitis on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 10:05:27 AM PDT

      •  LOL :) n/t

        by ClaudeB on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 10:08:48 AM PDT

    •  We can always start another war

      Our funds for waging never-ending war are limitless. ;-)

      by little liberal on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 10:28:19 AM PDT

•  Hey! The NDP finally wins something!

  I wish more Kossacks would move up here and vote NDP. Maybe we would actually have some power for a change.

  by skrymir on Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 10:45:13 AM PDT