This and that for your Thursday reading.
- Bryan Breguet crunches the numbers as to how today's Quebec polling projects into seats, coming up with the following results:
NDP: 31 (CROP), 32 (EKOS)
Bloc: 28 (CROP), 22 (EKOS)
Libs: 9 (CROP), 12 (EKOS)
Cons: 7 (CROP), 9 (EKOS)
Which nicely matches my rough estimate of the relative position of the NDP, Bloc and Libs. And will hopefully help the media to stop coupling polls showing the NDP at 36% with analysis suggesting that it's only in contention in six seats.
- David Climenhaga is right to note that the Harper Cons' constant set of attacks on the Libs has worked to the NDP's advantage. But it's worth noting that plenty of other attacks have had a similar effect too.
After all, the Bloc's attacks on Harper for two election cycles have ensured that the Cons couldn't win more than a handful of Quebec seats. And the attacks on the Cons by all parties have played into the NDP's "Ottawa is broken" narrative to help the party appeal to good-government voters.
So the real story is that while the rest of the parties figured the NDP could safely be ignored (allowing Layton to build popularity and the party to build trust on policy issues) only to be marginalized once election day drew closer, the actual campaign is proving otherwise.
- Munir Sheikh is the latest to point out how corporate tax cuts may merely transfer revenue from Canada to the U.S. rather than encouraging investment or economic growth anywhere.
- Michael Byers has apparently converted to the view that strategic voting does more harm than good.
- It isn't particularly news that the Cons relish the opportunity to poke organizations like Planned Parenthood in the eye for having the nerve to try to improve sexual health around the world. But I don't think there's much doubt they'd hoped to avoid having that reality surface during the campaign.
- Finally, Barbara Yaffe notes that both the Cons and Libs are focusing their campaigns mostly on scare tactics which don't seem to be working.
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