Election Update

The State of Canadian and American Campaigning

On August 2nd, Prime Minister Stephen Harper asked the Governor General, David Johnson, to dissolve Parliament for a federal election on October 19th. He was granted this request, making the election campaign 78 days long (CBC). The House of Commons will have 338 seats, meaning that a federal party must win at least 170 seats to obtain a majority (CBC).

Prime Minister Harper, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May were in attendance for the first debate. Many viewers were impressed with May’s performance and have demanded that she be given an opportunity to attend the second official debate. Many political pundits have also agreed that Justin Trudeau performed well, although he seemed a bit nervous at times. This was also said of Thomas Mulcair, who seemed to get more relaxed as the debate went further.

According to CBC’s Poll Tracker, The NDP has the most support among Canadians. The Conservative Party is slightly behind the NDP and currently holds 125 seats.

In the United States, Republican Candidate Donald Trump has dominated almost every single poll since he announced his run for office. Trump has been involved in numerous controversies, such as declaring Arizona Senator John McCain “not a hero” because he was captured during the Vietnam War, and condemning Mexicans as rapists. None of these controversies have hurt Trump’s Campaign. Hillary Clinton’s campaign

Hillary Clinton’s campaign hasn’t received much attention by media outlets. Almost six out of ten Americans think she’s untrustworthy (CNN). Americans find Democratic Candidate Bernie Sanders more trustworthy, however, one of his campaign rallies was interrupted by Black Lives Matter activists who felt Sanders was not addressing race problems in America.

The Americans will have their elections on November 8th, 2016.

by Leo Wiltshire