I can make the argument that the reason the separatists lost the last referendum was because the Pequiste premier Lucien Bouchard wouldn't bend over backwards to keep the Nordiques in Quebec City. If you recall the vote was razor thin and support for independence was not quite as high as suspected in ridings that were within the catchment area of the Nordiques. For the want of a nail the horse was lost, for the want of a new arena the nation was lost.
That is how key hockey is in this country and it even more so inside that nation inside a nation.
David Asper, National Post, points out that the winner of the Quebec
City mayoralty race Regis Labeaume talked openly about constructing a new NHL sized hockey rink, one with all the bells and all the whistles. An arena that will bring a team back to Quebec City. Now the provincials are getting their feet wet and soon the federals, under hockey nut Stephen Harper, will start throwing money at the city of Quebec's new arena. The thought is that the new rink will win an NHL franchise and be the cornerstone for an Olympic bid.
Reality is that the next election is not about the whole country, it is about a handful of seats, swing seats, and many of them are in Quebec. All politics is local. Mr. Asper uses the number twelve plus twelve and he is probably right on in that. "With more than a dozen seats directly affected by an Olympic bid, and a halo effect covering perhaps another dozen seats, this would appear to be a no-brainer for the federal government. It's even more a no-brainer for the voters who will be the beneficiaries of all the goodies, hypothetical as they may be."
Elections are won and lost on emotion and sizzle and la di da.
Often it is the sizzle, not the steak, that sells the restaurant.
Ditto elections.
WFDS
The Quebec Referendum was close because Chretien was ill prepared to defend Canada.He thoguht it was going to be a cakewalk. To be fair I think too many others thought the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI think you are correct on your analysis about the next election being about a few swing seats.If that is the case then it follows that this is about whether it is a Conservative minority and a Conservative majority.
The Libs need more than just a few swing seats to win even a minority. There would have to be quite a shift through large parts of Canada esp. Ontario.
Imagine- the fate of our country depends on a hockey team?
ReplyDelete