Mulcair says Tories damaging Canada's reputation (Tories=Conservatives)

[alp227]

Source: CBC

Federal NDP Leader Tom Mulcair says Canada and its once-admirable image around the world have become unrecognizable under the Conservatives, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Mulcair said he recently had a meeting with European Union ambassadors in Ottawa, and they are not happy with the federal government.

"The Canada that (the Conservatives) are projecting onto the world stage is no longer recognizable to our many partners around the world who have always admired and worked with Canada, and it’s no longer recognizable to us," he says.

The man who has been leader of the Official Opposition since March 24 made the comments while discussing the European debt crisis during an interview with Michael Enright on The Sunday Edition airing Sunday at 9 a.m. (9:30 a.m. NT) on CBC Radio One.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/06/23/mulcair-harper-image.html

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full interview: http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/shows/2012/06/24/hour-1-thomas-mulcair/

[clang1]

1. +1000 n/t

[roamer65]

2. The NDP and Liberals need to form a coalition for the 2015 elections.

The majority of Canadians vote for these two parties and they need to recognize it by running coalition candidates in each riding in 2015, based on the leanings of the riding (either NDP or Liberal).

Bob Rae was a NDP'er as Premier of Ontario and would be the perfect person to negotiate a coalition.

[clang1]

3. Canada is a very nice country

and it is sad to see the likes of someone like Harper there. He doesn't seem very Canadian to me.

[unreadierLizard]

4. Bob Rae was also the WORST Premier

we have ever had. He crashed our provincial economy so hard people here are still reluctant to vote the NDP in anywhere past 3rd party status.

[chollybocker]

6. The NDP are out-polling the PC's these days.

The Liberals are dismal. Rae is not going to win an election. Justin Trudeau might bring a wave of progressive youth to the party, but he's not *ready* to govern, and would merely steal NDP votes, ensuring a Harper re-election.

The NDP have all the momentum right now. Thomas Mulclair would make a fine PM and would represent Canada very well.

[laundry_queen]

7. Totally agree.

My conservative family liked Jack Layton, but have taken an even bigger liking to Mulcair (especially after he refused to apologize for his oilsands comment, which is astounding given they all work in oil companies but they respect his backbone- Democrats take note, stand up for yourselves and stop acting like limp noodles - look what happens, NDP is polling ahead of the conservatives.) I think he'd make a fine PM too. I think the Liberals are in shambles right now. I'd like to eventually see Justin Trudeau lead, but I think it's way too soon for him. I think NDP needs to keep on keepin' on the way they have been.

[Posteritatis]

14. That might not even be that necessary by 2015

The Liberals are a gently smoking hole in the ground right now - not quite as bad as the Tories in 1993, but very close.

There's a chance - a slim one, but a chance - that we could have an NDP majority by 2015. A minority's all but graven in stone at this point.

[Prophet 451]

5. Much like the Tories here

It seems that the viciousness of Tories transcends national borders.

[LeftishBrit]

8. Indeed!

[KamaAina]

9. An anglophone NDP MP from a francophone stronghold in Montreal??

Mulcair, who has represented the Montreal riding of Outremont as an NDP member of Parliament since 2007, also commented about the tuition protests by students in Quebec.

Outremont is home to the francophone Universite de Montreal.

This guy has serious potential!

[chollybocker]

10. Mulclair is considerably more fluently bilingual

than either of his NDP predecessors: Layton and esp. Broadbent.

I'm more and more convinced that he will be the next PM, albeit in a minority gov't. Let's see how much damage Harper will do to Canada over the next two years.

[Amonester]

11. Mr. Mulcair also was a Ministre in the provincial Liberal government, but...

he resigned due to the right-wing 'direction' of former federal Conservative party leader Jean Charest (now provincial "Liberal"...), ahum...

Same old, same old (when Libs let tories 'take over' without standing for their own principles).

[LeftishBrit]

13. ...when Libs let tories 'take over' without standing for their own principles

And that''s also a current problem in the UK!

Sigh.

[LeftishBrit]

12. And Tories are doing the same to the UK's reputation.