Canada needs U.S. progressives

Canada’s Liberals risk losing grip on power

Source ::: Reuters

OTTAWA: With two weeks left in Canada’s election campaign, Prime Minister Paul Martin’s scandal-plagued Liberal Party has fallen behind the opposition Conservatives for the first time in opinion polls.

Since the Christmas break, support for the Liberals, plagued by corruption allegations and hurt by a new federal police investigation into a possible illegal government leak, has dropped four points.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives, led by Stephen Harper, picked up six points, according to a daily SES Research poll for broadcaster CPAC.

The Conservatives now lead with 35 percent support versus the Liberals’ 33 percent and have momentum on their side ahead of the January 23 election.

Canadian conservatives might only have support of a third of the population but the multiparty system exaggerates that. This story is a great example of how U.S. progressives can make a difference in Canada. Instead of struggling under the fist of Republicans and anti-progress Democrats, a real difference can be made in Canada. Canada can be what America refuses to be, but only with our help.