Advance poll turnouts, 2008 vs 2011

Elections Canada today published estimates of the turnout at advance polls held over the Easter weekend. The agency said the numbers are up 34 per cent over 2008 actual numbers. In fact, if you look at the changes between the 2008 estimates and 2011, the increase is sharper — up 41 per cent, or 596,000 extra votes.

I’ve ranked them by percentage change in advance vote between the 2008 estimates (not actual vote totals) and 2011 estimates.

The top of the list, Edmonton Centre, is currently held by Conservative Laurie Hawn, a former fighter pilot and the party’s front-man on the defence of the government’s proposed purchase of F-35 stealth fighter jets.

Other notables in the top of the list: in Ottawa – Orleans, Conservative Royal Galipeau is believed to be in a close fight with a Liberal challenger, as is Liberal Mark Holland in Ajax-Pickering.

I have no idea why Leeds – Grenville, safely held by Conservative Gord Brown, ranks #2 on the list.

(Note: the riding at bottom of the list, Thornhill, saw a larger-than-normal advance turnout in 2008 because election day that  fell on a Jewish holiday. Thornhill has the largest Jewish population of any riding.)

PROVINCE	RIDING	ELECTORS 2008	ELECTORS 2011	CHANGE	%CHANGE
Alberta	Edmonton Centre	1,222	7,214	5,992	490
Ontario	Leeds–Grenville	2,095	8,808	6,713	320
Ontario	Ottawa–Orléans	3,408	13,645	10,237	300
British Columbia	West Vancouver–Sunshine Coast–Sea to Sky Country	2,800	9,754	6,954	248
Ontario	Oak Ridges–Markham	4,844	15,003	10,159	210
Ontario	Ajax–Pickering	2,770	8,313	5,543	200
British Columbia	Esquimalt–Juan de Fuca	3,507	10,097	6,590	188
Alberta	Peace River	1,527	3,952	2,425	159
Ontario	Halton	4,931	12,710	7,779	158
British Columbia	Vancouver South	2,962	7,623	4,661	157
Saskatchewan	Regina–Qu’Appelle	864	2,221	1,357	157
British Columbia	British Columbia Southern Interior	1,622	4,142	2,520	155
Quebec	Jeanne-Le Ber	3,296	8,410	5,114	155
Newfoundland and Labrador	Labrador	398	982	584	147
Alberta	Yellowhead	1,976	4,870	2,894	146
Quebec	Verchères–Les Patriotes	3,669	8,985	5,316	145
Manitoba	Winnipeg North	1,480	3,527	2,047	138
Ontario	Vaughan	3,208	7,600	4,392	137
Ontario	Hamilton East–Stoney Creek	4,723	11,166	6,443	136
Quebec	Outremont	2,232	5,240	3,008	135
Ontario	Bramalea–Gore–Malton	4,676	10,843	6,167	132
Nova Scotia	Cumberland–Colchester–Musquodoboit Valley	3,725	8,634	4,909	132
British Columbia	Prince George–Peace River	2,212	4,962	2,750	124
Manitoba	Winnipeg South	3,388	7,307	3,919	116
Newfoundland and Labrador	St. John’s South–Mount Pearl	1,727	3,697	1,970	114
British Columbia	Nanaimo–Cowichan	4,284	9,048	4,764	111
Alberta	Wetaskiwin	2,299	4,850	2,551	111
New Brunswick	Saint John	2,877	5,778	2,901	101
Nova Scotia	Halifax	3,575	7,048	3,473	97
Ontario	Brampton West	5,053	9,775	4,722	93
British Columbia	Kamloops–Thompson–Cariboo	3,381	6,505	3,124	92
Ontario	Davenport	2,287	4,369	2,082	91
Ontario	Huron–Bruce	4,109	7,824	3,715	90
Nova Scotia	Halifax West	3,930	7,447	3,517	89
Ontario	Mississauga–Erindale	6,874	12,810	5,936	86
Ontario	Markham–Unionville	4,072	7,351	3,279	81
Nova Scotia	Sydney–Victoria	3,820	6,864	3,044	80
British Columbia	Vancouver Kingsway	3,217	5,768	2,551	79
Manitoba	Winnipeg South Centre	3,445	6,136	2,691	78
Nova Scotia	Dartmouth–Cole Harbour	4,099	7,155	3,056	75
Ontario	Simcoe–Grey	8,591	14,977	6,386	74
Ontario	Brampton–Springdale	5,496	9,551	4,055	74
Alberta	Calgary Northeast	3,541	6,136	2,595	73
Nova Scotia	Kings–Hants	3,025	5,233	2,208	73
British Columbia	Abbotsford	3,315	5,713	2,398	72
Nova Scotia	Sackville–Eastern Shore	3,359	5,780	2,421	72
Alberta	Calgary–Nose Hill	4,580	7,872	3,292	72
Newfoundland and Labrador	Avalon	1,707	2,922	1,215	71
Ontario	Mississauga–Brampton South	5,533	9,466	3,933	71
Alberta	Edmonton–Sherwood Park	3,753	6,323	2,570	68
Ontario	Lambton–Kent–Middlesex	5,147	8,631	3,484	68
Manitoba	Saint Boniface	3,435	5,749	2,314	67
Ontario	Kitchener Centre	4,067	6,769	2,702	66
Ontario	Mississauga–Streetsville	4,885	8,119	3,234	66
Ontario	Toronto–Danforth	4,197	6,949	2,752	66
Ontario	Mississauga East–Cooksville	3,802	6,263	2,461	65
Ontario	Nepean–Carleton	10,337	16,988	6,651	64
Ontario	Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke	5,717	9,246	3,529	62
Newfoundland and Labrador	St. John’s East	2,784	4,474	1,690	61
British Columbia	Fleetwood–Port Kells	4,868	7,808	2,940	60
British Columbia	Vancouver Centre	6,065	9,679	3,614	60
Ontario	Kingston and the Islands	8,214	13,102	4,888	60
Nova Scotia	South Shore–St. Margaret’s	2,774	4,424	1,650	59
Manitoba	Selkirk–Interlake	2,822	4,493	1,671	59
Alberta	Calgary Centre	4,084	6,483	2,399	59
Ontario	Barrie	7,853	12,446	4,593	58
British Columbia	New Westminster–Coquitlam	4,435	7,024	2,589	58
Ontario	Kitchener–Waterloo	5,811	9,100	3,289	57
Ontario	Dufferin–Caledon	5,124	7,996	2,872	56
Newfoundland and Labrador	Humber–St. Barbe–Baie Verte	1,090	1,697	607	56
British Columbia	Richmond	3,717	5,784	2,067	56
Ontario	Mississauga South	5,372	8,332	2,960	55
Manitoba	Elmwood–Transcona	2,626	4,068	1,442	55
Ontario	Etobicoke North	2,864	4,401	1,537	54
Ontario	Kitchener–Conestoga	4,449	6,802	2,353	53
Saskatchewan	Saskatoon–Rosetown–Biggar	2,556	3,904	1,348	53
Ontario	Beaches–East York	4,355	6,644	2,289	53
British Columbia	Burnaby–New Westminster	4,038	6,153	2,115	52
British Columbia	Vancouver East	3,342	5,087	1,745	52
Manitoba	Churchill	1,184	1,800	616	52
Ontario	Richmond Hill	4,900	7,446	2,546	52
British Columbia	South Surrey–White Rock–Cloverdale	5,033	7,635	2,602	52
Ontario	Durham	5,362	8,133	2,771	52
Ontario	Oshawa	4,449	6,714	2,265	51
Quebec	Chambly–Borduas	7,300	10,997	3,697	51
British Columbia	Saanich–Gulf Islands	7,537	11,330	3,793	50
Alberta	Calgary West	6,035	9,065	3,030	50
British Columbia	Nanaimo–Alberni	6,446	9,644	3,198	50
British Columbia	North Vancouver	5,543	8,287	2,744	50
New Brunswick	Fundy Royal	4,327	6,457	2,130	49
Quebec	Gatineau	6,713	10,013	3,300	49
Quebec	Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie	5,390	8,022	2,632	49
Prince Edward Island	Cardigan	2,478	3,685	1,207	49
Saskatchewan	Desnethé–Missinippi–Churchill River	1,138	1,686	548	48
Alberta	Calgary Southwest	4,102	6,073	1,971	48
New Brunswick	New Brunswick Southwest	3,413	5,050	1,637	48
Ontario	Cambridge	5,429	8,027	2,598	48
Quebec	Alfred-Pellan	5,431	8,024	2,593	48
Ontario	Ottawa Centre	8,180	12,054	3,874	47
Ontario	Peterborough	7,457	10,979	3,522	47
Ontario	York–Simcoe	5,779	8,505	2,726	47
Saskatchewan	Saskatoon–Wanuskewin	3,477	5,109	1,632	47
Ontario	Eglinton–Lawrence	5,166	7,577	2,411	47
Alberta	Edmonton–Mill Woods–Beaumont	3,221	4,724	1,503	47
Ontario	Niagara Falls	5,519	8,071	2,552	46
Ontario	Scarborough–Agincourt	3,506	5,127	1,621	46
New Brunswick	Miramichi	3,538	5,172	1,634	46
British Columbia	Delta–Richmond East	3,641	5,314	1,673	46
Ontario	Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock	6,870	10,011	3,141	46
Quebec	Montmagny–L’Islet–Kamouraska–	3,913	5,690	1,777	45
Ontario	Niagara West–Glanbrook	5,952	8,651	2,699	45
New Brunswick	Fredericton	5,848	8,493	2,645	45
Quebec	Beauce	5,493	7,946	2,453	45
Newfoundland and Labrador	Bonavista–Gander–Grand Falls–Windsor	1,500	2,168	668	45
British Columbia	Kelowna–Lake Country	5,560	8,026	2,466	44
Quebec	Joliette	6,639	9,570	2,931	44
Ontario	Ancaster–Dundas–Flamborough–Westdale	7,473	10,746	3,273	44
Nova Scotia	Central Nova	3,345	4,810	1,465	44
Nova Scotia	Cape Breton–Canso	2,542	3,646	1,104	43
Ontario	Don Valley East	3,489	4,999	1,510	43
Alberta	Edmonton–St. Albert	4,853	6,952	2,099	43
Quebec	Montcalm	5,820	8,321	2,501	43
New Brunswick	Moncton–Riverview–Dieppe	6,492	9,245	2,753	42
Ontario	Wellington–Halton Hills	6,025	8,578	2,553	42
Nova Scotia	West Nova	3,521	5,012	1,491	42
Alberta	Edmonton–Strathcona	4,185	5,955	1,770	42
British Columbia	Burnaby–Douglas	3,723	5,291	1,568	42
New Brunswick	Acadie–Bathurst	6,144	8,721	2,577	42
Alberta	Westlock–St. Paul	2,859	4,057	1,198	42
British Columbia	Cariboo–Prince George	3,529	4,986	1,457	41
Ontario	Don Valley West	6,039	8,511	2,472	41
Ontario	Perth–Wellington	4,690	6,603	1,913	41
Ontario	Toronto Centre	5,318	7,481	2,163	41
Quebec	Rimouski-Neigette–Témiscouata–Les Basques	3,773	5,307	1,534	41
Ontario	Scarborough Centre	2,985	4,194	1,209	41
Quebec	Haute-Gaspésie–La Mitis–Matane–Matapédia	4,295	6,034	1,739	40
British Columbia	Victoria	7,028	9,865	2,837	40
Quebec	Saint-Laurent–Cartierville	4,004	5,617	1,613	40
British Columbia	Kootenay–Columbia	5,168	7,237	2,069	40
Ontario	Pickering–Scarborough East	4,654	6,494	1,840	40
Ontario	Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry	7,098	9,890	2,792	39
Quebec	Westmount–Ville-Marie	5,362	7,463	2,101	39
Manitoba	Provencher	2,262	3,148	886	39
Alberta	Medicine Hat	2,913	4,043	1,130	39
Alberta	Edmonton–Spruce Grove	4,686	6,502	1,816	39
Ontario	Burlington	6,516	9,037	2,521	39
Quebec	Portneuf–Jacques-Cartier	6,507	9,018	2,511	39
Ontario	Trinity–Spadina	5,335	7,383	2,048	38
Quebec	Hull–Aylmer	6,589	9,107	2,518	38
Alberta	Calgary Southeast	4,877	6,732	1,855	38
Ontario	Oakville	6,200	8,553	2,353	38
Ontario	Scarborough Southwest	2,989	4,117	1,128	38
Quebec	Louis-Saint-Laurent	8,274	11,393	3,119	38
Ontario	York South–Weston	2,046	2,817	771	38
Ontario	Whitby–Oshawa	5,919	8,147	2,228	38
Newfoundland and Labrador	Random–Burin–St. George’s	972	1,337	365	38
Quebec	Chicoutimi–Le Fjord	4,028	5,537	1,509	37
Manitoba	Kildonan–St. Paul	3,443	4,731	1,288	37
Ontario	Ottawa–Vanier	6,184	8,494	2,310	37
Quebec	Saint-Lambert	6,372	8,743	2,371	37
Quebec	Laurier–Sainte-Marie	4,715	6,457	1,742	37
Ontario	Simcoe North	6,914	9,455	2,541	37
Ontario	Guelph	6,576	8,975	2,399	36
Quebec	Brome–Missisquoi	7,336	10,008	2,672	36
Quebec	Lotbinière–Chutes-de-la-Chaudière	6,729	9,114	2,385	35
Quebec	Longueuil–Pierre-Boucher	6,844	9,261	2,417	35
Quebec	Sherbrooke	6,445	8,710	2,265	35
British Columbia	Langley	3,769	5,082	1,313	35
New Brunswick	Tobique–Mactaquac	4,348	5,857	1,509	35
Ontario	Windsor–Tecumseh	4,351	5,861	1,510	35
Alberta	Calgary East	2,021	2,719	698	35
British Columbia	Okanagan–Coquihalla	6,018	8,095	2,077	35
Prince Edward Island	Egmont	2,847	3,828	981	34
New Brunswick	Beauséjour	6,851	9,191	2,340	34
Ontario	Scarborough–Guildwood	3,513	4,707	1,194	34
Prince Edward Island	Malpeque	2,406	3,214	808	34
Ontario	Glengarry–Prescott–Russell	7,311	9,766	2,455	34
British Columbia	Skeena–Bulkley Valley	3,386	4,508	1,122	33
Alberta	Calgary Centre-North	4,227	5,627	1,400	33
Ontario	London–Fanshawe	3,383	4,502	1,119	33
Quebec	LaSalle–Émard	4,613	6,131	1,518	33
Ontario	Newmarket–Aurora	5,718	7,599	1,881	33
Ontario	York West	1,815	2,410	595	33
British Columbia	Port Moody–Westwood–Port Coquitlam	2,627	3,484	857	33
Quebec	Lac-Saint-Louis	6,160	8,164	2,004	33
Quebec	Marc-Aurèle-Fortin	6,305	8,354	2,049	32
Manitoba	Charleswood–St. James–Assiniboia	3,508	4,646	1,138	32
Ontario	Oxford	4,499	5,955	1,456	32
Quebec	Drummond	4,278	5,650	1,372	32
Ontario	Etobicoke Centre	5,341	7,053	1,712	32
British Columbia	Pitt Meadows–Maple Ridge–Mission	4,732	6,247	1,515	32
Alberta	Fort McMurray–Athabasca	2,558	3,375	817	32
Alberta	Edmonton East	3,247	4,284	1,037	32
Alberta	Macleod	4,578	6,037	1,459	32
Quebec	La Pointe-de-l’Île	4,653	6,135	1,482	32
Quebec	Shefford	5,402	7,104	1,702	32
Ontario	Welland	5,901	7,730	1,829	31
Manitoba	Brandon–Souris	2,075	2,713	638	31
Ontario	Elgin–Middlesex–London	5,323	6,952	1,629	31
Quebec	Lévis–Bellechasse	7,010	9,136	2,126	30
Ontario	Windsor West	3,690	4,805	1,115	30
Quebec	Montmorency–Charlevoix–Haute-Côte-Nord	6,322	8,210	1,888	30
Manitoba	Dauphin–Swan River–Marquette	2,162	2,803	641	30
Ontario	Lanark–Frontenac–Lennox and Addington	8,717	11,278	2,561	29
Alberta	Edmonton–Leduc	5,465	7,067	1,602	29
Ontario	Ottawa South	8,106	10,469	2,363	29
Ontario	St. Paul’s	6,676	8,607	1,931	29
British Columbia	Okanagan–Shuswap	6,414	8,265	1,851	29
Saskatchewan	Wascana	3,119	4,008	889	29
Quebec	Berthier–Maskinongé	7,187	9,231	2,044	28
Quebec	Rivière-des-Mille-Îles	5,764	7,396	1,632	28
Quebec	Roberval–Lac-Saint-Jean	4,501	5,754	1,253	28
Quebec	Pontiac	6,334	8,091	1,757	28
Quebec	Saint-Bruno–Saint-Hubert	7,523	9,604	2,081	28
Quebec	Mégantic–L’Érable	5,224	6,668	1,444	28
Ontario	Hamilton Mountain	4,980	6,342	1,362	27
Ontario	London North Centre	4,964	6,308	1,344	27
Quebec	Honoré-Mercier	5,438	6,879	1,441	26
Manitoba	Winnipeg Centre	1,486	1,879	393	26
British Columbia	Vancouver Quadra	6,621	8,371	1,750	26
Ontario	Chatham-Kent–Essex	4,800	6,065	1,265	26
Ontario	Haldimand–Norfolk	6,432	8,127	1,695	26
Quebec	Richmond–Arthabaska	5,738	7,221	1,483	26
Quebec	Beauharnois–Salaberry	7,426	9,333	1,907	26
Manitoba	Portage–Lisgar	2,291	2,871	580	25
British Columbia	Newton–North Delta	4,618	5,781	1,163	25
Quebec	Repentigny	6,309	7,888	1,579	25
Ontario	Willowdale	4,700	5,875	1,175	25
Quebec	Compton–Stanstead	7,282	9,055	1,773	24
Quebec	Saint-Jean	6,121	7,608	1,487	24
Ontario	Scarborough–Rouge River	3,561	4,420	859	24
Quebec	Saint-Hyacinthe–Bagot	4,515	5,603	1,088	24
Quebec	Rivière-du-Nord	6,591	8,157	1,566	24
Quebec	Hochelaga	4,259	5,267	1,008	24
Quebec	Saint-Léonard–Saint-Michel	2,584	3,179	595	23
Quebec	Vaudreuil-Soulanges	8,512	10,418	1,906	22
Ontario	Sudbury	5,362	6,549	1,187	22
Saskatchewan	Palliser	3,070	3,749	679	22
Ontario	St. Catharines	5,173	6,312	1,139	22
Quebec	Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Lachine	5,479	6,670	1,191	22
Ontario	Ottawa West–Nepean	7,658	9,316	1,658	22
Quebec	Ahuntsic	5,123	6,207	1,084	21
Ontario	Brant	5,448	6,583	1,135	21
Quebec	Québec	8,088	9,733	1,645	20
Quebec	Châteauguay–Saint-Constant	6,772	8,149	1,377	20
Quebec	Bas-Richelieu–Nicolet–Bécancour	5,493	6,603	1,110	20
Alberta	Lethbridge	4,426	5,306	880	20
Quebec	Argenteuil–Papineau–Mirabel	6,196	7,420	1,224	20
Quebec	Charlesbourg–Haute-Saint-Charles	8,107	9,617	1,510	19
Quebec	Terrebonne–Blainville	4,870	5,760	890	18
Ontario	Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound	7,431	8,718	1,287	17
Quebec	Brossard–La Prairie	8,338	9,781	1,443	17
Saskatchewan	Battlefords–Lloydminster	2,144	2,508	364	17
Ontario	Essex	6,399	7,479	1,080	17
Quebec	Jonquière–Alma	4,322	5,031	709	16
Ontario	Northumberland–Quinte West	7,667	8,913	1,246	16
Quebec	Beauport–Limoilou	8,400	9,761	1,361	16
Ontario	Nickel Belt	6,537	7,573	1,036	16
Quebec	Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou	2,714	3,144	430	16
Saskatchewan	Regina–Lumsden–Lake Centre	2,464	2,854	390	16
Saskatchewan	Prince Albert	2,885	3,338	453	16
Quebec	Papineau	5,076	5,869	793	16
Quebec	Pierrefonds–Dollard	5,555	6,422	867	16
Quebec	Laurentides–Labelle	8,592	9,901	1,309	15
Northwest Territories	Western Arctic	1,118	1,288	170	15
Ontario	London West	7,075	8,148	1,073	15
Quebec	Saint-Maurice–Champlain	7,169	8,225	1,056	15
Quebec	Abitibi–Témiscamingue	2,884	3,300	416	14
Quebec	Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine	4,035	4,593	558	14
Quebec	Bourassa	3,872	4,398	526	14
Quebec	Louis-Hébert	11,239	12,686	1,447	13
Quebec	Laval	6,195	6,991	796	13
Saskatchewan	Yorkton–Melville	2,895	3,231	336	12
Quebec	Manicouagan	3,371	3,761	390	12
Quebec	Laval–Les Îles	6,615	7,342	727	11
Ontario	Kenora	2,589	2,865	276	11
Ontario	Sarnia–Lambton	5,637	6,230	593	11
Ontario	Parry Sound–Muskoka	7,681	8,473	792	10
Saskatchewan	Souris–Moose Mountain	1,883	2,074	191	10
New Brunswick	Madawaska–Restigouche	5,846	6,397	551	9
Ontario	Algoma–Manitoulin–Kapuskasing	4,461	4,820	359	8
Saskatchewan	Cypress Hills–Grasslands	2,196	2,345	149	7
Ontario	Etobicoke–Lakeshore	5,930	6,313	383	6
Yukon	Yukon	1,492	1,560	68	5
Ontario	Prince Edward–Hastings	8,380	8,729	349	4
Quebec	Trois-Rivières	8,700	9,057	357	4
Ontario	York Centre	5,010	5,153	143	3
Ontario	Parkdale–High Park	4,191	4,288	97	2
Ontario	Timmins–James Bay	5,596	5,680	84	2
Ontario	Thunder Bay–Rainy River	4,798	4,846	48	1
Saskatchewan	Blackstrap	4,944	4,968	24	0
Ontario	Hamilton Centre	3,357	3,295	-62	-2
Ontario	Thunder Bay–Superior North	4,822	4,639	-183	-4
Alberta	Wild Rose	5,207	4,969	-238	-5
Prince Edward Island	Charlottetown	2,671	2,481	-190	-7
Ontario	Nipissing–Timiskaming	6,834	6,316	-518	-8
British Columbia	Surrey North	2,256	2,073	-183	-8
Ontario	Sault Ste. Marie	3,972	3,585	-387	-10
Ontario	Carleton–Mississippi Mills	10,493	9,388	-1,105	-11
British Columbia	Chilliwack–Fraser Canyon	4,497	3,808	-689	-15
Alberta	Crowfoot	4,041	3,420	-621	-15
Quebec	Mount Royal	7,466	6,253	-1,213	-16
Alberta	Red Deer	3,355	2,611	-744	-22
Nunavut	Nunavut	209	158	-51	-24
Alberta	Vegreville–Wainwright	3,047	2,189	-858	-28
British Columbia	Vancouver Island North	6,802	4,771	-2,031	-30
Saskatchewan	Saskatoon–Humboldt	4,119	2,784	-1,335	-32
Ontario	Thornhill	9,440	6,085	-3,355	-36

Candidates for Election 41: What’s in name?

The only candidate named Trifon. Haitas runs for the Greens in Oak Ridges - Markham.

Of confirmed candidates in Election 41, here are the most common first names. The overwhelming majority are Biblical, of course. And, yes, there are no women’s names in the Top 20 (although Claude is technically gender-neutral).

John	34
David	26
Pierre	21
Mike	18
Mark	17
Peter	17
Robert	17
Andrew	16
Paul	16
Jim	14
Michael	14
Brian	12
Bob	10
Claude	10
François	10
Joe	10
Kevin	10
Matthew	10
Richard	10
Scott	10

And the one-offs:

abraham	1
Adrian	1
Adriana	1
Adriane	1
Adrianne	1
Agop	1
Aijaz	1
Akil	1
Alberteen	1
Alexandra	1
Alexandre	1
Alexandrine	1
Alicia	1
Alishia	1
Alon	1
Alonzo	1
Alyssa	1
Ana	1
Anastasia	1
Andrea	1
Angelo	1
Ann	1
AnnaMaria	1
Annick	1
Annie	1
Antoni	1
Ard	1
Artem	1
Attila	1
Avtaar	1
Bahman	1
Baird	1
Bal	1
Barbara	1
Benjamin	1
Berend	1
Bertin	1
Betsy	1
Betty	1
Billy	1
Blaine	1
Blaize	1
Blake	1
Bobbi	1
Borys	1
Brennan	1
Bruno	1
Bryon	1
Byron	1
Cailin	1
Caitlin	1
Cam	1
Cameron	1
Candice	1
Carey	1
Carmen	1
Caroline	1
Carolyn	1
Carrie	1
Cecil	1
Chang-Tao	1
Charles-Olivier	1
Charmaine	1
Chester	1
Christa	1
Christelle	1
Christian-Simon	1
Christiane	1
Christophe	1
Chungsen	1
Clara	1
Claudia	1
Claudine	1
Clay	1
Clément	1
Clive	1
Clyde	1
Colette	1
Collin	1
Connie	1
Constantin	1
Cora	1
Corina	1
Corneliu	1
Costas	1
Crédible	1
Cynthia	1
Dagmar	1
Dale	1
Damian	1
Danielle	1
Danielle-Maude	1
Danny	1
Dany	1
Darcy	1
Darien	1
Darrell	1
Darryl	1
Daryl	1
Deepak	1
Denali	1
Derek	1
Derrick	1
Devinder	1
Dick	1
Dietrich	1
Dimitri	1
Dimitris	1
Dino	1
Djaouida	1
Dominic	1
Dona	1
Dorian	1
Dorothy-Jean	1
Drew	1
Duncan	1
Dylan	1
Earl	1
Edith	1
Eduard	1
Eduardo	1
Eileen	1
Élaine	1
Eli	1
Elie	1
Élise	1
Eliza	1
Ella	1
Emma	1
Enver	1
Erich	1
Erin	1
Etienne	1
Eva	1
Eve	1
Ève	1
Ève-Mary	1
Evelyne	1
Fabian	1
Farah	1
Félix	1
Fernand	1
Fin	1
Francois	1
Françoise	1
Frans	1
G.J.	1
Gabe	1
Gabriel	1
Gabrielle	1
Gaëtan	1
Garnet	1
Garry	1
Garth	1
Gaston	1
Gavan	1
Gayle	1
Geneviève	1
Geoff	1
Geoffrey	1
Georgina	1
Germain	1
German	1
Gilbert	1
Gin	1
Ginette	1
Giulio	1
Gregor	1
Greig	1
Guillaume	1
Gurbax	1
Gwen	1
Hardy	1
Harry	1
Hec	1
Hedy	1
Heidi	1
Helena	1
Helmi	1
Henry	1
Henryk	1
Hilary	1
Hoang	1
Holly	1
Hugo	1
Ilona	1
Irek	1
Irma	1
Irwin	1
J.	1
Jace	1
Jackie	1
Jacqueline	1
Jacquie	1
Jagmeet	1
Jagtar	1
Jamilé	1
Janna	1
Jared	1
Jasbir	1
Jay	1
Jaymini	1
Jean-Claude	1
Jean-Guy	1
Jean-Luc	1
Jean-Marc	1
Jean-Maurice	1
Jean-Olivier	1
Jean-Patrick	1
Jean-Paul	1
Jean-Pierre	1
Jean-Serge	1
Jeffrey	1
Jen	1
Jeremy	1
Jerome	1
Jerry	1
Jessica	1
Jilian	1
Jinny	1
Joanie	1
Joanne	1
Jocelyne	1
Johan	1
Johany	1
John Andrew	1
John C.	1
John R.A.	1
Johnny	1
José	1
Josh	1
Josipa	1
Joy	1
Jule	1
Jules	1
Julien	1
Karine	1
Kash	1
Kassandra	1
Kate	1
Kathy	1
Katy	1
Kellie	1
Kelvin	1
Kennedy	1
Kerry-Lynne	1
Kettly	1
Kevan	1
Kévan	1
Kim	1
Kimball	1
Kimberley	1
Kirk	1
Kirsty	1
Konrad	1
Kornelis	1
Krista	1
Larissa	1
Larry R.	1
Laura-Leah	1
Laurie	1
Laurin	1
LaVar	1
Léandre	1
Leanna	1
Leon	1
Leona	1
Léonie	1
Lewis	1
Lewis Clarke	1
Libby	1
Lillian	1
Lloyd	1
Louis James	1
Louis-Philippe	1
Loyola	1
Lucie	1
Lui	1
Luke	1
Lyn	1
Lyndon	1
Lyndsey	1
Lyne	1
Lynette	1
Lynn	1
Lysane	1
M.J.	1
Madeleine	1
Maggie	1
Malcolm	1
Mandeep	1
Mani	1
Manjit	1
Manon	1
Manuel	1
Marcos	1
Marie-France	1
Marie-Josée	1
Marielle	1
Marilyn	1
Marjolaine	1
Marjory	1
Marney Jeanne	1
Martha	1
Marty	1
Mason	1
Massimo	1
Matthew Martin	1
Maude	1
Maureen	1
Mauril	1
Max	1
Maxime	1
Meena	1
Megan	1
Mehdi	1
Meili	1
Melanie	1
Mélisa	1
Melissa	1
Merv	1
Michael David	1
Michel-Eric	1
Mick	1
Miguel	1
Mikaël	1
Mikkel	1
Moe	1
Mohamed	1
Mohamedali	1
Monica	1
Monika	1
Monique	1
Murray	1
Myk	1
Mylène	1
Myrna	1
Myron	1
Nao	1
Naomi	1
Nathan	1
Navdeep	1
Neil	1
Nelson	1
Nettie	1
Nic	1
Nicholas	1
Niki	1
Nikki	1
Nina	1
Noah	1
Nolan	1
Nora	1
Norm	1
Norris	1
Noushig	1
Nycole	1
Olivia	1
Pablo	1
Pam	1
Parm	1
Pascal-Pierre	1
Patricia	1
Paule	1
Paulina	1
Pauline	1
Peter G.	1
Phil	1
Pier-Luc	1
Pierre-Luc	1
Piotr	1
Polyvios	1
Priti	1
Qais	1
Rachelle	1
Rana	1
Randall	1
Rathika	1
Ravi	1
Rem	1
Rémi	1
Rhéal	1
Riccardo	1
Rish	1
Rita	1
Roberta	1
Robyn	1
Rodger	1
Rodney	1
Rodolphe	1
Rodrigo	1
Roland	1
Roma	1
Ronna-Rae	1
Rosane	1
Roseanne	1
Rosemary	1
Ross	1
Roxane	1
Roxanne	1
Royal	1
Ruby	1
Ruth	1
Sacha	1
Sadia	1
Saleh	1
Sameer	1
Samuel Frank	1
Sana	1
Sandra	1
Sandrine	1
Sandy	1
Sangeeta	1
Saulie	1
Scot	1
Sébastien	1
Shafik	1
Shama	1
Shan	1
Sharon	1
Shaunna	1
Shelley	1
Shelly	1
Shinder	1
Sid	1
Siobhan	1
Sonny	1
Stan	1
Steeve	1
Stephanie	1
Stewart	1
Sue	1
Sukh	1
Susanne	1
Suzie	1
Svetlana	1
Sydney	1
Sylvia	1
Sylvio	1
Taleeb	1
Tammy	1
Tania	1
Taras	1
Tarik	1
Taylor	1
Terence	1
Theodore	1
Theresa	1
Thierry	1
Tilly	1
Tisha	1
Tiziana	1
Todd	1
Tommy	1
Tomy	1
Trang	1
Travis	1
Trey	1
Trifon	1
Trish	1
Troy	1
Tunya	1
Tyler	1
Tyrone	1
Ujjal	1
Unblind	1
Valérie	1
Valery	1
Vanessa	1
Véronique	1
Vic	1
Victoria	1
Vivian	1
Wai	1
Wally	1
Wanda	1
Waseem	1
Wendell	1
Wes	1
Widler	1
Wladyslaw	1
Yaneisy	1
Yasmin	1
Yvonne	1
Zack	1
Zaki	1
Zenaida	1

Leaders casting out-of-riding votes

It is inevitable that on May 2, the media will be invited to see the party leaders cast ballots at their local polling stations.

The ballot-box photo-op, with thumbs-up and Jack-o-lantern grins, is a long-standing trope of election day coverage.

This election is unusual, however, in that the leaders of two of the largest parties do not actually live in the ridings in which they’ll cast  ballots.

While in Ottawa, both Conservative leader Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff enjoy the hospitality of Canadian taxpayers in the official residences of 24 Sussex and Stornoway, respectively.

And both do maintain residences in their hometowns. True to the demographic stereotypes of each, Harper lives in a new bedroom community in suburban Calgary while Ignatieff maintains a pied-a-terre in swish Yorkville.

According to financial contribution records published by Elections Canada, Harper’s home is in an area around Tuscany Park, which falls within the riding of Calgary West and is represented by fellow Conservative Rob Anders. It is not even adjacent to the Calgary Southwest riding Harper holds in the House of Commons.  (Harper was MP for Calgary West from 1993 to 1997, before he went to work for the National Citizens Coalition.)

Neighbours says Harper, his wife Laureen and kids still frequent the recently-developed area. One reports seeing him stroll down to the Mac’s store with his son to grab a slushy.

Similarly, Ignatieff’s condo near the Hazleton Lanes boutiques falls within Toronto Centre, a riding represented by Liberal Bob Rae.  Property records show he and his wife Zsuzanna Zsohar paid $537,290 for the unit on January 31, 2006 – a week after he was first elected in Etobicoke-Lakeshore. The riding is on the other side of the city, a three or four day drive away, depending on Toronto traffic.

Now, there is no requirement under the Elections Act that a candidate must live in a riding in which he or she runs. But mere mortals cannot vote in a riding unless they can produce proof of residency in one of its polling divisions.

There is, however, a little-known exemption in residency requirements that allow members of parliament and their co-habitants to cast a vote in their ridings.  The catch is that that they must already represent the riding in the House of Commons on the day before the government falls and an election is triggered.

That means that, unless they had secured an address within their respective ridings, neither Harper nor Ignatieff could have voted for themselves when they were first elected in their current ridings (Harper in 2002, after a hiatus from politics, and Ignatieff in 2006, after a hiatus from, well, living in Canada).

But once elected, they can vote in their ridings, or, if the choose, in the ridings where they really live, or in the ridings of their homes in the Ottawa area.

The rule serves three purposes: It allows MPs to continue to vote for themselves if the boundaries of their ridings are redrawn to exclude their homes. It also lets them avoid the cost of owning two homes, should they decided to settle down closer to work in Ottawa.

And, of course, it allows them to avoid the embarrassment of posing for a photo on election day while casting a ballot for someone else.

The unusual provision creates some interesting possibilities.  Instead of voting for himself, Harper could cast one for Rob Anders, whose election is only slightly less certain. Or he could put it behind Conservative long shot Rem Westland, who runs in Ottawa – Vanier, the riding that surrounds 24 Sussex and is, historically, the safest Liberal seat in the country.

With a Rockcliffe address, Ignatieff could also mark his ballot in Ottawa – Vanier for Liberal incumbent Mauril Belanger. Or he could help out his former university roommate and one-time leadership rival Bob Rae.

Or, as expected, he could just vote for himself and smile for the cameras.

Abortion hawks and doves

A speech by Conservative incumbent and candidate Brad Trost to a anti-abortion has thrust reproductive rights back onto the agenda.

Trost’s leader, Stephen Harper, was forced this morning to again re-state that he would not open the issue again. Harper was asked about his own views on a woman’s right to choose an abortion, but did not directly answer. He did, however, refer to a vote he cast against a private members’ bill on abortion last year.

That bill, C-510, was introduced by Manitoba Conservative Rod Bruinooge. It would have criminalized coercing someone to have an abortion, although not abortion itself.

On a vote on second reading in December, all New Democrats and Bloc MPs who voted were opposed to the bill.

Harper was among a group of 49 Conservatives voting against the bill, so it is probably not a true litmus test on how they’d vote on a bill directly impacting abortion rights. Also among them, cabinet ministers John Baird, Rob Nicholson, Peter MacKay and Bev Oda.

Also interesting, a smaller group of Liberal MPs voted against their party on the bill. Almost all represent suburban Toronto ridings with large ethnic communities who are believed to be less socially liberal.

The Liberals voting in favour of C-510: Ruby Dhalla, Albina Guarnieri, Jim Karygiannis, Kevin Lamoureux, Lawrence MacAulay, Gurbax Malhi, John McKay, Dan McTeague, Paul Szabo, and Alan Tonks.

H/T to howdtheyvote.ca for vote totals.

Debunking Ignatieff’s Iraq “invasion planning”

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AND OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS ALSO ATTENDED SAME SESSIONS

The Sun News Network today is heavily pushing a story alleging that Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff was involved in planning the 2003 invasion of Iraq led by U.S. forces.

The Sun story by Brian Lilley claims that Ignatieff, then at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University, “was on the front lines of pre-invasion planning.”

As is well known, Ignatieff was initially supportive of military action in Iraq, though he later publicly changed his position.

The Sun dug up a quote from U.S. Col. Gary Crowder at a press conference describing efforts to limit civilian casualties in the opening stages of the Iraq war.

“I personally have been working with The Carr Center for Human Rights,” the Sun quoted Crowder saying.  “Michael Ignatieff and Sarah Sewell (sic) and their program are a wonderful program.”

The Sun report qualifies that Ignatieff’s role was  “helping the military ready comprehensive plans to mitigate collateral damage while preparing for the invasion.”

I called up Sarah Sewall at the Carr Center today. She told me a rather different story.  She said Ignatieff, as director of the Carr Center, came to conferences such as  “Understanding Collateral Damage” held in Washington, D.C. in June 2002.

“I designed the conferences and ran the conferences and Michael came because he was director of the Carr Center,” Sewall said.

As the participants list for “Understanding Collateral Damage” conference shows, Col. Crowder and other U.S. military officers participated, but so did Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Physicians for Human Rights, Refugees International and even a writer from the Boston Globe.

Ignatieff was also attended the Carr Center conference “Humanitarian Issues in Military Targeting,” in March 2002, along with Amnesty, Physicians for Human Rights, Medecins sans frontier, and many other groups. In October, he attended “Ground Operations Workshop,” also with humanitarian NGOs participating.

The participation of these NGOs in what the Sun contends was “invasion planning” was not mentioned in Lilley’s story, or from what I’ve seen, any subsequent discussion of his story on Sun News Network. [Note: The original story did include a quote from Crowder that referred to involvement of unnamed non-governmental organizations.]

Sewall further explains that the Carr Center had been doing sessions on collateral damage with NGOs, academics and the military for about ten years.

I asked her if these could in any way be construed as helping to plan the invasion of Iraq.

“Only if you think critics explaining what they think about military operations is helpful,” she said. “Sometimes we have people coming to near fisticuffs in these exchanges. This is not the same thing as hiring someone to be on your team and do your planning.”

If the Sun was unaware of these groups also participated in “invasion planning,” that’s just shoddy reporting. It took me four minutes to find the participants list on the Carr Center website.

If the Sun knew and chose not to include this fact in the story, readers can draw their own conclusions about the integrity of the reporter and his news organization.

Rise Up: You know who else likes gay protest anthems?

The video clip of Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff imploring voters to “Rise up” is drawing inevitable comparison to Howard Dean’s “I Have A Scream” speech, but also has some thinking of 1980s Can-Con act, Parachute Club.

If that’s what Ignatieff was going for, he wouldn’t be the first to commandeer the tune Rise Up for political purposes.

Herewith, a bit of time travel: The year is 1999 and Canadian conservatives are trying to find a way to end the vote splitting between Progressive Conservatives and the Reform Party that has given us six years of Liberal hegemony.

Cue music, please….

(Apologies for the hack writing that seems as dated as, well, you know…)

Look what they’ve done to my song: United Alternative delegates get down and Rise Up to a funky, gay protest song

The Ottawa Citizen
Sat Feb 27 1999
Byline: Glen McGregor

The former members of Parachute Club couldn’t have imagined a more ignominious fate for their 1983 ditty Rise Up than hearing it turned into a frozen-food commercial.

But there it was on their television sets last year, the song so familiar to anyone who grew up in age of Canadian content regulations, melodically imploring a McCain self-rising pizza to “rise up, rise up.”

Cheesed off, Parachute Club’s lead singer Lorraine Segato rose up, called her lawyer and launched legal proceedings against McCain Foods and the band’s music publisher, EMI. Ms. Segato said the commercial use of the song destroyed the group’s integrity and claimed their fans had accused them of “selling out” even though they hadn’t received a penny in royalties.

Earlier this month, the now-defunct Parachute Club and EMI settled their grievance out of court. McCain dropped the ads and EMI agreed to return the rights to the song to its creators.

All well and good.

But only days after the settlement, Rise Up would endure what Ms. Segato considers to be an equally disturbing exploitation.

As more than 1,000 delegates rumbled into the United Alternative convention last weekend, the loudspeakers in the Ottawa Congress Centre exploded with that funky, familiar tune once again. Rise up, fiscal conservatives. Rise up, Stockwell Day. It’s time for celebration.

Over and over through the convention, UA delegates would hear the inspiring ditty echo around the hall. Rise up, rise up. The spirit’s time has come.

“My worst nightmare, when I wrote it, was I’d turn on the TV and it would be playing at the Tory convention,” said Lynne Fernie, who penned Rise Up’s lyrics with Ms. Segato. Despite the marked absence of Tories at the UA bash, this was worse.

“The energy of the song and where it came from seem to me to be the opposite of what the new right stands for,” Ms. Fernie says.

Many of the Reformers at the convention, with their Stetsons and cowboy boots, would likely share Ms. Fernie’s horror if they knew the conceptual background of the song and its history, not as a jingoistic jingle but same-sex sock-hopper.

“It’s about sexual diversity and sexual equality,” says Ms. Segato.

Rise Up, she explains, grew out of Toronto’s multiracial gay and lesbian community of the early ’80s.

In a time of bathhouse raids and emerging fears about a new, deadly, sexually transmitted disease, Queen Street West formed the nexus of the hip gay music scene. Parachute Club opened the Bamboo Club across the street from the new MuchMusic and the band’s poppy tune quickly became an anthem for the gay community, often identified with coming out of the closet.

Its catchy hook, however, would also make it an anthem for political groups unaware that the rousing refrain was not a call to arms, but rather, well, a call to arms. As the song goes, We want freedom, to love who we please.

Ms. Segato has heard the Rise Up played at Liberal party conventions, at marches to protest Chinese human-rights abuses, abortion rallies, and even on Christian radio stations in Europe. The NDP used to pipe it into the PA on former leader Ed Broadbent’s campaign plane during takeoff. “It’s a song that’s been used to basically promote anybody’s political idea about anything,” Ms. Segato says wearily.

Bill Clinton tapped the power of pop as political anthem when he appropriated Fleetwood Mac’s Don’t Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow) for his 1992 presidential bid.

He knew every good political movement needs a theme song, but in Canada, pop divas notwithstanding, choices run scarce.

For the 1993 election campaign, the Liberals dusted off Animotion’s late ’80s Obsession, a tune better known as Fashion Television’s theme. Reform incongruously chose Van Halen’s Right Now, which also was used to plug Pepsi, while the Tories swooned to Celine Dion’s Love Can Move Mountains and the NDP went native with Susan Aglukark’s obscure Hina Na Ho.

Matching middle-aged white politicians with pop tunes that express their vision — and with a good beat you can shake hands to — often proves difficult. In a bizarre choice, Republican strategists selected Bobby McFerrin’s breezy a cappella hit Don’t Worry, Be Happy to accompany George Bush’s 1988 election bid.

And in 1985, Larry Grossman led the Ontario Tories into election to the tune of Dancing in the Dark, sung by Bruce Springsteen, who fancies himself a champion of the working class. Alas, Mr. Grossman’s stiff on-stage gyrations to the song would be as close as he ever got to being “the Boss” in that campaign.

Despite Rise Up’s enduring popularity, the Parachute Club could never repeat the same level of success. The band busted up in the late ’80s and Ms. Segato went solo.

Ms. Fernie, her co-writer on Rise Up, pursued similar themes in a filmmaking career. She won a Genie Award for her documentary Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives.

Today, both women wince when they hear about groups with shabby records on gay rights cutting a rug to Rise Up, but they wonder if the song might provoke a policy change.

“The question we would put to the United Alterative,” says Ms. Segato, “is would we take that to mean that all the issues embodied in that song — racial equality, sexual diversity and women’s rights — are issues now being taken up by the party?”

“I hope it empowers them to expand their vision of what love is, and it does not include the use of the notwithstanding clause to enshrine inequality,” Ms. Fernie ads.

And if not, there’s always litigation.

“I would like to make them aware that we oppose them playing the song,” says Ms. Segato of the UA.

“If they keep doing it as a theme song, we will proceed legally.”

Rise up, rise up, all rise — the court is now in session.

No Airbus parallel in Guergis-RCMP letter: Mulroney lawyer

The letter sent by the Prime Minister’s Office to the RCMP about former cabinet minister Helena Guergis had some on Friday making comparisons to another infamous piece of correspondence.

Former prime minister Brian Mulroney brought a libel action against Liberal government in 1995 for a letter to Swiss authorities alleging possible malfeasance in the purchase of passenger jets. The case was settled on the eve of a trial when the Chretien government agreed to pay Mulroney $2 million.

The lawyer who represented Mulroney in the libel action says that Guergis could have a defamation claim over the letter to the RCMP asking for an investigation of what we now know were baseless allegations, including a claim she had snorted cocaine off the breast of a prostitute.

But Julian Porter says that unless the Prime Minister’s Office knew the claims were groundless, Guergis’ legal action would have to be directed at the originator of the story – private investigator Derrick Snowdy.

“If you’re maliciously concocting it, damn right you could be sued,” said Porter, who is considered one of Canada’s top defamation litigators.

However, a qualified privilege would allow the PMO to pass on the allegations to the RCMP, he said – unless they the claims were bogus.

“If somebody in the Prime Minister’s Office knew it was a false allegation and peddled it along, you’d have to prove this,” Porter said.

“They didn’t publicize what was in the letter. They passed it on to the RCMP. They can do that.”

Reds under the bed in Churchill

Niki Ashton

Now that Sun Media has revived the classic Cold War parlor game, Spot the Commie, it appears at least one candidate in Election 41 is playing along at home.

Wally Daudrich is carrying the Conservative colours in Churchill, the northern Manitoba riding represented by New Democrat Niki Ashton.  On his website, on a page titled, “What’s Wally Doing (sic),” he is seen shaking hands with then-Conservative International Trade Minister Stockwell day.

In the accompanying text, Daudrich refers to his competitor:

Chinese educated Niki Ashton is a Socialist. She consistently berates industry and capital that would bring investment to our area. Niki would export our jobs to China if she had any power. Thankfully she is only Jack Laytons (sic) back bench complainer. Niki Ashton is a bench warmer. Niki Ashton has no relatives in Ottawa.

Wally Daudrich and Stockwell Day

Apparently, Daudrich is referring to Ashston’s studies at  Li Po Chun United World College in Hong Kong. No Communist indoctrination centre, the school is part of a network of colleges around the world formed to improve international relations after the Second World War.

We’re not sure what the “no relatives in Ottawa” line means, however.

The line, “no relatives in Ottawa,” apparently refers to the fact Ashton’s father, Steve, is a cabinet minister in the Manitoba provincial government.

Daudrich has also studied out-of-country. According to his bio, he worked toward a bachelor of theology degree at International Baptist College in Tempe, Arizona.

UPDATE: My Citizen colleague, Peter Hum, points out this Daudrich video, in which he describes his family’s escapes from Russia in 1928. (You know who else’s family escaped from Russia?)

Tories never sought permission to use ’72 Summit Series clip in Harper ad

The marketing agency that licenses video of the Canada – Soviet Union 1972 Summit Series on behalf of the players says the Conservative Party never asked permission to use its footage in a Stephen Harper campaign ad.

The long-form TV commercial has already made headlines in the U.S. for its uncanny similarity to a slick promotional spot for putative Republican presidential contender Tim Pawlenty.

Where the Pawlenty spot uses images of Martin Luther King and the Statue of Liberty, the Harper ad offers rolling wheat fields, snow-covered mountains and footage of Paul Henderson scoring the winning goal in Game 7  (not to be confused with his iconic series winner in Game 8 — “Here’s another shot. Right in front. They score  — Henderson!”) .

Henderson is shown shooting as he falls to the ice, draped in Soviet defenders. The puck hums past Soviet goalie Vladislav Tretiak just under the crossbar.  In the voice-over, the hockey-loving Conservative leader describes Canada as “the best country in the world.”

The rights to clip and all other Summit 72 products belong to the players who played on the Canadian team and their partner licensing company, Ficel Sports and Entertainment.

Horst Ficel, a partner in the firm, says that Hockey Canada granted the players the rights to all the marketing of the series in the mid-1990s. Today, a committee with player representatives decides who can license the footage.

Ficel is busy fielding requests for permission to use the clips to mark the upcoming 40th anniversary of the historic series.

But decidedly not among those requesting permission was the Conservative Party of Canada, Ficel said..

“It’s definitely not approved by me. It’s not approved by the committee.”

He says the committee is careful to avoid anything that might be considered political.

Conservative Party spokesman Ryan Sparrow said he believes all the clips in the ad are properly licensed but said he would check further to make sure. He later said in an email that he had no comment.

Salaries for hockey players in 1972 were a fraction of what they are today, and licensing of the clips and merchandise provide those on the team with a bit of extra income.

Signs vandalized in downtown Montreal

I’m not sure if other candidates’ signs were similarly targetted, but in Montreal last night, I noticed Marc Garneau signs with a vaguely unsettling red marks painted on his forehead.

The splotch looks a bit like it was made by a paintball round.

Sign vandalism is an unattractive part of nearly every election campaign. In the first week of this campaign, Nepean-Carleton Liberal candidate Ryan Keon’s signs were embellished with spray-painted targets over his face. There have also been reports of vandalism of Conservative candidate’s signs in the Ottawa area.

Rarely, of course, are other competing campaigns to blame for the vandalism.

UPDATE: A reader writes to say that other candidates’ signs near Place des Arts were vandalized in the same way. As well, in Jeanne Le Ber, Bloc and Liberal candidates’ signs were appended with Hitler moustaches, the reader says. Signs for Liberal Mark Bruneau were  altered to change his name to “Marc.”

FURTHER UPDATE: A photo submission from the NDP war room, showing the sign for Jeff Itcush, candidate in Mount Royal. Itcush is Jewish. The picture was taken four days ago.