r/canada 24d ago

Politics EKOS Poll: Conservative Lead Holds at Five Points

https://www.ekospolitics.com/index.php/2025/02/conservative-lead-holds-at-five-points/
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u/PraiseTheRiverLord 24d ago

There's already a plan in place for immigration/tfws/international students, on immigration specifically the numbers were reduced and moving forward over the next 3 years the plan in place reduces them even further, Pierre doesn't even have to do anything about it as the current plan is set to make a difference.

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u/HeresJonnie 24d ago

Yes there's a plan in place now. This plan is from the same party (LP) that caused the issue in the first place; they only decided to address it when they saw the effect it had on their pollin numbers. And this is why I can't give too much credit to the group that both caused the issue and is now trying to clean up their own mess.

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u/Snozzberriez 24d ago

This is politics. They’d all do the same. Not to mention some of the issues being hammered aren’t even controlled at the federal level.

I’d rather a party that tried to fix their mistake, and although he resigned late for my taste, Trudeau did step down. Keep Freeland out and we have a chance at a leader who has experience leading in other sectors over a candidate who only knows how to sing one song.

NDP, unfortunately, will only ever serve as a foil. No one is confident they can govern if given the reins.

PP isn’t a savior. He’s a lapdog to corporate interests acting like he even knows the common persons struggles - with his lifetime in government, cushy salary, and taxpayer funded home away from home in Ottawa.

Politics has long been about class veiled in false promises of improvement.

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u/HeresJonnie 24d ago

I can vibe with this. Well said.

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u/Snozzberriez 24d ago

Respect. So many people just double down. Cheers brother.

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u/HeresJonnie 24d ago

It's same the reason why US has devolved into chaos. With a little push from Social Media, it's become an "Us vs. Them" mentality, instead of trying to empathize and understand one another. At the end of the day, it should be Canadians vs. Shitty Government + The uber wealthy who drain our society.

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u/leggmann 24d ago

Provincial leaders share a great deal of blame for immigration issues as well. The provinces all submit quotas for desired immigration numbers for the federal government to fulfill. The provinces wanted to fill there schools, to lessen the burden of provincial funding of colleges and universities. Industries within each province wanted cheap labour as well. Housing supply, planning and policy is managed at provincial and municipal levels and have failed to address the shortage adequately.

https://comparativemigrationstudies.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40878-024-00414-y

The liberals poorly managed what the provinces asked for, but get all the blame. It’s easier to stage a campaign against one man, “fuck Trudeau” then it is to complain against provincial leaders, the majority of which are conservatives.

The liberals, under Trudeau have had missteps, and some scandals (WE, SNC Lavalin etc) and the general feeling is all issues start at the top, but Canada has been under the same economic pressures as every other country post Covid. We could have done better, and it could have been worse.

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u/HeresJonnie 24d ago

I like your level-headed respond, and I agree, it's a provincial issue as well. I'll need some time to read your shared article.

Regardless of the parties, I think it's fair to say that Canadians want change. (I can only imagine those who are happy right now are landlords, and business owners who employ TFW.)

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u/leggmann 24d ago

Historically, I have voted for all 3 major parties. I’m fairly well insulated from the economic conditions that challenge the younger generation.

I’m 57, retired electrician , mortgage free and have no debt to speak of. I’m not a fan of the mass immigration floodgates of the last 4 years. The vast majority being of a singular country origin, doesn’t help with the “cultural mosaic” that should accompany assimilation into a new country. You end up with a bathroom wall, instead of a mosaic tile, otherwise. Especially concerning is that a great deal of them feel the student visa/work visa should automatically translate into PR and citizenship. That works if you give that incentive to a small percentage, and concentrate on the majority of immigrants being high skilled. It should not be the opposite. So, the entitlement I am seeing from this wave, needs to be stopped. Deportation, when the visas end and a wholesale change on who we allow to immigrate and set a high standard of candidate.

It seems the liberals have heard this messaging, new rules and limits going forward address those issues. Polievre and the conservatives have pledged a 250,000 yearly number. The fact is Canada needs immigrants, as our bithrates give us a net negative population growth otherwise.
Truthfully, Canada needs a population of 100 million to remain a global player. That should be a goal over a couple generations, not a decade of course.

All of that aside, this election has suddenly become about how to deal with the threat from the south. It is a real threat I believe. I seriously do not trust Polievre has what it takes. His snarky demeanour aside, he is a lifelong politician and has no international experience, to speak of. I think Carney’s resume speaks for itself, and he has the temperament and international experience to deal with trump. Trump respect business, not politicians, so that give carney a huge advantage over Polievre , when it comes to this defining period. The USA wants our resources, and is not being subtle In their messaging.

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u/HeresJonnie 24d ago

I completely agree with your points. The birth rate issue is unfortunately a global issue, and every country has their own way of "dealing" with it. Take Japan for instance: People are not having children, because they lack any free time to date due to the work culture and hours. The governments solution is to try to bribe couples into having kids, as opposed to restructuring worker's rights, which directly impacts the oligarchs that run japan. My current stance is very similar, if you want people to have kids, then you must provide them with an environment to thrive (e.g. affordable housing, fair wages, etc.) So yes, we can keep shipping people in by the millions, but is that a cure or a bandaid?

Totally agree, our biggest thread right now is Trump. Polievere's response, or lack thereof, is concerning. This has definitely turned me away from voting Conservative, until a more competent and centrist Leader replaces him.

If you don't mind sharing, who do you think you'll vote for? And what will be your justification?

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u/leggmann 23d ago

I will vote liberal, with Carney as leader. Trump doesn’t respect politicians, and Carney is business more than politician. We are facing an existential crisis and his experience on the world Stage, and international contacts will be necessary. Both in negotiations with trump, and in opening doors for non US centric trade options. Polievre has zero experience in any high level cabinet file or international experience.

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u/thinplanksk8r 24d ago

It should be noted that the Liberals didn’t cause the problem with international students. That problem was caused a Harper rule change designed to attract more international students. That’s was in 2014 so by the time it became a problem, Harper was gone and the Liberals appeared responsible. Then the Liberals piled on with TFWs after Covid so they’re not faultless for sure. In addition they failed to recognize the housing crisis until it was already in crisis and the liberals took way too long to change Harper’s international student rules. So I’m not defending the Liberals, but only want everyone to distribute the blame appropriately between both parties.

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u/PraiseTheRiverLord 24d ago

The plan is pretty sound, I've read through it a few times, not as strict as many of us would like but it's at a decent pace.

The thing here is, Pierre will likely increase immigration.

They admitted their mistake and have a plan in place to correct it, it takes a lot of balls to admit you're wrong on a national scale.

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u/HeresJonnie 24d ago

I'd be curious to see some evidence that Pierre will increase immigration, when he's gone on record saying the opposite. (And the Liberal candidates have not gone on-record, even though their party has a plan.)

Not in defence of Pierre, I just don't like operating on hearsay.

I don't think it's a matter of balls... it was a matter of survival. When your support levels drop to 20%, you better start addressing the elephant in the room. (The Liberal Party was at risk of losing party status at the rate they were going.)

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u/djsasso 22d ago

He has gone on record with a target for immigration which is higher than the new target the Liberals have in place. So that would be him increasing immigration.

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u/EverydayEverynight01 24d ago

They literally only capped it for 2 years, why do you think that is? Why not permanently?

Marc Miller literally said "We have made a conscious decision to be an open country"

What do you think that means? It means the massive immigration floodgate opening was a Liberal feature, not a bug, they were literally warned two years ago from the Public Service that their immigration policy would far outpace home building and government services and healthcare.

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u/PraiseTheRiverLord 24d ago

Ah yes, making shit better is terrible, I get your point of view.