Canadian federal election, 2011

(States Twitter)-2011 Canadian federal election (formally, the 41st Canadian General Election) was held May 2, 2011, to elect members to the House of Commons of the 41st Canadian Parliament.
The Conservative Party remained in power, moving from a minority to a majority government. The New Democratic Party won the largest number of seats in their history, including a large majority of seats in Quebec (where they had previously only ever elected two candidates) and will form the Official Opposition for the first time. This will be the strongest opposition in terms of share of opposition seats since the 1993 election. The Liberal Party won the fewest seats in their history and party leader Michael Ignatieff was defeated in his own riding;he announced on May 3, 2011, that he would step down as leader of the Liberal Party when it chooses his successor.The separatist Bloc Québécois, which had always won at least a majority of seats in Quebec in every election of their existence, lost nearly all their seats, including the seat of their leader Gilles Duceppe, who resigned as BQ leader following his defeat. The Green Party won their first elected seat, that of party leader Elizabeth May.

The writs of election for the 2011 election were issued by Governor General David Johnston on March 26. Harper advised the Governor General to dissolve parliament after the House of Commons passed a motion of non-confidence against the government. The motion, introduced by the opposition leader Michael Ignatieff, approvingly cited and affirmed the charge of contempt of parliament by the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. This was the first time in Canada or anywhere else in the Commonwealth of Nations that a government was found in contempt of parliament.
Background


Main article: 40th Canadian Parliament
The 2008 federal election resulted in the continuation of the incumbent Conservative minority government, headed by Stephen Harper. This sitting of the legislature was marked by two controversial prorogations: the first in December 2008, which was part of a parliamentary dispute, and the second a year following, which prompted public protests. In 2011, Elections Canada laid charges against the Conservative Party, alleging contraventions of the Canada Elections Act five years earlier. This issue, along with the Bloc Québécois announcing its intention to vote against the budget unless it contained $2 billion in compensation to Quebec for harmonizing PST and GST, ignited the election fever on Parliament Hill.

On March 9, 2011, Speaker of the House of Commons Peter Milliken ruled that Bev Oda, a minister of the Crown, and, separately, the Cabinet itself could both possibly be in contempt of parliament, the latter for its ongoing refusal to meet opposition requests for details of proposed bills and their cost estimates. Milliken directed both matters to committee and set as the deadline for its report March 21, 2011, one day before the budget was to be tabled.


The Conservatives have promised to re-introduce Internet surveillance legislation that they were not able to pass, and bundle it with the rest of their crime bills. They said they plan to fast track the legislation within 100 days after taking office.

The Conservative platform includes a promise to consolidate twelve crime bills in to at lease one omnibus bill and pass it within 100 days forming a majority government. The bills included within that list would crack down on organized drug crime, end house arrest for violent criminals and establish tougher sentences and mandatory jail time for sexual offences against children. The opposition parties claimed the crime bills were not costed fully, and the opposition parties countered that this would create a US style system of prisons. The Conservatives have not released the costs for expanding the prison system. The other parties state that more focus should be given on crime prevention, so that it doesn't happen in the first place. The New Democratic Party (NDP) stated that their promise to hire 2,500 more police officers to patrol the streets, will help in preventing crime from occurring in the first place.

The Conservatives plan to purchase sixty-five F-35 Lightning II jet fighters through a sole-source, untendered contract.[citation needed] Stating "Our defence policy is broken" the NDP announced that they would prioritize investment in naval ships over new fighter jets. The NDP stated that this would be a good opportunity to keep shipbuilding expertise and jobs in Canada.


Conservatives argue they have steered the economy through the 2007-2010 global financial crisis, and promise to eliminate the budget deficit by 2013. Former Prime Minister Paul Martin, campaigning for the Liberals, challenged assertions, noting that his Liberal government left a $13 billion budget surplus, before the Conservatives took power. He also claimed that when he was Finance minister working under Jean Chretien, his blocking of proposed bank mergers is what actually sheltered Canada from the worst effects of the recession. The New Democratic Party (NDP) released its platform promising a balanced budget in four years. After the NDP surge, the Liberals called the NDP platform "science fiction"stating it contains over $30 billion in new spending derived from sources that are not credible, and that implementing a cap and trade system that would take years to realize rather than provide the in-year contributions as claimed.


The Conservatives state that their plan to cut corporate taxes from 18 to 15%, will create more jobs.Harper stated that an increase in corporate taxes will create job losses across Canada. Layton countered by saying currently the jobs are shipped overseas, and pledged a $4,500 job creation tax credit to all businesses per new hire. Layton further went to say that small business are the ones creating more jobs, thus he promised to lower the tax rate for small business from 11% to 9%. He then went on to say the big business are using the corporate tax cuts by providing their CEOs with big bonuses, and thus pledged to increase their tax rate to 19.5%.
Increasing Canada Pension Plan
The NDP has promised a gradual doubling of Canada Pension Plan and QPP benefits, in conjunction with the provinces, with an increase in payroll deductions of as much as 2.5 per cent.
HST referendum in BC
If BC voters were to reject the Harmonized Sales Tax in the upcoming referendum, the NDP promises to ensure that the penalties to be imposed by Ottawa on the HST agreement will be cancelled.

Personal taxation
Conservatives have promised income splitting for tax purposes for families with children to be implemented once the budget is balanced in 2013.
Electoral reform and political honesty
Political honesty
The New Democratic Party stated that both the Conservatives and the Liberals cannot be trusted. The NDP accused the Conservatives of creating "Liberal-style scandals" and accused the Liberals of flip-flopping on issues such as corporate tax cuts, and the Afghanistan mission.
Political financing
Conservatives pledge to phase-out per-vote subsidy over two years, with its eventual cancellation.
Elimination of the Senate
Stephen Harper has promised Senate reform although he stated he will not open the constitution to do so.The NDP have pledged to abolish the Senate, stating it is a waste of tax payer dollars, and a form of patronage.

The Conservatives assert that the Liberals will form a coalition with the more left-leaning NDP and Bloc Québécois, despite repeated claims by the Liberals and NDP to the contrary.
Promised government programs
Newfoundland dam and Quebec's HST
Conservatives and Liberals promise $4.2 billion in loan guarantees to support the Lower Churchill River power project. Due to outcry from Quebec over the pledge to provide loan guarantees for the Lower Churchill project, the Conservatives promise Quebec a $2.2 billion transfer to ease the Quebec Sales Tax to Harmonized Sales Tax transition.

Post-secondary education
Liberals have promised a "Learning Passport" for high school students seeking post-secondary education. The NDP's plan is to reduce the tuition fees, by increasing transfer payments to the Provinces.
Immigration Fairness Commissioner
Liberals propose the establishment of an "Immigration Fairness Commissioner" to provide oversight on the entry of immigrants with professional qualifications (doctors, engineers, etc.), and to increase the number of family reunification visas.

Health care
Health care – The NDP have pledged to train 1,200 more doctors and 6,000 more nurses. All parties have promised to continue to increase healthcare transfers to provinces by 6% annually.
Private sector regulation
[edit]Improved internet and usage based billing

The New Democratic Party (NDP) has promised a ban on all forms of usage based billing by ISPs, and enshrine net neutrality in law, which would prevent bandwidth throttling. The Liberals have promised "functional separation" with regards to usage based billing. Almost all of the established parties, with the exception of the Conservatives, have outlined polices that they claim will improve Canadian Internet access.
Cap on credit card interest rates
The NDP promises to cap credit card rates at five percentage points above the Bank of Canada's prime interest rate.