2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
In the second session of the day, Lewis Hamilton aced while Kubica continued to record good timings at number two. Kimi Räikkönen recorded third fastest lap time compared to his fifth fastest in the earlier session. Timo Glock suffered a minor accident after he hit the wall on turn four. Nico Rosberg, however, sprung a surprise by topping the Saturday session ahead of Räikkönen and Hamilton. The session was red flagged 45 minutes in when Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel hit the wall after losing control at turn nine, resulting in a number of drivers being unable to complete their flying laps. Further, Vettel's teammate Sébastien Bourdais suffered a crash at turn five.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Saturday afternoon's qualifying session was divided into three parts. In the first 20-minute period, cars finishing 16th or lower were eliminated. The second qualifying period lasted for 15 minutes, at the end of which the fastest ten cars went into the final period, to determine their grid positions for the race. Cars failing to make the final period were allowed to be refuelled before the race but those competing in it were not, and so carried more fuel than they had done in the earlier qualifying sessions.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Lewis Hamilton recorded the fastest time for the session, ahead of Felipe Massa and Heikki Kovalainen. Sebastian Vettel's poor season continued after he could not compete the qualifying following his crash in third practice session. Others eliminated in this session were Sébastien Bourdais, Adrian Sutil, Giancarlo Fisichella and Jenson Button. Bourdais received a five place grid penalty due to a gearbox change following the earlier practice session. Button too suffered a gearbox problem during his first lap run and clocked the slowest time for the session.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Qualifying conditions were hampered by a disintegrating track, which caused most drivers to record slower times than in Q1. Track officials were seen clearing the track of debris in between sessions. Toyota's Jarno Trulli suffered significantly from these conditions, his car spinning twice during the second session. Trulli, along with Timo Glock, Kazuki Nakajima, David Coulthard and Nelson Piquet Jr., was unable to progress to the next session.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Hamilton once again topped this session, with Massa and Räikkönen coming second and third respectively.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Hamilton recorded quick times during early laps of the session, which were only surpassed by Robert Kubica towards the end of the session. But Hamilton on his final flying lap overcame Kubica's time claiming his second pole position at Montreal. Räikkönen came in third with teammate Massa pushed down to sixth position. Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg exhibited remarkable performances, taking positions four and five respectively.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Mark Webber, who also became a victim of the breaking track surface, could not compete in Q3 after damaging his car at the end of second session.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Race
There was severe criticism from drivers about track conditions. The track was said to be breaking up on turn two, the exit of turn seven and also the apex and exit of turn 10. The authorities applied chemicals on turn 2 and carried out further resurfacing of track on turn 11 – the hairpin – following Saturday's qualifying session.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Race
After overnight track work to fix problems with the track at turn 10, the race started with Hamilton holding his lead and all the cars making it through the first corner.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Hamilton built up a lead of over 5 seconds over Robert Kubica before Adrian Sutil had a gearbox failure on the 16th lap and parked his car after turn 3. Sutil's car was off the track but after it caught fire the safety car was brought out, and there was a rush of drivers into the pits as all of the six lead drivers went in for their pit stops. Hamilton led Räikkönen and Kubica into the pitlane but Räikkönen took the lead as they left their garages, with Kubica alongside him and Hamilton behind.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Race
"...as I exited the box, I saw two cars jostling for position ahead of me in the pit lane. Obviously, I didn't want to get involved in their tussle, and was trying not to do so, and then all of a sudden they stopped. And by the time they'd come to a halt, it was too late for me to avoid them."


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Räikkönen came to a stop at the end of the pit lane as the exit was closed, with the red indicator light on. Räikkönen was alongside Kubica at the end of the pit lane when Hamilton sped towards them not noticing the red light at first. Hamilton slid into the back of Räikkönen's car, with Nico Rosberg further hitting the back of Hamilton. Both Hamilton and Räikkönen retired from the race, each leaving their vehicles at the exit of the pitlane. Rosberg continued the race, but stopped again for a new wing.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Meanwhile, Massa had to make a second stop in the following lap, as his car had not been refuelled during his first stop due to technical problems. Hamilton later said that he saw the light too late and could not avoid hitting the Ferrari. It was Hamilton's only retirement of the 2008 season.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Race
There were seven different race leaders over the next section of the race until most of the drivers each took pit stops leaving Heidfeld in the lead. Kubica was in a much lighter and faster car and overtook Heidfeld after only his first lap out of the pits.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Race
The remainder of the race had fewer incidents, despite the surface of the circuit severely degrading over the course of the race. Nelson Piquet Jr. suffered another retirement, his fifth of the year from seven races, on the 39th lap because of abnormal brake wear. Piquet had also spun off the circuit earlier in the race while running in a points-scoring position due to brake failure, but fell to the back of the field before he reversed his car to get back onto the track.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Piquet's teammate at Renault F1 and former world champion Fernando Alonso was running in a strong third place and was pushing Nick Heidfeld for second place before spinning off and damaging his front wing and suspension. Kazuki Nakajima broke his front wing after hitting the back of Jenson Button in turn ten on the 46th lap, and was forced to retire when the front wing detached itself completely and was stuck under the chassis as he was about to enter pitlane. Giancarlo Fisichella was running last after his car engine stalled during his first pit stop, and later he spun and hit the wall after the chicane at turn nine.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Felipe Massa fought back towards the end of the race, after finding himself last since making three pit stops in total due to earlier incidents. Massa overtook both Barrichello and Kovalainen at the same time through the hairpin at turn ten as his rivals struggled for grip. With a few laps to spare the Brazilian overtook Jarno Trulli when the Italian got caught up behind Timo Glock, who was recovering from running wide at turn two.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Kubica had built up a substantial lead over the course of the race and was never threatened while he raced towards the finish. Heidfeld held onto second place leading to the first one-two finish for the BMW Sauber team. David Coulthard finished third to score his first points of the season and his first podium finish since the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix, but had to run to the podium after his car ran out of fuel 50 meters from where the podium finishers park. Toyota drivers finished fourth and sixth, with Massa between them in fifth.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Barrichello kept the seventh position and Vettel defended eighth place from Kovalainen. Thus, no McLaren driver finished in the points for the first time since the 2006 United States Grand Prix, and neither Ferrari nor McLaren took a podium finish for the first time since the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix. Kovalainen, Rosberg, Button, Webber and the lapped Bourdais were the last of the finishing drivers.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Race
The win for BMW Sauber marked the first time a German constructor had won a Formula One Grand Prix since the 1962 French Grand Prix, as well as the first and only win for BMW engines since the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix which Juan Pablo Montoya won for Williams.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
The top three finishers appeared on the podium and in the subsequent press conference. Kubica was delighted with his first race victory, saying, "I'm very happy at having won the first race for the BMW Sauber F1 Team. I'm also happy for Poland and all my fans. It was a very difficult race for me. I started on the dirty side of the track and Kimi Raikkonen was nearly able to pass me, but I just managed to keep him behind." After the race, Heidfeld said,


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
Congratulations to Robert for winning this race, which he really deserved! I made a poor start and lost a position to Rubens Barrichello. Fortunately I was able to pass him, and from this moment on I was one of the fastest cars on the track. I stayed out when most of the other cars pitted because I was on a long stint. I was pushing very hard at that stage. We then decided to switch to a one stop strategy, with a very high fuel load and with the soft option tyres which was a challenge.


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
Coulthard said, "I'm delighted to get a podium for the team, they've had a lot of work on at the previous races and back at base. You can expect some unusual results here, so we fuelled it long; but we expected the incidents would occur on track, not in the pit lane."


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
Hamilton and Rosberg were both given ten place grid penalties for the French Grand Prix, meaning that whatever their qualifying position, they could start no better than 11th. After the penalty was given, McLaren's CEO, Martin Whitmarsh, said that he thought the penalty was "severe", citing a similar incident at Monaco where Räikkönen had crashed into the back of Force India's Adrian Sutil. There, no penalty had been given. However, Rosberg said that the penalties were "deserved".


2008 Canadian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
After the race, Kubica moved into the lead of the Drivers' Championship, on 42 points, taking the Championship lead for the first time in his Formula One career. Hamilton lost the lead of the Drivers' Championship, falling four points behind Kubica. Massa tied on points with Hamilton, while Räikkönen was three points further behind. Heidfeld remained fifth. Before the race, Ferrari had been 16 points ahead of McLaren in the Constructors' Championship; after the race, BMW moved up into second position and reduced Ferrari's lead to 3 points. McLaren fell down to third place, 17 points behind BMW.


2008 Canadian Junior Curling Championships
The 2008 M&M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Curling Championships was held February 2–10 at the Soo Curlers Association and Tarentorous Curling Club in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The winning teams represented Canada at the 2008 World Junior Curling Championships.


2008 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, Qualification, Ontario
The Pepsi Ontario Junior Curling Championships were held January 2–6 at the Coldwater & District Curling Club in Coldwater.


2008 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, Qualification, Ontario
Danielle Inglis of Burlington defeated Rachel Homan from the Ottawa Curling Club 5-4 in the women's final. To make it to the final, Homan had to win a tiebreaker match against Katie Morrissey of the Rideau Curling Club and then Hollie Nicol of Kitchener-Waterloo 6-5 in the semifinal.


2008 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, Qualification, Ontario
In the men's final, Travis Fanset out of St. Thomas defeated Neil Sinclair of Manotick 9-8. Sinclair won his semifinal match against the Carleton Heights Curling Club's Christian Tolusso.


2008 Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League season
The 2008 Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League (CMISL) season had each team playing 10 games. The schedule however was unbalanced as both the Edmonton Drillers and Saskatoon Accelerators played six home games and two road games and two at a neutral site, while the Calgary United FC played five home games and five road games. The games held at the Stampede Corral were unique as they were featured in a round-robin style with all CMISL teams participating. Due to scheduling concerns at the MTS Centre, the Winnipeg Alliance FC were a road-only franchise, playing all 10 of their games away from home.


2008 Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League season
The playoff was a one game "winner-takes-all" championship game. It was played between the first and second place teams in St. Albert at the Servus Centre on March 14, 2008. The Edmonton Drillers defeated Calgary United FC by a score of 8-7.


2008 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship
The 2008 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship was held November 10-16, 2007 at the Calgary Curling Club in Calgary, Alberta. Two members of the winning team  represented Canada at the 2008 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.


2008 Canadian National Challenge Cup
The 2008 Challenge Trophy is a soccer competition for men's amateur teams in Canada. Each province determined their representative in different methods (league or cup). The final competition was held at King George V Park in St. John's, Newfoundland from 8th to 13 October 2008.


2008 Canadian National Challenge Cup, Qualification
The following is a list of clubs, by province, that have entered their own provincial competition.


2008 Canadian National Challenge Cup, Qualification, British Columbia
Winners of the Senior A Cup will represent BC at the National Championships. The 2008 Cup will be hosted in the Fraser Valley May 9 and 10.


2008 Canadian National Challenge Cup, Qualification, British Columbia
20 teams entered the competition so a 4-game preliminary round was required.


2008 Canadian National Challenge Cup, Qualification, British Columbia
Preliminary Round:Indo vs Surrey U  (0:2)Inter vs Vantreights (4:0) Columbus v FVSL #5 Croatia v Firemen (3:2)


2008 Canadian National Challenge Cup, Qualification, Alberta
The ASA hosts a Senior Men's Challenge Trophy from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1 in Calgary. Winner goes to Nationals. The Alberta Major Soccer League teams are:


2008 Canadian National Challenge Cup, Qualification, Manitoba
The MSA Cup 2008 determines the Manitoba representative to the National Challenge Trophy. The cup is an FA Cup styled tournament running from May 31 to August 23, 2008. Various teams enter at various levels and each round to drawn (not a static bracket). Round 5 is to be drawn on 13 July 2008. Teams to watch for include:


2008 Canadian National Challenge Cup, Qualification, Nova Scotia
The rep is determined through the Nova Scotia Soccer League. This league has teams from PEI and NB but the rep will be the top NS team.


2008 Canadian National Challenge Cup, Qualification, Ontario
The rep is determined through the Ontario Cup. About 60 teams are entered in 2008. The final 16 teams are detailed below. Real Toronto wins the title however the result was reversed when a player eligibility infraction occurred.


2008 Canadian National Challenge Cup, Qualification, Newfoundland
The rep will be determined from a final cup competition after a league season. The final weekend will be held Labour Day weekend at the King George V Park in St. John's. The Molson Challenge Cup 2008 will be contested by the following teams:


2008 Canadian National Challenge Cup, Qualification, Newfoundland
The St. Lawrence Laurentians defeated Feildians on the final weekend. Approximately 2500 fans were in attendance.


2008 Canadian National Challenge Cup, Final competition, Round robin
The teams will be split into 2 groups of 5 teams each. After round robin, seeding matches will take place (A1vB1, A2vB2, etc.) New Brunswick dropped out so a second team from the host Newfoundland was entered.


2008 Canadian Senior Curling Championships
The 2008 Canadian Senior Curling Championships was held March 22-30 at the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. The winning teams represented Canada at the 2009 World Senior Curling Championships.


2008 Canadian Soccer League season
The 2008 Canadian Soccer League season was the 11th since its establishment where a total of 16 teams from Ontario and Quebec took part in the league. The season began on May 16, 2008, and ended on October 26 with the Serbian White Eagles claiming their first championship by defeating Trois-Rivières Attak 2-1 in a penalty shootout. This was the third consecutive year the White Eagles had reached the CSL finals losing respectively to Italia Shooters in 2006, and to rivals Toronto Croatia in 2007. While during the regular season Italia won their second division title with Trois-Rivières becoming the first Quebec team to claim the National Division title.


2008 Canadian Soccer League season
The CSL added another team to the Peel Region after the relocation of the Canadian Lions to Brampton, Ontario to play as the Brampton Lions in the National Division. Toronto FC of the Major League Soccer established a relationship with the league by entering TFC Academy to the National Division, and TFC Academy II to the Reserve Division. Further significant changes introduced by the league was the creation of the 5 team reserve division in the Toronto region to provide a developmental platform for young players in order to make the transition to the professional ranks. The Ontario Soccer Association reached an agreement with the CSL to receive Operational Independence from the provincial governing body. The league received more coverage from Rogers TV which would broadcast a CSL match on Friday nights.


2008 Canadian Soccer League season, Individual awards
The annual CSL awards were presented before the CSL Championship final on October 26, 2008. All the awards were taken by the National Division teams with the Brampton Lions, North York Astros, and Trois-Rivières Attak receiving the most awards with 2 wins each. Daniel Nascimento of Brampton was chosen by the league as the MVP, and received the Golden Boot. After recording the best defensive record with Trois-Rivières, former Montreal Impact player Andrew Olivieri was named the Goalkeeper of the Year. Trois-Rivières were also recognized with the Fair Play award for being the most disciplined team throughout the season.


2008 Canadian Soccer League season, Individual awards
The Defender of the Year was given to Carlos Zeballos of North York. After improving his craft in Europe, Rafael Carbajal returned to the North York Astros to achieve the club's highest finish in their  club's history. TFC Academy produced the Rookie of the Year with Adrian Pena. While Isaac Raymond was given the Referee of the Year, and down the road in 2015 was appointed the Manager of Canada's Referee Department for the Canadian Soccer Association.


2008 Canadian Soccer League season, Reserve Division
In 2008, the league formed the Reserve Division to build a developmental structure within the CSL. The previous time a reserve division was in operation was in the 1990 season in the predecessor league. The intentions of the division was to provide clubs with a supply chain of players with additional playing time, and establish a developmental platform for players in order to make the transition to the professional ranks. The original 5 members of the division were from the Greater Toronto Area with a schedule running from June 2, 2008 to October 6, 2008.


2008 Canadian Tour
The 2008 Canadian Tour season ran from April to September and consisted of 15 golf tournaments. It was the 39th season of the Canadian Professional Golf Tour.


2008 Canadian Tour
The season started with two events in the United States (in April), followed by three events in Mexico (in April and May), and finishing with 10 events in Canada (in June through September). American John Ellis won the Order of Merit.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt
Canada's 2008 annual commercial seal hunt in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and around Newfoundland, Quebec and Nova Scotia began on March 28. The hunting season lasts from mid-November to mid-May, but the hunt mainly occurs in March and April. Canada's seal hunt is the world's largest hunt for marine mammals.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt
Some animal rights groups were given observer permits and monitored the hunt. They said it was cruel and that it ravaged the seal population. Sealers said it was sustainable, humane, and well-managed.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt
The pelts and oil were sold to buyers in Norway, Russia, and China.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt
The total allowable catch for 2008 was set by the Canadian government at 275,000 harp seals (the quota includes 2,000 seals for personal seal hunting, and 4,950 seals for the Aboriginal seal hunt), 8,200 hooded seals, and 12,000 grey seals.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, 2008 regulations
A new rule in the Marine Mammal Regulations for 2008 required hunters to slit the seal's main arteries under its flippers, after clubbing or shooting a seal. The European Union recommended  adding this rule in a report released in December 2007. This was to prevent the seal from having to withstand the pain of being skinned alive.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, Locations and quota
The hunt in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence started on Friday March 28, 2008. A handful of sealing vessels set out before dawn from the Magdalen Islands. In the first hour of the hunt, only 15 seals were killed. The ice had made it hard for the 16 vessels, carrying roughly 100 hunters, to get near the seals. Most of the hunters in these first days of the hunt were from the Magdalen Islands. The average seal hunt brings in about $1 million annually to the Magdalen Islands. As of March 30, about 1000 had been killed. On March 30, the hunt in the Gulf of St. Lawrence opened for the people from New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. As of April 18, sealers in the Gulf of St. Lawrence had taken about half of their total allowable catch (TAC) of 51,500 seals.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, Locations and quota
The biggest part of the 2008 Canadian seal hunt took place off of Newfoundland and Labrador, known as the Front. The hunt in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Front officially began on April 11 and 12 respectively. Official opening times and license conditions were released on April 7. According to Fisheries Department spokesman Larry Yetman, up to 120 larger boats were heading to the Front on April 12.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, Locations and quota
As of April 18, sealers on the Front had taken 56% of a total 194,000 seals allowed to be taken in the area. By April 18, longliners on the Front had taken c. 79% of their TAC of 112,000 seals. Small boats on the Front had taken 27% of their TAC of 71,000 seals.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, Locations and quota
The seal hunt for longliners on the Front closed on April 19, 2008. At the time, these were the only groups of hunters close to catching their quota.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, Vessels, Four men missing
On March 29, 2008, a 12-metre fishing vessel with six men, L'Acadien II, capsized near Cape Breton. Navy divers searched the waters for four men, who had been sleeping in the lower decks of the vessel. Two men, who were at the upper decks, were rescued on to another fishing boat. The vessel had capsized when it was being towed by the Canadian Coast Guard's Sir William Alexander. The L'Acadien II took part in the seal hunt, and had to be towed because of a steering problem.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, Vessels, Four men missing
When the vessel had capsized, a Cormorant helicopter and a Hercules aircraft came to aid the rescue. The vessel had since been secured to the side of the Coast Guard's vessel. The navy divers recovered the bodies of three of the missing men on March 29, with one man still missing. The men who died were from the Magdalen Islands. They have been identified as Bruno Bourque, the boat's owner and captain, Gilles Leblanc (in his 50s), and Marc-Andre Deraspe (in his early 20s). Still missing but presumed dead was Carl Aucoin.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, Vessels, Technical problems
On the evening of March 28, it was reported that two sealing vessels were taking in water, and one vessel had mechanical problems, in heavy ice conditions off Cape Breton. Two icebreakers were sent out to help the vessels out of the ice. On March 29, the coast guard and Department of Defence rescued seven people before their vessel, the Annie Marie, was crushed in the ice pack northeast off Cape Breton.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, Vessels, Technical problems
On April 14, the vessel Lucy May burnt to the waterline on Newfoundlands's northeast coast, after the crew had been rescued by a Cormorant helicopter. Also on April 14, the vessel BS Venture had mechanical trouble on Newfoundland's west coast, and six men escaped from the vessel before it ran ashore. The men reached land safely in Rocky Harbour in a self-brought speedboat.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, Vessels, Technical problems
The vessel White Bay Challenger started to take in water on April 17 because it had been struck by ice while it was being escorted by the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Ann Harvey. The White Bay Challenger sank after the seven people on board had been taken aboard the Ann Harvey.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, Observer permits
Journalists have a constitutional right to observe the hunt that was affirmed under a 1989 Federal Court of Appeal ruling. The federal government have a right to issue observer permits, to prevent the ice from being overcrowded with observers. A Seal Fishery Observation Licence in 2008 cost $25, and regulations on who is eligible for a license were found in the Marine Mammal Regulations.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, Observer permits
After noon on March 28, federal fisheries officials issued observer permits for the hunt's opening day to activists and journalists. A couple of hours before the permits were issued, Phil Jenkins of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said: "We're going to delay the giving out of permits until we can understand what exact level of sealing is going on." When the permits were issued, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) managed to fly out to film some scenes.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, Observer permits
The journalists (such as the United Kingdom's Sky TV) and the representatives of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) were unable to make it to the ice floes because the weather had turned bad during the day, making it very hard to fly a helicopter. DFO spokesman Phil Jenkins said that 60 observer permits had been issued.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, Observer permits
The permits for March 29 were issued on the evening of March 28.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, Seals
According to the Marine Mammal Regulations, Canada does not allow the hunting of whitecoats. Whitecoats are suckling pups of the harp or grey seal under two weeks of age.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, Seals
Most of the seals that were hunted are young harp seals, called beaters. They were whelped (born) in February or early March in whelping patches on the ice. Such patches vary from 20 to 200 square kilometres, and may contain as many as 2,000 adult females per square kilometre. The pups are abandoned by their mothers at two weeks of age, and remain in the whelping patches until the ice starts to melt in March or early April. The hunt takes place in and around these whelping patches.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, Seal product sales
Carino, a Norwegian-owned company, is a major buyer of Canadian seals. The Carino plant is located in South Dildo in Newfoundland and Labrador. Carino's Norwegian parent company, Rieber Skinn, announced in April 2008 that its factory in Bergen, Norway, with 17 employees, was closing down within a year. As a result, sealskin from seals captured in Norway was to be processed in their plant in Canada. An agreement with Canada says that Rieber is bound to process sealskin in Canada.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, The R/V Farley Mowat protest
On March 24, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's vessel, the R/V Farley Mowat, left Bermuda to head for the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The seventeen persons on the vessel were from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, South Africa, Canada and the United States.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, The R/V Farley Mowat protest
On March 21, Lawrence Cannon of the Canadian government had sent a fax to the Farley Mowat, ordering it not to enter Canadian waters and warning it of prosecution if the order was not complied with. Paul Watson replied to the minister that the conventions of the International Maritime Organization apply to commercial ships, but the Farley Mowat is a Dutch-registered yacht. He said the Farley Mowat would enter the Canadian Economic Exclusion Zone, but not the 12-nautical-mile (22 km) territorial limit.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, The R/V Farley Mowat protest, Collision
On March 30, according to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, the Farley Mowat was rammed twice by the icebreaker Des Groseilliers of the Canadian Coast Guard. The collision occurred after the Farley Mowat failed to comply with a request from Des Groseilliers not to approach the seal hunt area. Plates on the Farley Mowat were buckled by the contact, but there was no other damage. Phil Jenkins of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans called the allegation "absolutely false."


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, The R/V Farley Mowat protest, Collision
Loyola Hearn, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, issued a statement on March 31, saying the allegations were "completely untrue", and that the Farley Mowat manoeuvred itself in front of the Des Groseilliers to cause a collision as an attempt to provoke a confrontation and attract media attention. Paul Watson replied on the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's website, on April 1, that Des Groseilliers was faster and more manoeuvrable in the ice than the Farley Mowat, and that the Farley Mowat was stopped when it was hit for the second time. He said the entire incident was captured on video by a man on board the Farley Mowat, and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) helicopter was going to pick up the video on March 31, but had been grounded by the government.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, The R/V Farley Mowat protest, Collision
Sealer Shane Briand said the Farley Mowat came close to the hunters about sixty km off Cape Breton and broke up the ice under a hunter on March 30. He said his ship and crew was harassed until the Des Groseilliers arrived.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, The R/V Farley Mowat protest, Paul Watson's remarks
A release from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society on April 2 said: "The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society recognizes that the deaths of four sealers is a tragedy but Sea Shepherd also recognizes that the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of seal pups is an even greater tragedy." Paul Watson was quoted in the same release as saying: "One of the sealers was quoted as saying that he felt absolutely helpless as he watched the boat sink with sealers on board.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, The R/V Farley Mowat protest, Paul Watson's remarks
I can't think of anything that defines helplessness and fear more than a seal pup on the ice that can't swim or escape as it is approached by some cigarette smoking ape with a club. This is a seal nursery and these men are sadistic baby killers and that might offend some people but it is the unvarnished truth — they are vicious killers who are now pleading for sympathy because some of their own died while engaged in a viciously brutal activity."


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, The R/V Farley Mowat protest, Paul Watson's remarks
Because of these statements, the leader of the Green Party of Canada, Elizabeth May, decided on April 3 to resign from the advisory board of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, The R/V Farley Mowat protest, Paul Watson's remarks
On April 4, angry fishermen used axes to cut the mooring lines of the Farley Mowat in Saint-Pierre, where it was tied up. According to a fisherman, the ropes were cut because the fishermen of Saint-Pierre did not accept what Paul Watson had said. There had first been a confrontation between the activists and the fishermen.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, The R/V Farley Mowat protest, Charges
On April 5, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Loyola Hearn announced that charges were being laid against the Farley Mowat's Dutch captain, Alexander Cornelissen, and Swedish First Officer Peter Hammarstedt. They were charged with contraventions of the Marine Mammal Regulations (MMR) on getting too close to the hunt without an observer permit. Captain Alexander Cornelissen was also charged under the Fisheries Act for obstructing or hindering a Fishery Officer, a fishery guardian, or an inspector.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, The R/V Farley Mowat protest, Charges
On April 12, armed Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers boarded and seized the Farley Mowat. They had first asked permission to board the vessel, but were refused. The Farley Mowat's captain and first officer were arrested. According to the Fisheries Department, the Farley Mowat was to be kept in DFO custody until a court ordered the release of the vessel. According to Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, the boarding happened in international waters, and the Farley Mowat had never strayed into Canada's 12-nautical-mile (22 km) territorial limit. He said this was proven in the ship's logs and GPS records, which the Canadian authorities had seized. According to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the vessel was seized in Canadian national waters.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, The R/V Farley Mowat protest, Charges
The captain and first officer were each granted a $5,000 bail in a Sydney, Nova Scotia courtroom on April 13. The 17 crew members went on a hunger strike until the two men were to be released. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society bailed the men out with $10,000 donated by author Farley Mowat.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, The R/V Farley Mowat protest, Charges
The next court appearance was scheduled for May 1, 2008. A new hearing was then scheduled for May 9 and a preliminary hearing for July 2.


2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt, Possible European Union ban
The European Union considered a ban on all seal products in the wake of the 2008 hunt. A Canadian delegation headed to Europe in March 2008 to lobby for the hunt. The delegation includes Canadian Fisheries Conservation representative Loyola Sullivan, Nunavut Premier Paul Okalik, Newfoundland Natural Resources Minister Kathy Dunderdale, Fur Institute of Canada executive director Rob Cahill, and sealers Mark Small and Denis Longuepee. The delegation travelled to London, Brussels, Berlin, Vienna, and Paris.


2008 Canadian electoral calendar
This is a list of elections in Canada in 2008. Included are provincial, municipal and federal elections, by-elections on any level, referendums and party leadership races at any level.


2008 Canadian federal budget
The Canadian federal budget for the 2008-2009 fiscal year was presented to the House of Commons of Canada by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on February 26, 2008.


2008 Canadian federal budget
The budget included a surplus of $10.2 billion to be applied to pay down federal debt, and the introduction of the Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA). The government announced there would be little to no new tax breaks as major tax cuts took place in the economic update during the fall of 2007 in anticipation of economic slowdowns in 2008. It was to be the last budget of the Conservative government's first term in office.


2008 Canadian federal budget
The budget was deemed ordinary and uncontroversial by the press. The Liberal party had pledged not to push for an election in the spring of 2008, and so guaranteed their support for the budget. The Bloc Québécois had submitted a long list of budgetary demands to be met, which effectively eliminated them from budget negotiations. They voted against the budget.


2008 Canadian federal budget, Highlights
The 2008 budget was tabled on February 26, 2008. No new tax cuts were announced in the budget, but Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced the creation of a new Tax-Free Savings Account, into which an individual can deposit up to $5,000 a year. Flaherty said that it is the "single most important savings vehicle since the introduction of the RRSP". The TFSA was touted as a badly needed addition to the Canadian tax system as it did not make sense for low income earners and seniors to make use of existing savings programs with tax incentives, such as RRSPs. In contrast, the TFSA could be used by such demographics to enjoy savings with tax benefits.


2008 Canadian federal budget, Highlights
Funding was also announced for public transit, infrastructures, hiring new police officers, the reconstruction of Afghanistan, a new Student Grant Program (replacing the Millennium Scholarship Fund) and for the manufacturing sectors. In addition, the government announced the creation of a new independent crown corporation to administer the Employment Insurance System while gas tax rebate fund to the cities was made permanent. 10.2 billion dollars will be spent on the payment of the national debt.


2008 Canadian federal budget, Reception
As did in the past, the 2008 Conservative budget was met with mixed reactions. Liberal leader Stéphane Dion, while criticizing the budget as modest and being "one mile wide" and "one inch deep", said that the party will support the budget due to measures announced surrounding the manufacturing sector as well as environment due to avoiding a spring election. Both the Bloc Québécois and the NDP announced that they were voting against the budget.


2008 Canadian federal budget, Reception
The NDP argued that the budget failed to address the need for average workers while the winners were banks, polluting industries and the well-off. Social programs got one-time commitments while corporate tax cuts were granted for many years. They further mentioned that tax cuts for big business were larger than new spending by a ratio of 6 to 1.


2008 Canadian federal budget, Reception
The Bloc criticized insufficient funding for the forestry sector the lack of major announcements for the province of Quebec.


2008 Canadian federal budget, Reception
Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan believed that the budget came short in regards to the manufacturing sector and claimed that it was a "missed opportunity for Ontario and Ottawa to work together during a tough economic period". Buzz Hargrove from the Canadian Auto Workers Union argued that the budget was a step in the wrong direction for the auto industry as well. Quebec Finance Minister Monique Jerome-Forget also criticized the budget by saying that it does not reflect the priorities for Quebec including the province's forest sector and post-secondary education. The Minister did praised however the permanency of gas tax rebate for the municipalities.


2008 Canadian federal budget, Reception
Canadian Taxpayers Federation director John Williamson mentioned and applauded that the registered savings plan was "very good" for the middle class. Economist Andrew Jackson, from the Canadian Labour Congress, mentioned however that the plan will give little to the average worker while Don Scott, a taxation specialist, added that the program may incite some investors to contribute less to their RRSP. The creation of the new savings account also had positive reviews from several Canadian newspapers including Le Devoir, La Presse, The Globe and Mail and the National Post. Aaron Freeman, policy director for the Environmental Defence, criticized the government for having no clear direction on the environment making reference to the suspension after 2008 of the tax-rebate program on fuel-efficient vehicles but praised the funding for transit and for the protection of consumers from toxins in products.


2008 Canadian federal budget, McTeague private member bill
Liberal MP Dan McTeague tabled a Private Member's Bill that would give parents substantial tax breaks for saving education money; taxpayers who deposited $5,000 into a RESP for their children's post-secondary education would earn a $5,000 tax deduction, similar to the deduction allowed for contributions to a RRSP. Under the Tax-Free Savings Account, introduced in Conservative Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's 2008 budget, there was no deduction for annual contributions.


2008 Canadian federal budget, McTeague private member bill
Though McTeague's bill passed through the House of Commons of Canada on March 5, 2008, after Speaker of the House, Liberal Peter Milliken, approved the bill for debate, it is constitutionally decreed that any money measure that does not have royal recommendation, that is, if it doesn't originate from the Crown, is to be considered unlawful. So, any private member's money bill must be regarded as a Motion of Confidence.


2008 Canadian federal budget, McTeague private member bill
Flaherty served notice to the House of Commons on March 11 that he would introduce a motion to nullify the bill by including a provision to do so in legislation implementing the federal budget, which is automatically a confidence motion. The RESP bill was the first time since 1840 that the Commons had attempted to force a change to the government's budget.


2008 Canadian federal election
The 2008 Canadian federal election (formally the 40th Canadian general election)  was held on October 14, 2008, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by Governor General Michaëlle Jean on September 7, 2008. The election call led to the cancellation of four federal by-elections that had been scheduled to occur in September.


2008 Canadian federal election
The election resulted in a second, but stronger minority government for the Conservative Party, led by the incumbent Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. While the Tories were a dozen seats away from a majority government, the Liberal Party led by Stéphane Dion lost 18 seats as the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Québécois made slight gains. The Green Party failed to win any seats and lost its only Member of Parliament. Following the election, a coalition attempt among the Liberal Party and New Democratic Party emerged but was unsuccessful.


2008 Canadian federal election, Background
In 2007, Parliament passed a law fixing federal election dates every four years and scheduling the next election date as October 19, 2009, but the law did not (and could not) limit the powers of the Governor General to dissolve Parliament at any time, such as when opposition parties bring down the government on a vote of confidence. In this election there was no loss of a non-confidence vote, but the Prime Minister asked the Governor General to call an election. The Governor General granted the Prime Minister's request.


2008 Canadian federal election, Background, 2006 election
64.7% of eligible voters cast ballots in the 2006 federal election. The Conservative Party received the most votes of any single party, with 36% of the vote, and won 124 seats (127 at dissolution). The Liberal Party won fewer seats than in 2004 – 103 seats (96 at dissolution), and 30% of the vote. The Bloc Québécois lost three seats, lowering its total to 51 seats (48 at dissolution), with 10.5% of the vote.


2008 Canadian federal election, Background, 2006 election
The NDP retained its seats held at the dissolution of Parliament, and won 11 more, making its total 29 seats (30 at dissolution), with 17.5% of the vote. The Green Party received 4.5% of the vote, a minimal increase from the previous election, but did not win any seats (1 at dissolution). Independents and other parties constituted 1% of the total vote with one independent winning a seat.


2008 Canadian federal election, Background, Events since the 2006 election
Since the 2006 election, seven Members of Parliament (MPs) had changed party: David Emerson, Wajid Khan, and Joe Comuzzi from Liberal to Conservative; Garth Turner from Conservative to Independent to Liberal; Blair Wilson from Liberal to Independent to Green; Louise Thibault from Bloc Québécois to Independent; and Bill Casey from Conservative to Independent. In by-elections, the NDP gained one seat from the Liberal Party, while the Conservative Party gained two seats, one from the Liberals and one from the Bloc Québécois. Four seats were vacant when the election was called: three previously held by the Liberal Party, one by the Bloc Québécois.


2008 Canadian federal election, Background, Events since the 2006 election
The parliament preceding this election was led by the Conservatives, who governed with the smallest plurality ever in the Canadian House of Commons, just 40.6% of the seats. Although the average length of a minority parliament in Canada is 1 year, 5 months, and 22 days (measured from the return of the writs after an election to the dissolution of that parliament), minorities led by the former Progressive Conservative Party have been much shorter: the longest previous Conservative minority was just 6 months and 19 days. The 39th Parliament became Canada's longest serving Conservative minority on October 24, 2006.


2008 Canadian federal election, Background, Events since the 2006 election
On May 30, 2006, the Conservatives tabled Bill C-16, which would amend the Canada Elections Act to provide fixed election dates. The bill received royal assent on May 3, 2007. The bill states that there will be an election in 2009, and it would be the first to have a fixed election date, the third Monday in October (October 19, 2009). Despite the bill, on September 7, 2008, the Prime Minister sought the dissolution of the 39th Parliament, and the Governor General agreed to hold a general election on October 14, 2008.


2008 Canadian federal election, Background, Events since the 2006 election
On February 15, 2007, The Globe and Mail reported that the Conservatives were preparing for an election expected to be called shortly after the 2007 budget, due on March 19, 2007. Part of the reason for the timing of the election was given as strengthening Conservative poll numbers coupled with the desire to take advantage of the perception that Harper has "better leadership qualities than Liberal counterpart Stéphane Dion".


2008 Canadian federal election, Background, Events since the 2006 election
On March 17, 2007, an internal Conservative Party memo was leaked to The Canadian Press, telling members that they "need to be ready to campaign within the next week". The memo asked members to donate $75 to $150 to help to fund the early stages of the election campaign. None of these predictions for a federal election to occur in 2007 proved true, but the majority of pundits still believed a federal election would be triggered before the fixed election date of October 19, 2009, for sometime in 2008.


2008 Canadian federal election, Background, Events since the 2006 election
Stephen Harper hinted at the possibility of dissolving parliament on August 14, 2008. Speaking in Newfoundland and Labrador, he cited Stéphane Dion as the main player in making Parliament become increasingly "dysfunctional". "I'm going to have to make a judgment in the next little while as to whether or not this Parliament can function productively," Harper said. This came after repeated confidence votes that resulted in the NDP and Bloc parties not voting in favour of the government, and the Liberal Party voting in favour or not attending the vote. Rumours of a possible fall election were further fuelled by Harper's announcement of a fourth federal by-election for September 22 in the Toronto riding of Don Valley West.


2008 Canadian federal election, Background, Events since the 2006 election
On August 27, 2008, Harper asked Governor General Michaëlle Jean to cancel her trip to the Paralympic Games in Beijing, adding fuel to speculation that the Prime Minister would seek a dissolution. On September 7, 2008 after much speculation, Harper asked the Governor General to call a federal election on October 14, 2008.


2008 Canadian federal election, Vote and seat summaries, Missing ballot boxes
In Quebec City, several ballot boxes containing votes from advance polls disappeared after the close of advance polling on October 7. The boxes were stored in a closet at the home of a deputy returning officer. Although there was no tampering of the boxes or the votes, three deputy returning officers were fired. Deputy returning officers are the only polling officials allowed to handle ballots during the vote count and the law did allow for them to store the sealed boxes as may be necessary in large remote rural ridings. However the boxes were returned a day late after the riding returning officer ordered their return.


2008 Canadian federal election, Vote and seat summaries, Strategic voting
A number of political leaders and popular websites supported strategic voting in the election, mostly against the Conservative Party. The reasons varied from regional, such as Newfoundland and Labrador premier Danny Williams and his "Anything But Conservative" campaign, to ideological. The popular website VoteForEnvironment.ca, which received over one million page views in the first 12 days of its existence and whose founders were interviewed on CBC and other mainstream media, showed regional breakdowns per riding and offered recommendations based on which candidate was most likely to beat the Conservative candidate.


2008 Canadian federal election, Vote and seat summaries, Strategic voting
If the Conservative candidate had little chance of winning the riding or was strongly entrenched, the site recommended "vote with your heart". Similarly, a vote swapping organization on Facebook entitled "Anti- Harper Vote Swap Canada" also gained press. The premise of that organization is that eligible voters in different electoral districts may exchange their votes, so that an opponent of a Conservative candidate in each district might have a better chance of being elected in that district. Elections Canada deemed the practice legal.


2008 Canadian federal election, Vote and seat summaries, Strategic voting
Green Party leader Elizabeth May sent out mixed signals about strategic voting. On October 12, she recommended that in close ridings, supporters of green policies should consider voting for the NDP or Liberals to defeat the Conservatives, but on the same day she said: "I do not support strategic voting and I have not advised voters to choose any candidate other than Green". In addition, during the final days of the campaign the Liberals attempted to attract strategic NDP and Green votes to stop the Conservatives, and the Conservatives attempted to attract Bloc votes to stop the Liberals.


2008 Canadian federal election, Vote and seat summaries, Voter identification
Some students, homeless, and transient voters were turned away at the polls when they were unable to provide identification showing or otherwise confirming a place of residence. Legislation introduced in 2007 requires all voters to show one or two pieces of identification which confirm the voter's name and address, or to be vouched for by another voter who is able to show such identification.


2008 Canadian federal election, Vote and seat summaries, Voter turnout
Voter turnout at 58.8% was the lowest in Canadian election history. All federally funded parties except for the Greens attracted fewer total votes than in 2006; the Greens received nearly 280,000 more votes. The Conservatives lost about 170,000 votes, the Liberals 850,000, the Bloc 170,000 and the NDP 70,000. Some voters were at first turned away because of failure to meet new and stricter proof of address requirements, including 2/3 of those attempting to vote at Dalhousie University, for example. The effect this may have had on voter turnout is unknown.


2008 Canadian federal election, Vote and seat summaries, Judicial recounts
In a federal election, a judicial recount is automatically ordered in a riding where the margin of victory is less than 0.1% (one one-thousandth) of the votes cast. In cases where there is a larger but still narrow margin of victory, an elector can request a judicial recount.


2008 Canadian federal election, Vote and seat summaries, Judicial recounts
Judicial recounts were ordered in six ridings. In one case, Brossard—La Prairie, the judicial recount overturned the reported victor, giving the seat to the Liberals' Alexandra Mendès instead of the Bloc incumbent Marcel Lussier.


2008 Canadian federal election, Vote and seat summaries, Judicial recounts
In four other ridings, the recount confirmed the election results, although Liberal Ujjal Dosanjh's margin in Vancouver South was reduced from 33 votes to just 20. This was the slimmest victory of any riding in the entire election, until the results of the Kitchener-Waterloo recount reduced Peter Braid's margin of victory to a mere 17 votes. Dosanjh's Conservative opponent, Wai Young, appealed the recount to the Supreme Court of British Columbia, citing that not all of the ballot boxes were fully recounted. All ballots were eventually counted by November 4, confirming Dosanjh's victory by 20 votes, after the initial partial recount indicated a margin of 22 votes.


2008 Canadian federal election, Vote and seat summaries, Judicial recounts
In a sixth riding, the recount was cancelled when the elector who had requested it withdrew the request.


2008 Canadian federal election, Pre-election
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was considering calling an election because of a lack of cooperation in Parliament, saying "all the signs indicate that this Parliament is at the end of its productiveness," while in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. The Conservative Party of Canada fueled rumours of an oncoming election when it released several campaign advertisements that focused on a range of issues, and attacked the Liberal Party of Canada for their proposed carbon tax.


2008 Canadian federal election, Pre-election
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) confirmed that Harper would call an election for October 14 after meeting with New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton and Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe, which gave the Prime Minister little hope that a fall session of Parliament can be productive, PMO officials said. Senior government officials announced on the first of September that Stephen Harper would ask the Governor General, Michaëlle Jean, to dissolve parliament and call an election for October 14, after he met with Liberal leader Stéphane Dion who called the meeting a "charade". Dion said the two were unable to agree on how to make the upcoming session of Parliament, slated to begin September 15, more productive.


2008 Canadian federal election, Pre-election
Liberal Party members gathered in Winnipeg on September 2, for a three-day caucus which changed from preparing for a new parliamentary session to a strategy session to formulate a plan to attack the Conservatives while healing internal party rifts that have surfaced in recent weeks. Conservatives began spending at least $60 million on pre-election funding projects to a wide variety of institutions and groups. A few announcements have been big, including Industry Minister Jim Prentice's pledge of $25 million for the expansion of the Northlands exhibition facility in Edmonton.


2008 Canadian federal election, Pre-election
But the Tories have also announced a number of smaller projects, including $40,000 for the 2008 55+ Games and $25,000 for the Peace Window of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Winnipeg. The announcements have also been spread out across the country. The Atlantic region is to get more than $500,000 for youth jobs and eight cultural organizations. The Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia will receive $81,000. Jack Layton attacked the Conservative Party as bribing the public and doing the same thing they used to complain about the Liberals doing before elections.


2008 Canadian federal election, Pre-election
A survey conducted by Environics found that 38 per cent of Canadians would vote for the Conservative party if an election were held immediately, 28 per cent would vote for the Liberal party, 19 for the NDP, eight for the Bloc Québécois and seven for the Green party. The poll shows Conservatives taking early leads in Ontario, British Columbia and the Prairies. In Atlantic Canada, Liberals still hold a strong majority, while in Quebec the Bloc Québécois leads while the Conservatives and Liberals are almost tied for second. When asked, most Canadians said the Conservatives would handle the economy better, while most said the Liberals would handle the environment better.


2008 Canadian federal election, Pre-election
On September 7, Harper officially asked for the dissolution of Parliament, and called for an election on October 14.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign
The 40th Canadian Federal Election campaign officially began at 8:20 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time when Governor General Michaëlle Jean accepted Stephen Harper's request to dissolve Parliament and call an election for October 14, 2008. The party leaders jumped right into the campaign, with Stéphane Dion attacking the Conservative's record, presenting the Liberal plan, and rejected the accusation by Harper that the Liberal party is a risky choice. Jack Layton took a more forceful approach than previous elections, in which the New Democratic Party has just tried to maintain a high number of seats in Parliament to influence government.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign
Layton has made it clear he will campaign for the position of prime minister itself this time, but also returned to a longstanding NDP theme: alleged abuses by big business. He promised to stop what he called "ripoffs" by big oil, cellphone and banks, and his attacks are expected to focus on the Conservatives and all but ignore the Liberals. Elizabeth May of the Green Party said Canadians would care enough about the environment to vote for her party, as long as she was able to get into the television debates.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign
Stephen Harper has stated his objection to including the Green Party into television debates because of the similar policies of the Green and Liberal party, and how it would be unfair. Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe said the Conservatives must be prevented from winning a majority, and the BQ is the only party that can do that. Duceppe compared Harper to US President George W. Bush, and said the government is incompetent.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates
The two Leaders' Debates of 2008, one each in French and English, included the leaders of five parties, Stephen Harper of the Conservatives, Stéphane Dion of the Liberals, Jack Layton of the NDP, Gilles Duceppe of the Bloc Québécois and Elizabeth May of the Green Party.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates
The French-language debate aired on Wednesday, October 1 from 8 to 10 p.m. EDT, moderated by Stéphan Bureau, a journalist and host. The English-language debate aired Thursday, October 2 from 9 to 11 p.m. EDT, with Steve Paikin of TVOntario as moderator.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Participation
Three parties — the Conservatives, the Bloc Québécois and the NDP — opposed the inclusion of the Green Party, citing statements made by Green Party leader Elizabeth May to the effect that the best outcome of the election would be a Liberal-led government, and a deal struck between the Green Party and Liberals where the Liberals would not run in May's riding, Central Nova, and the Green party in Liberal leader Stéphane Dion's riding, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, which they say make May a "second Liberal candidate".


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Participation
Stephen Harper and Jack Layton are reported to have said that if the Green Party were included, they would not participate in the Leaders' Debates. Dion said that while he supports May's inclusion, he would not attend if Harper does not, and the Bloc Québécois has stated it will not boycott the debates if May is included.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Participation
The media consortium in charge of the debate, made up of the CBC, CTV, Global Television and TVA, had decided that it would prefer to broadcast the debates with the four major party leaders, rather than risk not at all or with minimal participation. The Green Party indicated they had begun procedures to lodge a formal complaint with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, as they have in past federal elections.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Participation
On September 10, Harper and Layton released statements that they would not oppose May's inclusion in the debate, citing public backlash and protests — with neither acknowledging making the threat of boycotting the debate — and that the media consortium would reconvene to discuss the matter. Layton stated that "debating about the debate" had become a "distraction", and that he had only one condition, that Stephen Harper be there. In response, spokespeople for Stephen Harper announced they would not stand alone in opposition to the Green Party's inclusion in the debates and also changed their position on the matter. Later that day the consortium announced that May would be allowed to participate in the debate.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Format change
On September 30, Harper announced that he would ask for the 12 minutes on the economy scheduled for the Leader's Debate to be extended to an hour, citing that the financial crisis affecting the U.S. "has deepened since the debate format was finalized", a change which would require agreement from the other parties in the debate to be approved. The NDP released a statement soon after that they supported the move, while public response has been concerned that other topics such as the environment would not end up with enough time to cover the issue.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Format change
On October 1, the day of the first debate, it was announced that both debates would get extended time, from 12 to 30 minutes, for the economy, and leaders would not give opening and closing statements, to allow for longer discussions on the economy without removing time from other topics. It was also revealed that instead of leaders standing at individual podiums for the debate, as had been done in past years, the debate would be done in a round table format.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Debates
Much of French debate revolved around the economy and the environment, with the two topics repeatedly being brought up in discussions allotted for other topics. Stephen Harper came under criticism from every other leader in nearly every topic, especially the economy and environment, with the other party leaders stating that Harper's politics had led to Canada's current crises in those two areas.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Debates
Their points included that Harper's environmental plan was considered the worst of all developed countries by organizations around the world, with Elizabeth May labeling it "a type of fraud," and that his attempts to remove regulations in the financial sectors, similar to those done by the Bush administration in the United States, have led Canada to being nearly as hard hit by the current financial crisis as the United States.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Debates
Continuous comparisons of Harper to George W. Bush were made over the course of the debate, with Jack Layton stating at one point that with Bush ending his presidency at the end of the year, Harper would be "the last leader of a developed country to follow the Bush doctrine".


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Debates
Following the same tone as the French debate, much of the discussion revolved around the economy and the environment. The other four leaders keep criticizing Harper, especially for his lack of an economic platform despite asking for the format change to focus more on the economy in light of the ongoing financial crisis, and instead using the time to criticize the economic platforms of the other leaders.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Debates
May lashed out at Harper for not understanding that Canadians were worried about their homes, jobs and finances, and comparing the current situation to Dutch disease, Dion stated that the only thing that keeps Canada from being hit as hard by the crisis as the US are laws created by the previous Liberal government that the Conservatives had been attempting to overturn, Duceppe repeatedly criticized Harper for financial practices and attitudes similar to the Bush administration, and Layton at one point stated that Harper's position showed he was either incompetent or uncaring to the situation, and asked which one he was, to which Harper did not respond. Harper also came under criticism for his laissez-faire attitude to the job sector, supporting primarily the oil companies and companies that outsource jobs in the manufacturing sector.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Debates
When it turned to the environment, the Carbon Tax proposal came up repeatedly, with both Dion and May supporting it, although May to more ambitious figures than Dion, pointing out it was the most recommended and proven way to deal with carbon emissions by countries and organizations around the world, noting the growth that Sweden and Germany have had with this system.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Debates
Harper criticized the plan, saying would increase taxpayers' burden and that Dion should be "honest with the people" that some environmental measures will cost the economy and said the plan includes $40 billion in carbon taxes and $26 billion in tax cuts. Dion defended the Liberal's Green Shift, saying that "[Harper's statements are] not true at all", and that "for every dollar that we will raise, you will have a tax cut, and these tax cuts will be on your income".


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Debates
Duceppe commented that he would like targets to be applied to individual provinces, thereby allowing Quebec to financially benefit due to already-implemented greenhouse gas reductions. Layton, who favours a cap-and-trade system, said that it is a "figment of Mr. Harper's imagination" that emissions will fall under his plan.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Debates
When Harper sought to outline his government's record on other environmental fronts, giving examples of his minority government supported the preservation of hundreds of thousands of hectares of environmentally sensitive land through the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and that the government declared a protected marine area by Lake Superior and created a whale sanctuary by Baffin Island, May responded by saying "The only word he said that's true is on national parks".


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Debates
Layton also criticized Dion for his lack of accomplishments as official opposition during the minority government, and his party's previous leader's broken promises in areas such as Child Care and Pharmacare.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Debates
Duceppe painted the Conservative government's $45 million in national arts and culture funding cuts as an assault on the province's identity, saying "How can you recognize the Quebec nation and then cut culture [funding], which is the soul of a nation?" followed by citing the economic benefits of culture.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Debates
Harper also said he had erred in calling for Canada's participation in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, saying "It was absolutely an error, it's obviously clear", adding that the claim of weapons of mass destruction proved false.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Debates
Commenting on the debate, Layton said that he "thoroughly enjoyed" May's contributions to the debate. Reporter Julie Van Dusen said that Harper managed to take the hits calmly, as "someone must have told him ... if you fight back or get too partisan, you're going to alienate voters, especially women".


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Leaders' Debates, Debates
Duceppe said he was happy to have forced Harper to admit his support of joining the Iraq war in 2003 was a mistake, adding he will use the admission in the campaign as "Exhibit A" that the Conservative leader lacks solid judgment skills, and that Harper was weakened when he confirmed he does not support a refundable tax credit for the manufacturing industry to encourage companies to improve productivity.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Arts
Stephen Harper had cut $45 million from arts funding while in office, a move that drew much criticism from the other leaders and Quebec citizens, with most leaders seeking to restore the funding.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Arts
The Conservatives have stated that the money is being reallocated to other arts and cultural programs, including various official languages projects, the 400th anniversary of Quebec City and projects connected with the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Winter Olympic Games, although the Conservative's refusal to have a parliamentary review of their cuts and for a moratorium on the measures until the House of Commons Heritage Committee had a chance to hold hearings on culture and arts funding has most opposition members calling foul.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Arts
Both Stéphane Dion and Jack Layton have promised to reverse the cut, with Dion also promising to increase funding to Canada Council for the Arts to $360 million, while Layton also promised to bring income averaging for artists to the national level and providing an annual tax exemption of $20,000 for income earned by copyright and residuals, stating that "one of the key things we must do, before we start giving $50-billion tax giveaways to banks and oil companies, is to protect and promote the arts" and "stable, sure and appropriate funding" for CBC/Radio-Canada while also protecting Telefilm Canada and the Canadian Television Fund.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Arts
Harper has said that he believes that the issue is a "niche topic", and that "ordinary Canadians" are not particularly concerned with the issue. A group of Canadian performers, which included Art Hindle, Wendy Crewson and Gordon Pinsent, held a press conference on September 24, saying the cuts would cripple the Canadian arts industry.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Arts
On September 29, Harper unveiled a new tax credit plan worth an estimated $150 million a year to encourage parents to enroll their kids in arts programs like music and drama. The credit will apply on up to $500 of eligible fees for children under 16 who participate in eligible arts activities. Harper said that "[the Conservatives] spend a lot more on culture and arts" but "in a way that we ensure is an effective use of taxpayers' money and ultimately, in this case, benefits families and all of society as well". Harper has come under criticism when the week before he expressed his opinion that "ordinary working people were unable to relate to taxpayer-subsidized cultural elites when they see them at a rich gala on television".


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Alleged Cadman bribe attempt
In early 2008 it was alleged that Independent MP Chuck Cadman of Surrey North, who was terminally ill with cancer at the time, had been offered a million dollar life insurance policy in exchange for voting against the proposed Liberal budget in May 2005, which he turned down. Under section 119 of the Criminal Code, it is illegal to bribe an MP. Accordingly, Opposition Liberal party Intergovernmental Affairs critic Dominic LeBlanc asked the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in February 2008 to investigate this allegation. In May 2008, the RCMP announced that there was not enough evidence to support charges. Cadman died in July. The following month, Harper stated in a court deposition that any such million-dollar offer would have to be authorized by him, and that he did not issue any such authorization. There is currently an ongoing legal battle between the Liberals and the Conservatives over the matter.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Alleged Cadman bribe attempt
On September 24, while campaigning in Surrey North, Stephen Harper's campaign team barred reporters from talking with the local Conservative candidate, Dona Cadman, who is Chuck Cadman's widow. The campaign team called in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and ordered them to "Keep [the reporters] out" while Cadman was taken away by staff.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Alleged Cadman bribe attempt
Harper spokesman Kory Teneycke later stated that he had not seen the incident, but the local candidates did not need to be interviewed, that "Local candidates' priority is campaigning in their local ridings, and not talking to the national media", and that it should be enough that they hold daily news conferences with the party's most prominent members.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Alleged Cadman bribe attempt
The incident has reminded people of Conservative tactics during the 2006 election, where attempts by the media to speak with local candidates were stopped by campaign personnel, especially the Harold Albrecht incident, where campaign officials forced Albrecht to stay in a restaurant kitchen when journalists attempted to interview him.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Alleged Cadman bribe attempt
The Conservatives chose former U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Bruce Koenig to analyze a tape of reporter Tom Zytaruk interviewing Harper on the Cadman bribe attempt. The tape was a key piece of evidence in the ongoing legal battle. On October 10, Koenig announced that the tape had not been altered in any way, contrary to the claims by Stephen Harper that it had been altered.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Canadian involvement in Afghanistan
The ongoing involvement of the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan may also influence voters. Desmond Morton, a political science professor at McGill University suggested that the Conservatives could be blamed for the war because they have extended the mission twice, despite the fact that it was then Liberal Leader Jean Chrétien who was Canada's prime minister when Canada's current military involvement in Afghanistan first started in 2001.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Canadian involvement in Afghanistan
Both the Conservatives and Liberals have at various times agreed to extend the mission(s) to at least 2011, so this may result in some Canadians who are strongly against Canada's ongoing involvement, who might have otherwise typically voted either Liberal or Conservative in the past, to take their votes elsewhere in 2008.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Cities and infrastructure
Toronto Mayor David Miller has spoken out that the parties need to focus more on cities and their infrastructure, stating that 8 out of 10 Canadians live in cities, and that so far only the Green party has revealed a platform on the issue, with a national transit strategy and plans to give cities a permanent revenue source to help fix a growing infrastructure backlog. Miller stated he will not endorse a specific party, but urges people to choose a party that will "help cities thrive". He disagrees with Stephen Harper's opinion that "cities are not of national importance".


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Cities and infrastructure
On September 18, Stéphane Dion pledged to spend more than $70 billion over the next 10 years to improve Canada's infrastructure if elected, and budget surpluses that exceed a $3-billion contingency fund to infrastructure projects, particularly those with a green focus, calling Canada's cities and towns "the engines of our economy". Stephen Harper immediately lashed out at the spending proposal, saying Dion was "promising money no government could afford" and that the Conservative's infrastructure plans "are modest and affordable within the four-year budget we've published".


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Cities and infrastructure
On September 23, Montreal and Toronto mayors Gérald Tremblay and David Miller laid out their demands for urban municipalities, describing cities' current financial problems as a national issue, saying that cities have become the country's economic, social and cultural development engines and need appropriate support, and that they need better "fiscal tools" to continue their role as Canada's economic engines or the country will suffer.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Cities and infrastructure
They listed Homelessness, traffic gridlock, crowded buses and overstretched police departments as just a few of the symptoms, that "These problems are too big and too important to be solved on the backs of property taxpayers" and that "in order to remain competitive, transport goods efficiently and attract new talent, our cities require quality infrastructure, affordable housing and first-rate recreational and cultural facilities". Jean Perrault, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and mayor of Sherbrooke, Quebec, has stated that things like the Federal Gas Tax Fund were an important federal commitment, but that more is needed to tackle cities' overwhelming infrastructure needs.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Cities and infrastructure
On September 29, Layton announced plans to direct one cent per litre of the gas tax, approximately $400 million a year, into transit projects across the country, and direct $350 million from the sale of carbon permits to big polluters, saying that "the major polluters would be the ones paying to make transit greener, not you and your families", and that "fighting climate change requires investing in transit, and that's what our plan does".


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Economy
Polls have suggested that the economy is the major issue going into this election, especially with the resulting high price of gas, along with rising prices of other goods and services, such as food, and the possible impact the current financial crisis may have on Canada. Some experts say that Canada has just narrowly dodged a recession, although the economy is in its worst shape since 1991.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Economy
Both Dion and Harper have said that the others' plans will lead Canada into a recession, while Dion also stated that Harper has "mismanaged a once-booming economy into one with growth dropping to among the lowest of the G8 nations".


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Economy
The Conservatives have stated possible negative consequences that could happen to the economy based on Liberal election promises if they were to be elected. As of September 20, 2008, Liberal election promises have totaled in excess of $80 billion spending over the next decade. In contrast, the cost of programs promised by the Conservatives to date is less than $2 billion annually. Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister, has criticized the Liberal's spending promises, saying they are making "mind-boggling" spending plans that he predicts would send Canada into deficit.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Economy
After the rejection of the proposed bailout of the United States financial system and resulting market fluctuation all over the world, including the Toronto Stock Exchange, Jack Layton called for Harper to call a special meeting for federal party leaders to discuss the potential effects of the U.S economic crisis on Canadians, suggestion the afternoon of October 1, since all leaders would be in Ottawa for the first Leaders' Debate that night.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Economy
A spokesman for Harper later reported that Harper would not call such a meeting, and to save discussion for the Leader's Debate, as "[they] will have an opportunity later this week to debate—not behind closed doors but in front of all Canadians—the issues at stake not [just] for our economy but for our country".


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Economy
Harper later announced that he would ask for the 12 minutes on the economy scheduled for the Leader's Debate to be extended to an hour, citing that the financial crisis affecting the U.S. "has deepened since the debate format was finalized", a change which would require agreement from the other parties in the debate to be approved. The NDP released a statement soon after that they supported the move, while public response has been concerned that other topics such as the environment would not end up with enough time to cover the issue. All the leaders supported the idea, and the opening and closing statements were dropped and the allotted time for the economy extended to 30 minutes without affecting the other topics.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Economy
During the Leaders' Debates Harper repeatedly came under fire for lack of an economic plan in the current time of crisis and while campaigning, and for his lack of ability to explain how he would deal with the current crisis, merely repeating that Canada was unlikely to face such a crisis as he had made "different choices" than the US while in power without being able to explain what those different choices were, as all of his examples were immediately compared to practices done by the Bush administration, and insisted that Canadians "don't panic". In response to mounting pressure from the public, Harper announced on October 3 that he would reveal his party's platform, including economic matters, on October 7, one week before the election.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Environment
Shortly after the election was called, Harper was criticized for using a four-vehicle motorcade that included a van and SUV to travel the 395 m (1,296 ft) across the street from the door of 24 Sussex Drive to the door of Rideau Hall to dissolve parliament. In return, the Conservatives criticized the Liberal party's decision to use a 29-year-old Boeing 737-200 for campaigning, saying that the older airplane's poor fuel efficiency demonstrates hypocrisy on environmental matters. Daniel Lauzon, a spokesperson for the Liberals, denied their airplane was substantially less efficient than the Conservatives' Airbus A319.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Environment
The Tories have been previously criticized for backing out of Canada's commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. Their new plan requires industries to reduce the rate at which they generate greenhouse gases, with a goal of reducing overall emissions by 45 to 65 percent by 2050. The plan has been criticized by groups such as the Sierra Club, who called it "completely inadequate". Criticism has focused on the use of "intensity-based" targets, for which emission reductions are relative to overall production, so overall emissions could potentially increase if production also increases. This is in contrast to a "hard cap" on emissions, for which the overall amount cannot increase. The Conservatives' plan includes a hard cap to begin in 2020 or 2025, while environmental groups have advocated for an immediate hard cap.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Environment
The Liberals have developed a "Green Shift" plan, creating a carbon tax that will be coupled with reductions to income tax rates. The proposal was to tax greenhouse gas emissions, starting at $10 (Canadian) per ton of CO2 and reaching $40 (Canadian) per ton within four years. The plan would engage in revenue recycling by matching the tax with reductions in the income tax. Criticism of the Green Shift plan has focused on its economic effects, with the Conservatives predicting it would cause a "big recession". When pressed by reporters to provide evidence of this impact, Harper "wasn't able to cite a study that specifically modelled the impact of the Liberal Green Shift plan", instead citing an older economic model about the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Environment
One trucking association claimed the Liberal carbon tax plan could put up to 10,000 jobs in jeopardy in Moncton alone. Environmental activist David Suzuki has come out in support of Dion's plan, saying "To oppose [the carbon tax plan], it's just nonsense. It's certainly the way we got to go" and giving an interview explaining why it is the most effective way to solve the environmental crisis.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Environment
The NDP's plan for the environment has focused on emissions trading, claiming their system will decrease greenhouse emissions by 80% by 2050. The plan includes a series of financial incentives to retrofit public transit systems and transition the economy to be "green-collar". The plan would also halt new oil sands development until emissions have been capped. Layton has also criticized the Liberal carbon tax plan, stating it taxes families instead of polluters.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Equalization
Danny Williams, the Progressive Conservative premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, launched a campaign called Anything But Conservative, primarily targeted at Harper and the federal Conservatives. He opposes a Conservative majority, due in part to Harper's promise during the 2006 election to modify the equalization formula to fully share offshore oil revenues with the province, which Williams says Harper has broken, and what Harper has stated he will do with a majority government. Accordingly, all but one member of the provincial PC caucus supported not voting Conservative in this election.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Equalization
Leo Power, a veteran of federal politics and the Conservative Party of Canada's campaign co-chair for Newfoundland and Labrador, said raising money and recruiting volunteers has proved difficult, and blames Williams's ABC campaign, saying it has cut deep into the federal election machine that is struggling to compete. Power has also said his party's best hope of winning a seat in the province is in the riding of Avalon with incumbent candidate Fabian Manning. Manning was defeated by Liberal Scott Andrews, while St. John's East and St. John's South—Mount Pearl, which were represented by Conservatives not running for re-election, were won by the NDP and Liberals, respectively, leaving the Conservatives with no representatives in Newfoundland and Labrador.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Leadership
Since before the election was announced, the Conservative party ran attack ads about Dion, saying he was not a capable leader. Dion criticized the Conservatives for running the ads.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Leadership
On October 9, Stephen Harper called into question the abilities of Liberal leader Dion after footage from the false starts of an interview on CTV Atlantic, and later rebroadcast on Mike Duffy Live, were aired to the public, and criticized Dion's grasp of the English language and the strength of the Liberals' plan for the Canadian economy. In the footage Dion repeatedly failed to understand the conditional perfect construction used by the interviewer in a single repeatedly asked question.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Leadership
The footage shows interviewer Steve Murphy asking Dion the question: "If you were the Prime Minister now, what would you have done about the economy, and this crisis, that Mr. Harper has not done?". Dion had difficulty in understanding the question, repeatedly asking Murphy to clarify if he meant if Dion was Prime Minister now, next Tuesday on election day, last week, last month, 60 weeks ago, or two and a half years ago. Eventually, after three start overs to the interview, Dion responded with what he would do if elected Prime Minister in the future.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Leadership
CTV initially agreed to restart the interviews and not air the false starts but changed their minds and announced that they felt it was their responsibility to show it.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Leadership
Harper responded to the clips by saying that "When you're running a trillion-and-a-half-dollar economy you don't get a chance to have do-overs, over and over again" and "What this incident actually indicates very clearly is Mr. Dion and the Liberal Party really don't know what they would do on the economy", and when told that the difficulties were in part due to English being Dion's second language, Harper said: "I don't think this is a question of language at all. The question was very clear. It was asked repeatedly".


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Leadership
Mark Dunn, a spokesman for Dion, accused the Tories of making fun of the Liberal leader's hearing issues. Dion responded to Harper's comments, saying Harper had "no class", saying "I did not understand the question", and "Maybe it's because I have a hearing problem, maybe because [English is] my second language, but I did not understand the question". Both the Conservatives and the CTV have come under criticism for their handling of the footage, but they have stated they stand by their actions.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Leadership
Duceppe has called Harper's comments a "double standard", saying that many English-speaking politicians have little or no ability to speak French, yet francophones are somehow always expected to be perfect, and that the attack was an attempted "low blow". But Duceppe also took the opportunity to criticise Dion, suggesting he understood the question. "The real question is that I think Dion understood the question. The real problem wasn't the language, it was the substance," Duceppe said, "He had nothing to say". Layton also defended Dion, saying he has "struggled with questions, too".


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Leadership
Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien has come out criticizing Harper's leadership abilities, noting especially Harper's controlling ways with his cabinet ministers, saying he would have quit if former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau had treated him that way, that "Mr. Dion was a minister for nine years.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Leadership
And Mr. Harper arrived there with no experience and it shows", that the phrase 'Tory times are bad times', in use since the 1930s, was still true and that "Harper destroyed 50 years of relationships with China", Canada's second biggest trading partner after the US, noting both past Liberal and Progressive Conservative governments sought to maintain its dealings with the key trading partner. Former Prime Minister Paul Martin has also supported Dion's plans and abilities, and many have noted Dion's ability to get both Chrétien and Martin to support him, despite Chrétien and Martin's ongoing feud.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Listeriosis outbreak
The Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz, who has already been criticized by Canada's food scientists for his handling of the 2008 listeriosis outbreak, has also been criticized for making inappropriate comments, further angering the families of those affected. Ritz had joked about the outbreak while he was on a conference call with scientists and political staffers on August 30, saying the political fallout from the outbreak was "like a death by a thousand cuts, or should I say cold cuts". In addition, when he was informed of a listeriosis-related death in Prince Edward Island, he quipped: "Please tell me it's [Liberal agriculture critic] Wayne Easter". Despite calls for Ritz's resignation from the other parties and the public, Stephen Harper has supported Ritz and rebuffed calls for his resignation.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Listeriosis outbreak
The Public Service Alliance of Canada revealed to the media that the Conservative party plans to cut federal funding to meat inspection programs by $3 million, effectively ending their operation in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Speech plagiarism
On September 30, it was revealed by Bob Rae of the Liberal Party that on March 20, 2003, Stephen Harper had plagiarized a speech that called for troops to be deployed to Iraq to assist the US invasion from Australian Prime Minister John Howard, which Howard had delivered two days before, on March 18.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Speech plagiarism
Following Rae's statement, Harper's spokesman Kory Teneycke dismissed the issue as irrelevant, saying "I'm not going to get into a debate about a five-year-old speech that was delivered three Parliaments ago, two elections ago, when the prime minister was the leader of a party that no longer exists".


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Speech plagiarism
The Canadian Alliance staff member and former Fraser Institute policy analyst, Owen Lippert, who wrote that speech was working on the current election campaign at Conservative campaign headquarters. On September 30, 2008 he issued a statement and resigned as a result of the incident.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Speech plagiarism
Pressed for time, I was overzealous in copying segments of another world leader's speech. Neither my superiors in the Office of the Leader of the Opposition nor the leader of the Opposition was aware that I had done so.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Speech plagiarism
On October 3, there was a second plagiarism allegation from the Liberals, who said that Harper had copied several sentences from a speech by former Ontario premier Mike Harris. Harper denied the allegation, saying "we're talking about a couple of sentences of fairly standard political rhetoric".


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Issues, Speech plagiarism
On October 6, the Conservatives contended that Dion had also committed plagiarism when, as Minister of the Environment in 2005, he went to a United Nations conference on climate change to deliver a speech which had substantial similarities to the executive summary of a year old UN report. The Liberal party did not respond to the plagiarism allegation.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Controversies, Candidates
Chris Reid, the Conservative candidate from Toronto Centre, resigned over controversial statements on his blog, which advocated revising Canadian gun control legislation to legalize concealed carriage of handguns. He was replaced by David Gentili.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Controversies, Candidates
The Conservatives apologized after an aide to Pontiac candidate Lawrence Cannon told Aboriginal protesters that they were free to meet with Cannon "if you behave and you're sober and there's no problems and if you don't do a sit down and whatever".


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Controversies, Candidates
Liberal candidate Simon Bédard was also asked to resign after he reiterated his 1990 comments, suggesting that lethal force should have been used in the Oka Crisis.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Controversies, Candidates
Liberal candidate Lesley Hughes was dropped by the Liberal Party after making controversial comments about the September 11, 2001 attacks. She continued to campaign as an independent, though she appeared as a Liberal on the ballot.


2008 Canadian federal election, Election campaign, Controversies, Candidates
Andrew McKeever, an NDP candidate in Durham, announced on October 3 that he would resign from the election campaign after it was revealed that he had posted comments on Facebook in which he called one war activist a "fascist bitch" and threatened to beat up another person. Mr. McKeever wrote comments peppered with expletives and calling the operators of a war resister website "Nazis." McKeever was also quoted as saying "I like the part in Schindler's List when the guard starts waxing the prisoners." McKeever's decision to drop out of the race came with just over a week left in the campaign, meaning his name would remain on the ballot. One week before the publication of McKeever's resignation, NDP leader Jack Layton defended McKeever and refused to make him step down.