POLITICS: An Atlantica Party? An idea from Newfoundland that could give us more power in Ottawa!! What do you think?

From Web Talk – Newfoundland and Labrador.

…why not support 4 new independent, provincially centered parties, in Atlantic Canada?

Why shouldn’t there be a New Brunswick party, Nova Scotia Party, PEI party and a Newfoundland & Labrador party that the people can get behind? Hell, even a seperate Newfoundland party and a Labrador party if that’s what it takes to gain support.

Electing provincially focused parties would guarantee that the MPs elected could deliver the message of their constituents to Ottawa, not Ottawa’s message to their constituents. The addition of the new parties, strongly supported, to the federal system would make it almost impossible for any mainsteam party to win a majority government in the future. In fact, knowing the mindset of most politicians, it would probably lead to a little vote pandering down east, in the hope of stealing back some of the provincially controlled seats. That in itself could see positive change for the future of the region.

With a perpetual minority government almost guaranteed, each of the smaller provinces would potentially hold the swing votes required to pass federal legislation, giving them real bargaining power in Ottawa.

Loose coalitions between the individual Atlantic parties and even some of the larger parties would also allow them to vote as a group on issues where common ground exists. This would, under mutually beneficial circumstances, allow those provinces to wield 32 parliamentary votes, or more, rather than the paltry number now elected in each Province and controlled by the national party leadership.

Currently Atlantic Canada has very little sway in Ottawa and no way of changing the federal system but by working together in this way the 4 provinces can retain their individuality and still alter the face of Canadian politics, from within the current structure, in a way that allows them to finally have a voice.

Thanks Patriot