Finally, a poll with some movement
Well, well... this is interesting. The most recent polling aggregate is showing an over nine point lead for the NDP over the Tories:
If this keeps up, we may have broken the about-equal trend we've been seeing since this thing got underway. Time will tell. Also... while I still don't think a majority is in any way likely, it is interesting that the NDP's "High" seat projection is starting to tickle up against majority territory.
Liberals to run deficits until 2019
Justin Trudeau today announced that a Liberal government would run modest (under $10 billion) deficits for its first three years in power, then balance the budget by 2019. The spending is intended to support infrastructure projects and to try to pull the country back from recession.
You can read about it here.
What's notable is that, of the three major parties, only the Grits are willing to entertain the notion of deficit. The received wisdom has become that you need to run a surplus, or you're managing the economy poorly (I tend to think that's BS, but whatever). Keynesianism has been out of fashion since the Tories took over (despite their massive Keynesian spending during the 2008 recession... but never mind that). So this is risky; it goes against what voters have been told since at least 2006... maybe even 1993. It may pay off, though, if it comes across as more truthful or realistic.
I mean... the NDP is saying they'll balance the budget right out of the gate, without explaining how they'll do it in a recession. And the Tories are absolutely, categorically denying that we have a deficit right now, which is dubious at best.
Of course, none of this really matters. It's all rhetoric and positioning at this point, since no party has released a fully-costed plan, yet. The NDP are trying to show how fiscally conservative they can be to reassure centre-right voters in Ontario; the Tories are trying to show that, yes, they've managed things beautifully and everyone should just keep trusting them; and the Liberals are trying to differentiate themselves from the other parties, maybe pick up some votes on the NDP's left, and present themselves as the realistic alternative.
But until they release costed plans? It's all just wind and hot air.
Correction
I made a little oopsie in the first post of this thread. I provided links to what I called "Party Platforms." Those aren't actually platforms; those are just party policies or principles on their websites. The platforms haven't been released yet. I've corrected the wording on the original post, and I'll provide links to the actual platforms when they come out. Sorry about that.
) in a way offensive tweets clearly aren't.