YES! I do. The country is ready for a government that actually listens to people. Dion is the guy to do it, and Harper is only concerned about how to mess up the country without making it look like he's doing that.

I was so impressed with the calliber of all the candidates. I've always voted new democrate partly because Jack is in my riding.
But I was so heartened to see such credible compassionate candidates. I have John Mayer's 'waiting for the world to change' as my internal soundtrack these days. My 11 year old daughter watched the whole debate and read all the papers the next day. Very excting. Beat Harpur? YOU BET!

Well, Dion may be able to beat Harper, but will he beat Layton?

I don't think that Stephane Dion can beat Harper. I am not a Liberal supporter so I am very glad that the Liberals have gone back to an Old School Liberal just like the ones that got ousted in the last election. Canadians will not forget all the fraud, theft and complete mismanagement that the Liberals were convicted of. By choosing a leader that is from this group of corrupt Liberals they have doomed themselves to loosing the next election.

I feel Stephane Dion will be a true asset to Canada and I can hardly waite for a federal election to get Harper out of there. As a gay man Harper is going to do his best to remove same sex marriage.

Harper is progressing from one screw-up to the next: and he's back-tracked on the environment and basic human rights, especially in the cases of First Nations people (did he think calling Quebec a nation would reduce the priovince to the desperate straits of our First Nations?) and gays. He's a thick little reactionary and Dion will make the gulf between them clear "” and be our next PM.

Not in the early going. He has too much baggage to shed and too much team building to do, particularly if Harper calls an early election. Whatever happened to political leaders with charisma?

Who cares about charisma? Stephane Dion strikes me as a pretty genuine guy. I'm sure he has his baggage but i think it would be pretty unfair to paint him with the all the past sins of the liberal party because he was in cabinet. I don't know about you, but I've worked for some pretty bad bosses and I did not share their lack of integrity. Besides, who says the conservatives are so lilly white? Peter MacKay and David Orchard.... need I say more?

Why are we focused on two men? I thought we should be discussing party policies not some sports game?

At first I thought you meant Celine Dion and I wondered what kind of a contest she and Steven Harper were going to be in? Will it be held in Las Vegas? Will they both sing the same songs?

I don't think Dion can turn things around - at least during the next election. The economy's doing well, and taxpayers are starting to enjoy having a chance to pay less tax under Harper. Dion's big strength is supposedly the environment, but most people will surely remember that the Liberals did little to actually fight pollution during their extended time at the helm. Some of the other issues, such as Quebecois as a Nation, won't be issues, either, as virtually everyone in Ottawa supported them.

Yes, the Liberals may make some headway under Dion, but I don't see Harper losing for a while...

Yes I think Dion can beat Harpeer. Dion is a man of principle and if he can get some of the other candidates for the leadership to run in the next election he will present a strong team. Also he will be looked on as the "green" leader (unlike Harper) and will likely pull in some votes from the Green Party which while I admire them have no hope of forming a government in the next several decades at least.

Yes I think Dion can beat Harper. Having met Dion in 2001, I was very impressed with his insight, his ability to listen, his ability to gently challenge, his convictions. Right now we have a government whose only concern is cutting programmes and lowering taxes. They have no vision for Canada.

Stephane Dion to me, represents the new balance that we require.

Harper is very pro-economic growth, but how much economic prosperity do we need? We all have cars, homes, food - we wallow in prosperity compared to the rest of the globe. It's always been a matter of sharing more equitably, not getting more to fill the oil company coffers. There's an old Alberta farm saying...pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.

As a parent, I am more and more concerned about the legacy we are leaving our children and the values that we are expressing as a society - I would sooner have less material abundance and a more balanced, stable society. I can't imagine raising my child in a gated community like I saw in Dallas - the polarization of social groups and the disappearance of the middle class is the result of rapid economic growth, all flowing to limited coffers, as it does here too - not sure I want it.

Today Harper is going to make a serious mistake. While Canadians may have been mixed about granting rights to gay marriage, actively REMOVING those rights once they have been granted is a completely different story. Meanwhile Dion is talking about respect for people.

For the first time in my life, I have joined a political party because, while I had great respect for the past PC parties, this new Conservative Party scares me. The muzzling of ministers and MPs is only the beginning - if he muzzles the most powerful elected people in the country, and removes already previously granted rights - what will he do next?

I think it's way too early to tell. It's also hard to say if the people have forgiven the liberals for the sponsorship scandal yet. I'm not the biggest fan of the Liberal party, and Dion's record on the environment don't quite meet up with his rhetoric.

Exactly! Yes, we need to do more to live in a green lifestyle, but Kyoto? We simply cannot afford to wreck our economy by following this Acoord. If we could do it without pain, the Liberals, including Dion, would have made the changes necessary to get us up to Kyoto standards...instead of just talking about it for years, and doing virtually nothing!

This whole environmental thing bugs me, in that so many of us seem to want the government to magically fix the environment, while most of us can't even be bothered to give up our SUVs for public transit! It's hypocritical.

Hey, I thought we were supposed to separate church and state! Or was that state and church...I can't remember. Anyway, should we sing O'Canada in church or say the Lord's prayer in schools? This should be a whole new post, shouldn't it?
Personally, I'd like to go to Stephan's church and see if he'd legislate prayer back into public schools. THAT would stir up the vote.
Merry Christmas...I-I-I mean Happy Holidays.

Gee..that's an objectively-phrased poll question - not! Why are you assuming Harper should be beaten? Could you possibly be missing the previous regime's arrogance at presuming that it is the only Natural Governing Party for Canada?

To Just Wonderin:
What country are you in? The preface to the Constitution includes a reference to the deity and it's referred to on Canadian coins. ("D.G.") Adherents, or members, of a a particular political idea should not be disqualified from also claiming a faith perspective - the Constitution protects that person - even a person who doesn't claim any political persuasion - or the 'wrong' one - ha!

Yes, I do and he will. Stephane cares about the environment and we must too. This is refreshing to see his focus and I believe we must get behind him 100%. He will no doubt have Kennedy, Dryden, Brison, Hall-Findlay etc there to support. The West will do well with Kennedy supporting Dion. I believe it is a good thing for Canada and a good thing for the Liberal Party of Canada.

I look forward to a great spring and maybe a summer election.

Prime Minister Harper is a Conservative. What does that mean? Websters Dictionary defines Conservatism as The disposition to preserve what is established. Real conservatives try to preserve God in the Constitution and in Parliament and the ones I know, love the Lord and do their best to give Him the glory in all that they do. Websters Dictionary describes Liberalism and Libertines as such, Liberalism is the disposition to change or reform what is established (ie take God out of the Constituion and Parliament and be lax in towards the commandments of God), while Libertines are defined as those who lack moral or sexual restraint, etc (they are free thinkers who head in the opposite direction of God). Prime Minister Harper recognizes the two major things that will destroy our nation and the blessings of God - they are godlessness and lawlessness! Prime Minister Harper is re-aligning government attitudes in Ottawa by giving God due respect. Just what this country needs at this time. Remember liberal views conflict with righteous living and holiness as set out in the scriptures. Jesus is coming soon!

Let us not forget to respect our leadership, even if we do not agree with them. I did so with Jean Chretien and Paul Martin, and will continue to do so in the future, reagrdless of who wins.
I am a Conservative Party member, and tend to generally agree with their policy. I am not a fan of AGW alarmism, and think a "lack of action" on CO2 emmissions is quite frankly the right way to go...
Right now Stephane Dion just seems rather populist in his embracing of AGW. This is probably why he won the leadership, and perhaps why he could become the next PM.
He certainly will not have my vote, but I will respect his service to the country if and when he ever becomes PM.

Minority governments do not fet much done. Most of the things that are in the mill will drop if the government is brough down early in the new year. The question to be asked is, How many minority governments can Canada take befor coming apart?

It is true to say that minority governments get little done - but they do get some very useful stuff done, because there is a lot more input taken from the other parties (at least one of the other). We see this in every bill that is passed, as one party alone can not assure this. Therefore the quality is useually there (compared to when majority governments are in place).

hmmm harper looks at little evil to me! he always has that evil smirky grin on his face. but i really like the concervatives. so i don't really know who i would pick. but i'd probably just go with harper

Hope so!!!!!!!!!

Hope so!!!!!!!!!

I hope not I think people should give Stephen Harper a chance to see what he can do with a majority government. As with a minority it is hard to get anything passed through parliament. As for Dion he probably will try to make the rest of Canada join Quebec and change the name of Canada to a French name.