Dead Centre : Hope, Possibility, and Unity for Canadian Progressives

by Jamey Heath

• ISBN13: 9780470739518
• ISBN10: 0470739517
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2009-12-01
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

A provocative and inspired call to unite progressives in Canada and shift the political landscape. The Liberal Party is down, and might not be able to get back up. It is no longer a natural governing entity after losing Quebec for seven straight elections. Stephen Harper's policies have been controversial and polarizing, especially for left leaning Conservatives. There are people on both sides who want Canada to get past this mollified partisanship. The alternative is to take back the centre and charge forward with a progressive agenda. What about the environment? What about our foreign policy? Canada can once again stand tall in the eyes of the world and in the eyes of its own citizens. Our nation was once a beacon for centrist, sensible, and level-headed policy. Do the Liberals speak for true Canadian values anymore? They don't. Will the Conservatives stand firm for Canada in a globalized economy. They won't. Is the status quo good enough for you? How do we get back to a place where Canada leads in those areas that Canadians feel passionate about? Author of Dead Centre, Jamey Heath, watched the left fracture before his eyes when he was the NDP's lead strategist from 2003 to 2006. In his book Jamey calls to account the leading lights of the left. He challenges assumptions and revisits the defeats and the squabbles. He then sounds a clarion call to regroup and tackle our nations' challenges. With refreshing, contrarian insight Heath will find a significant audience among Liberals, Greens, New Democrats and the growing number of politically minded -- but party neutral -- progressives that want sensible leadership and a renaissance of Canadian nationhood. Dead Centre is printed on biodegradeable paper with environmentally friendly inks.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Minority Parliament And The 2006 Election

To and From a Dingy Room

"The Budget's Priorities are Conservative Ones."

Scandal Costs Us The Bloc

Omigod!

Tom d'Aquino Asks for His Money Back

The Pantomime Victory

Pressure from Montreal's Gay Village

Trudeau and the Troglodytes

John A. Macdonald, Rene Levesque and the race

Events in a Progressive Summer

Ghosts of Springs Past

A Clumsy Dance

The Winter Guillotine Falls

Class War: Tories versus Tommy

Seven Elections That Write Politics' New Rules

The Hegemony Mirage

Go West

Wrong Kind of Blue State

Alberta and the Betamax Lesson

The No Logo Divide

Andre Biosclair's Global Generation

No More Crumbs

Rethinking Progressive

Appendix

Acknowledgements

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.