Did my civic duty today

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Well, I just got back from voting for the Canadian federal election. I'm not sure my vote matters in my riding, but people around the world are fighting and dying for the privilege, so I voted.

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Not yet

tmf's picture

I didn't vote yet. My choice not stop, so no anticipation vote for me, I will wait to the second of may. My mind might be set by that time.
But Yes I Will Vote.

Ridings....

An electorial district mapped out across Canada for purposes of voting in an election - in this case, an upcoming Federal election.

PB

Would that be comparable to

Would that be comparable to a voting district, borough, etc. centered around a specific polling location? How did it get that name? Have anything to do with a distance convenient for "riding" over in order to vote and return, or is there a different tradition behind it?

CaroL

CaroL

Riding

erin's picture

Riding is from a very old Norse word meaning "one third" and referred to divisions of counties. Yorkshire, the historic English county, was long ago divided into three ridings and remained so until recently when different boundaries were drawn.

In Canada the official usage is "electoral district" in English, riding is just what people and newspapers say. In French it's something else, something like "circonspection" but the common word is comté, meaning county. Originally, the electoral districts were counties but were later divided, so both usages make sense.

Hugs,
Erin

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

ridings

its like a congressional district. Each riding will elect one member of Parliament, and the party with the most members gets to try and form a government. What makes that fun is that in most ridings have at least three parties to choose from, so a minority government is very possible. Riding size is based on population, so they can be small in a large city like Toronto, or very large like in the Yukon.

Dorothycolleen

DogSig.png

What makes it even more fun

What makes it even more fun is that the 2nd place party can form the government too, assuming they hold the confidence of the house. I'm getting tired of people treating "coalition" like it's a dirty word. It's a legitimate form of government. =/

Good For You!

jengrl's picture

PICT0013_1_0.jpg It's great that you voted today. I feel that if you don't vote, you have no right to complain about your elected officials. Too many soldiers have died for us not to exercise the right we have been given by their sacrifice. Some people may think their vote doesn't matter, but there have been a few elections that were decided by very slim margins.

PICT0013_1_0.jpg

Swboda

That is Polish for freedom. One of the things I leasrned this Passover is that we must fight for truth and freedom because it is the "Festival of Freedom." By you voting in Canada you helped to protect my freedom here in the United States. By voting in Canada you made the deaths opposing autocratic rule in the Middle East and throught the word meaningful. Unfortunately these deaths are nessary. No one who decides to force us what to do will leave quietly.

shalimar