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Election launch quick quotes
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Prime Minister Paul Martin leaves Rideau Hall in Ottawa with his wife Sheila, Tuesday, Nov. 29. (CP Photo/Tom Hanson)
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"I just want to say a few brief words to you all before you head back to your ridings to get fitted for snowshoes."
— Liberal Leader Paul Martin to the MPs in his caucus after losing the no-confidence vote, Nov. 28, 2005.
"This is not just the end of a tired, directionless, scandal-plagued government. It's the start of a bright new future for this great land."
— Conservative Leader Stephen Harper after the no-confidence vote bringing down the government, Nov. 28, 2005
"The government was defeated and an election has been called because the Liberals under Paul Martin have lost the necessary moral authority to govern. Because of Liberal corruption and the sponsorship scandal, a new election campaign was unavoidable."
— Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe, Nov. 29, 2005
"I think it’s very clear that the Liberals have not earned people’s votes. It’s the New Democrats who, with a small caucus, have shown what can be done."
— New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton, Nov. 28, 2005
"A minority Parliament means the opposition can force an election whenever it chooses. In this case, I believe ambition has overwhelmed common sense. I know most of us don't want a campaign over the holiday season. However, the Conservatives and the separatist Bloc, working with the NDP, have decided we'll have one — as is their right."
— Martin after meeting with the Governor General, Nov. 29, 2005
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Conservative Leader Stephen Harper delivers his election statement in front of the House of Commons in Ottawa, Tuesday, Nov. 29. (CP Photo/Fred Chartrand)
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"While ordinary Canadians have worked hard, paid their taxes, and played by the rules, the Liberals have been preoccupied by damage control, lurching from one scandal to another, recklessly promising to spend money and desperately trying to avoid the people's verdict. But no longer. Last night, the government lost the confidence of the House of Commons, and now it's your turn. On January the 23rd, you will finally be able to hold the Liberals accountable."
— Harper after Parliament is dissolved and an election date is set, Nov. 29, 2005
"Last week, we offered a sensible, common-sense compromise to start the election in January, but Mr. Martin said no. Parliament stopped functioning. We say Canadians can get Parliament working again. Here's how to do that: Elect more New Democrats."
— Layton, Nov. 29, 2005
"The Gomery report tells us that the Liberal party brought dishonour upon itself by instituting a system of kickbacks and that it violated democratic rules. However, Judge Gomery did not have the mandate to sanction the Liberal Party of Canada. The voters of Canada will have that mandate."
— Duceppe, Nov. 29, 2005
"We will fight for a Canada where no one is left behind. [The opposition parties] have nothing good to say — nothing to build on."
— Martin, Nov. 28, 2005
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NDP Leader Jack Layton and his wife Olivia Chow on the campaign bus, Ottawa, Tuesday, Nov. 29. (CP Photo/Andrew Vaughan)
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"We need a national government that reflects the greatness of this country. A government paralyzed by scandal cannot turn its attention to the people's business."
— Harper, Nov. 29, 2005
"Friends, this election is wide open. This election is wide open because Canadians have a real, a positive, and a progressive choice; the option to choose a real alternative to the Liberal broken promises and Conservative wrong-headedness."
— Layton, Nov. 29, 2005
"Paul Martin continues to practise patronage and camouflage… With the billions of dollars of spending announced before the campaign, Liberals are trying to buy voters with their own money, just as they did with the sponsorship program."
— Duceppe, Nov. 29, 2005
"Under a Liberal government, Canada has gone from pauper to powerhouse."
— Martin, Nov. 29, 2005.
"The Liberals will continue to campaign the same way that they always have, by spreading fear, by spreading lies and by making billions of dollars in promises that they will never keep. We will offer hope and we will make realistic promises that we will honour… I think hope beats fear 90 per cent of the time."
— Harper, Nov. 29, 2005
"You're not in prison — you're not imprisoned by the old dynamics forever."
— Layton, Nov. 29, 2005
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Gilles Duceppe in Ottawa, Tuesday.
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"It's like a thief who cries 'Fire!' in a crowded restaurant so that when no one is looking, he can clean out the cash register."
— Harper predicting the Liberals will run a fear campaign, Nov. 28, 2005
"We will fight to move our country forward, not backward. That is our pledge. And now, let's get out and spread the word."
— Martin, Nov. 28, 2005
"We'll support what's good for Quebec and we will oppose what's not good for Quebec. We always acted like that."
— Duceppe, Nov. 29, 2005
"We've seen the Gomery report, we heard the Gomery testimony, we've heard testimony of reports of money-laundering, kickbacks, brown envelopes of illegal cash, threats and intimidation. And this went on for years. I don't think I need to say more. That's the definition of organized crime where I come from, but I'll at least give them boldness for trying to pretend it never happened."
— Harper, Nov. 29, 2005
"I really do believe that during the holidays, when Canadians sit down to sip hot chocolate, the last thing they want to see is a politician on the TV screen or at the door."
— Martin, Nov. 29, 2005
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