07 12 19	R.O. 66.186.79.123
Well this northern riding has been solidly liberal for years was even home to liberal PM at one time but that was years ago . and in the last election the ndp came close here and even the conservatives did better than expected and better than provincial results for same riding . but realistically race is between liberals and ndp here . unsure if forestry problems would have an affect here or help ndp but libs still have strong mp in Brent St Denis, say too close to call for now.
	07 09 25	Eugene.B 24.109.124.151
I am calling an NDP win when the next federal election is called. Carol Hughes, won the NDP riding nomination and she is no longer an unknown. Last election she came 1,409 votes from taking this riding from Mr. St. Denis. I think, with her name being known from the last election, Mr. St. Denis, should be worried.
	07 05 02	PY 70.51.151.97
I will agree with you on two points you raised, A.S.: the Island going Liberal, which as I came to know it, was helped a bit with a little buzz about the FPNP from Wikwemikong and secondly, about Ian West's candidacy for the Tories. As far as I knew, he was ‘that guy from Windsor with the cottage’ and didn't endear himself to the electorate as he hoped (I came to know of him when I was studying at the University of Windsor). Not everyone's been left with the feeling that Brent has ignored us...he's come through with funding (FedNor and otherwise) on a number of occasions and surprisingly was able to secure for Espanola a very modest portion of gas tax money from the Martin government. I believe the sting of the sponsorship scandal made people think twice about their vote in last year's campaign, but it'll be events such as the ones I mentioned before that may well keep things close away from the Island and the Blind River-Elliot Lake-Espanola triangle and I've also suggested places that could be in play (Chapleau, too, if you will), so it won't be a slam dunk. Even though no one I know at home was tempted by the NDP, there are undoubtedly those who are considering them...just how many will make that leap and whether there are enough of them is the question.
	07 04 24	A.S. 74.99.222.209
Yes, maybe you can't see a ?large-scale electoral shift?, but look at the stats: now, even a *small*-scale shift can take the Liberals out. So, fourteen years of hard constituency work in the land of Mike Pearson and Moe Foster, and that's the thanks you get? And an even stranger thing happened from '04 to '06: thanks to a weaker Tory candidate (and a bolstered Wikwemikong reserve vote), the traditional Tory stronghold of Manitoulin swung *to* the Grits. In fact, if not for Manitoulin plus advance polls, this'd be an NDP seat now. Yes, Mike Pearson's seat. NDP. And given the history of provincial representation (think Bud Wildman, etc), it isn't like it should be surprising or anything. Main catch now, beyond whatever may happen to the relative Liberal/NDP poll numbers, is whether the Northern Dippers get overly distracted by the apparent dead-cert open-seat pickups in Nickel Belt and TB-SN...
	07 04 23	PY 70.51.143.224
I'm going to stick my neck out and predict another win from Brent St. Denis despite the aftermath of Domtar's merger with a division of U.S. paper giant Weyerhauser which led to the closure of the sawmill at Nairn Centre and layoffs at the Espanola mill. Emotions might be high enough for some to vote for the NDP in protest, but I feel cooler heads will prevail and I still don't see a large-scale electoral shift coming from my generation to tilt this enough for the NDP to win. But then again, I could be proven wrong by places like Wawa, Manitouwadge and Kapuskasing. Whoever the NDP's candidate is, he/she will need to work very hard to win because Brent has worked very hard for his constituents since taking the reins from Maurice Foster. Most people aren't going to forget that unless the NDP candidate is a compelling one or Layton makes another trip up here and is successful in convincing voters that Brent's time is up. A close win for Brent.
	07 04 03	Dr Bear & Prof Ape 70.54.68.180
With Grit numbers down against the Torys, and a Liberal/NDP race that was tight last time, a small pull from the CPC may allow the NDP to narrowly take this one. One to watch.