What's your reaction to today's federal election call?
Two topics today...
First: the federal election. Prime Minister Stephen Harper fired the starting pistol for the start of the official election campaign today. What's your reaction to today's federal election call?
Then: roadtrips. Summer is the perfect time to plan a road trip. But Canadians are not driving across the country like we used to, according to a new report on domestic travel. Is this the end of the road for the great Canadian road trip?
Are you taking long road trips this summer? What's your favourite destination?
With guest host Rick Cluff in Vancouver.
GUESTS
TWITTER & EMAIL
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INTRODUCTION
They're off on an 11 week race. Today Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with Governor General David Johnston at Rideau Hall Sunday morning and asked for the dissolution of Parliament to make way for the election.
Now it does feel as though we've been in election mode for quite a while already. But today we'd like to know your thoughts on this day one of the official race.
It's going to be a long campaign ...about twice the length of other recent election races. And some pundits say it will be the longest campaign in Canadian history.
Is this a good thing? Does it give the leaders more time to discuss the issues that are most important to Canadians?
Are you ready for 11 weeks of political debate and jockeying for attention?
What are the issues you want to hear debated in the lead up to the Oct 19th polling day?
Later in the show we will turn to another topic on this first summer Sunday in August: road trips.
Piling into the car for a getaway has always had a special appeal on this continent, where you can travel for days in one direction without hitting an ocean, crossing mountains and prairies, thousands of miles of exquisite beauty.
According to a new report from the conference board of Canada all this may just be going the same way as the mix tapes we used to blast from the stereo.
It seems Canadians are just not taking long road trips like we used to. Later in the show, we want to know: Do Canada's highways and backroads still hold an appeal to you? Have you taken a long road trip in the last while ...or are you planning to? We'd like to know where you've been and where you might be going.
But first off the bat we're talking election time. we want to know What is your reaction to today's official federal election call.
I'm Rick Cluff ...on CBC Radio One ...and on Sirius XM, satellite radio channel 169 ...this is Cross Country Checkup.
GUESTS
Federal election call
Rosemary Barton
CBC National reporter on Parliament Hill
Lydia Miljan
Associate Professor of political science at University of Windsor. Co-author of several books including Hidden Agendas: How Journalists Influence the News and Public Policy in Canada
Janice MacKinnon
Former Finance Minister of Saskatchewan under NDP Premier Roy Romanow. Now professor of History and Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.
Road trips
Greg Hermus
Associate Director of the Canadian Tourism Research Institute
Claudia Laroye
Travel expert and blogger at TravellingMom.ca -- on the road to Kootenay National Park
Mark Richardson
Freelance automotive journalist and author of Canada's Road: A Journey on the Trans-Canada Highway from St. John's to Victoria
LINKS
CBC.ca
Globe and Mail
National Post
Huffington Post Canada
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The Ultimate Canadian Road Trip, As Determined By An Algorithm
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Great Road Trips Ideas In Canada: 9 Routes To Get You Pumped For The Summer
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Trans-Canada Cup Run Time-Lapse Video Shows Epic Cross-Country Trip
Los Angeles Times
Ten ways to turn a drive into a road trip
The Obsessively Detailed Map of American Literature's Most Epic Road Trips