In what may be the biggest foray of an entertainer into politics since Governor Schwarzenegger and President Reagan, William Shatner is eyeing the office of Canada's Prime Minister. The odds are that this idea he put forth in a letter will never gestate into truth, but wouldn't it be cool if it did? Canada would be led by Captain Kirk. Talk about major bragging rights. I know I'd be jealous.I love that he declined the role of Governor General in Canada because he feels he'd be a better Prime Minister. It's typical Shatner to only want the top spot. That's what made him such an iconic starship captain.
Seriously, it's not a bad idea. Boston Legal is done. Chris Pine is taking over the role that made him famous. Priceline.com can only film so many commercials. The man has a lot of spare time on his hands. I say go for it.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-26-2009 @ 10:13AM
Michael said...
sir, what do you think of this budget...Make it so number one, um sir...my name is tim
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2-26-2009 @ 10:25AM
Mike said...
Wrong series, Kirk never used "Number One" in his life. How about "We.. need ... more... money!!" "We're giving her all we've got, sair!"
2-26-2009 @ 10:50AM
John Truong said...
It doesn't work that way in Canada. You don't run for the position of Prime Minister directly the way Americans can run for president. The country is split up into ridings that each have one seat in the House of Commons. When we have elections, each riding elects someone from one of the parties to go take a seat in the House. The party that has the most seats forms the government and the leader of that party becomes the Prime Minister.
There are exceptions like coalitions and stuff, but don't worry about them.
For Shatner to become Prime Minister here, he has to join one of the parties and when the current leader of that party resigns or dies, he can run to be the leader of that party. That election is voted on by the party members, sort of (delegates, party conventions, yadda yadda yadda). Once he becomes leader of the party, he has to wait until the next election and hopefully people hate the government enough to make his party the government. It's a tough process.
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2-26-2009 @ 10:38AM
Isabelle Carreau said...
Governor General may not be the top dog position but in a way it is as when the Prime Minister wants to go in election, for example, he must ask the Governor General the permission, etc. The GG position doesn't hold much power but the tiny powers it has are rather important. It's a position many Canadians want to see abolish since it's archaic and not that useful. The GG is the Queen's representative in the country. Each province has a Lieutenent-Governor General.
There are a few actors or famous people in office, either provincially or federally. I'm pretty sure that Shatner would get elected based on the fact people know him.
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2-26-2009 @ 10:42AM
Mike Farrell said...
Governor General is the number 1 spot in the country, Canada being a constitutional monarchy, the Queen is the head of state. The PM is like the Majority Leader in Congress with slightly more authority.
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2-26-2009 @ 4:18PM
Tim-1 said...
Mike....That was hilarious!!!!
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2-27-2009 @ 1:20PM
Argus said...
The Queen only kind of appoints our GG. The Prime Minister says who he wants and the Queen appoints them.
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2-27-2009 @ 5:22PM
Brent McKee said...
If Shatner wants to be Prime Minister of Canada he not only has to join one of the political parties and become its leader, he also has to live in Canada for more than six months a year. Otherwise he can't even vote (the exceptions being members of the military and the diplomatic service).
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3-01-2009 @ 12:52AM
R said...
Prime Minister or "fat Face Minister".
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4-26-2009 @ 11:25AM
Canuck said...
Whether Captain Kirk treks for PM or just dematerializes into the backbench ether is a final frontier yet to be breached. On a more down to earth issue, the Governor General post needs to be abolished and Canada should adopt the French Presidential system. The Governor General post has degenerated into a retirement perk for CBC minority anchor women (Adrienne Clarkson, Michaelle Jean). President Harper has a nice ring to it.
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