This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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NDP sweeps Liberals into the dustbin to become Official OppositionStephen Harper celebrates his first majority victory in Calgary (Left: Photograph Gavin Young, Calgary Herald)
The results are decisive. The Stephen Harper Conservatives have a majority for the next 4.5 years.
That’s how our democracy works and last night it worked very well.
Harper has won the right to lead Canada.
Some are predicting the end of the Canada they know it; however, even a majority doesn’t allow politicians to move the country in any direction more than incrementally.
The Government of Canada is a massive institution that resists change.
Harper won by appealing as a centrist with right leanings.
His desire to stay in power for another term plus an active Opposition will keep him from implementing the political theories he espoused in his younger days.
Results
The Conservatives won 167 seats in the House of Commons with 39.6% of the popular vote says Elections Canada.
Despite naysayers to the contrary, that’s a win in Canadian democracy. The people have spoken and given Stephen Harper the Prime Minister’s job.
The big upset of the evening was the NDP under Jack Layton who made history by winning 102 seats with 30.6% of the popular vote.
That makes Layton the most successful NDP leader in Canada.
The Liberals went down to ignominious defeat along with the Bloc Québécois. Liberals won only 34 seats, the lowest number in my memory, with 18.9% of the ballots.
The Bloc got wiped off the map of Quebec by the NDP losing all but 4 seats.
Both the Liberals and Bloc lost their leaders in the election. Duceppe resigned and Ignatieff will have to follow him sooner or later.
Brand new day
Today is a brand new day and tomorrow will be another. We wake up and do our jobs just like any other day.
Our success and happiness in life does not depend on the election results, unless we’re in politics which is very small number of Canadians.
I’ve lived during three major Conservative Prime Ministers: John Diefenbaker, Brian Mulroney and now Stephen Harper.
Those years were some of the best in my life, mainly because I was living it the way I wanted and achieving personal goals and success.
For Conservatives this is a day of pride but also one of increased responsibility. The Opposition and press will be vigilant in pointing out their mistakes.
Jack Layton and the NDP will have to organize all those new members and create a positive Opposition. I’m sure Jack Layton has the leadership skills to manage that.
The Liberals and Bloc have the hard tasks ahead. Some expect the Liberals to merge with the NDP. Pride and power will block that move but it seems they should merge or otherwise disappear off the political map.
By Stephen Pate, NJN Network
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The words “dramatic” and “Canadian election” seldom go together.
Even Canadians are mostly bored by their politics, other than spikes of interest when Quebeckers vote on whether to separate from the rest of Canada (the last time: 16 years ago. Answer: a close “no”) or the occasional election fought over more than just the spoils of power (probably not since 1988, when they voted, essentially, on whether to sign a free-trade agreement with the United States. Answer: a grudging “yes”).