Oh, Canada!
After a dozen years the Liberal Party of Canada has become number two in the Canadian parliamentary elections to the Conservatives, but the Conservatives did not win a majority of the 308 seats, so they will form a minority government. To truly be in control you need 155 seats, assuming one of your members will become the non-voting Speaker of Parliament.
The CBC has an analysis of the possible methods the Conservatives will be using to govern. I wouldn’t wait with baited breath for any sweeping changes in policies because the Conservatives will need total party discipline and 31 extra votes to pass anything.
The Conservatives won 124 seats, the Liberals – 103, Bloc Québécois – 51, the New Democratic Party – 29, and one independent won a seat in Quebec. The sole independent candidate who won a seat was André Arthur, a Quebec shock jock whose mouth cost his station its license.
For a listing of all of the registered parties in our northern neighbors drop by this site, and for a Canadian view of what happened read the CBC commentary on the “urban-rural” and East-West splits.
This election can be summarized as people annoyed with the arrogance of the previous leadership of the Liberal Party who were passing out public money to friends, the current leader having the endearing personality of an accountant, and some campaign ads that provided fodder for Canadian political satire shows. People weren’t voting for the Conservatives, they voting against the incumbent government.
There may be another election in a year if the Conservatives can’t come up with a working coalition. Unlike the US, the Canadians can remove governments whenever they get annoying.
