Conservatives Win In Canada
They're doing well somewhere in North America....
Canada’s Conservative Prime Minister Stephan Harper has won another minority government in Tuesday’s Federal Election.
Harper’s Conservatives increased their number of seats in Parliament by 18 to 145, however they failed to achieve the hoped for majority. This puts the Conservatives more or less right back where they were before the election began; at the mercy of the opposition parties teaming up to block, delay or defeat various legislation or budgetary items.
The bottom line: Canadians could be back at the polls yet again within the next few years.
Posted Earlier:
October 14, 2008, marks an event many Americans may be unaware of taking place north of the 49th parallel: Canada’s 2008 federal election.
It might be easy to dismiss the election as having no bearing on the United States. But, in fact, the various contenders for control of Canada’s parliament have very different stances on two issues that directly affect the United States and should interest Americans: energy and the war in Afghanistan.
In order to understand Canadian politics, Americans must understand the fundamental differences between the two countries regarding both the system of government and where the political battle lines are drawn. Although Canadian politics can be divided between the left and right, like in the U.S., Canada’s history over the last fifty years makes the divide more about West versus East — or more directly, English versus French. While the U.S. celebrates kicking the British out of their country, most of Western Canada, especially the oil-rich Albertans, would celebrate if the British had kicked the French out of Quebec. Western Canadians have long resented the uneven distribution of parliamentary seats and Quebec’s special status within Canada. To the West, Quebec seems like the spoiled child among the provinces who always gets her way at the expense of the other siblings. Much of Quebec’s special status has been given under the pretense of placating its separatist leanings. However many Canadians now feel the separatism threat is only to get more from the federal coffers. Only in recent years has the West been able to exercise much of a voice in Canada’s parliament. It was largely that voice that put the current Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper in power.
The Liberals who ruled Canada almost continuously since the 1960s aren’t really that far to the left of the Conservatives politically. The key difference between them is that the power which once lay in Quebec now lies with the Atlantic Provinces and Ontario. Confused yet? Wait, there’s more. Quebec’s voice in Canada’s capital is currently the Bloc Québécois, a separatist party who would like more than anything to take the francophone province out of the confederation.
Only in Canada would a party dedicated to breaking up the country actually be considered a “national” party.
The favorite contender for various union bodies, socialists, and alternative lifestyle types in Canada’s English-speaking urban enclaves is the New Democratic Party or N.D.P. Their current leader, Jack Layton, has gained the nick name “Taliban Jack” among Canada’s soldiers for suggesting that negotiations with extremists in Afghanistan is a better idea than actually defeating them.
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Lorne D. Thomson is Toronto-based writer and musician attempting to adjust to life in Canada after a decade of living in South East Asia.
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28 Comments
1. jvon:I am reminded of the threats in 2004 of many liberals to move to Canada if Bush was re-elected. I’m not going to move to Canada if Obama wins, but I might visit more often.
Oct 13, 2008 - 1:24 am 2. Dan Dickinson:Last time I looked, Mexico was in North America and had a conservative government. If Harper wins, it will be two for three for the continent as a whole – and it is not inconcievable that McCain will pull it out in two weeks and run the table.
Dan
Oct 13, 2008 - 5:20 am 3. DANIEL:HOW ARE MUSLIM NEIGHBORS TO THE NORTH DOING.
Oct 13, 2008 - 5:51 am 4. Canadian Neighbour:The results of the upcoming Canadian election will have little or no effect on American politics. The probable result looks like another minority Conservative Govenment.Therefore nothing much will change politically.
It’s the result of the U.S. elections that will determine the future relations between Canada and The U.S. An Obama win will cause a deterioration in Canada-U.S. relations. A McCain presidency will strengthen the relationship.
Oct 13, 2008 - 7:19 am 5. Christopher:Daniel, we’re fine.
I’ve got a copy of the Koran in French, it came with French instructions on bomb-making and I got all the parts delivered to my igloo!
Seriously, it doesn’t seem like Canada has much effect on American politics, but given enormous necessity resources we sell to the US, there’s a lot of leverage that often goves unnoticed.
Oct 13, 2008 - 7:50 am 6. Paul From Hamburg:Chistopher:
Oct 13, 2008 - 8:38 am 7. Outback Jon:Is it true that voter turnout in Canada is almost 100% because all the polling places are inside of Tim Hortons?
Wow, I almost feel Canadian. As a conservative in NY, I’m voting for the RINO, even though my vote won’t count…
Oct 13, 2008 - 9:43 am 8. ST333:You simple minded fools. Once The Obama wins, all nations will recognize him as their President. That election up north is a dog and pony show. The Obama will decide who he wants as their PM aka, the Canadian Ambassador to the United States of Obama, just as he decides on which days the sun will come out. Resistance is futile. All hail the Obama. World Peace will break out Nov. 5th 2008….just look for the rainbow and at the end will be a Pot of Obama as Obama is worth 10x more then gold.
Oct 13, 2008 - 9:51 am 9. Northern Light:Paul from Hamburg. It’s not the least bit true that Canadian polling places are all inside Tim Hortons.
But it’s a great idea.
Picking up a toasted bagel and a double-double while voting would push the turnout to 100% at the very least.
Oct 13, 2008 - 11:13 am 10. Fidel, MD:Northern Light: At least in Ontario the polls should be in the Beer Stores….Get a 24 and a ballot: At least then there would be an excuse for electing anyone but Harper….
Oct 13, 2008 - 11:41 am 11. Fantom:I am just glad voting in the States does not yet, just wait …..the left is slow, take place at welfare offices. Then we would have 120 % voting. Heck the voting from the Crypt is bad enough. You can drive a stake thru a vampires heart and they die. Try that on a liberal and they vote three more cycles. Plus they each bring two dead conservatives who vote for Obama on the promise said dead liberal will just STFU for a while.
Oct 13, 2008 - 12:39 pm 12. Paul From Hamburg:Northern Lights: Thanks for the clarification. I don’t live in Canada, but there are two Tim Hortons within 2 miles of my house and 3 within 2 miles of my office, so I was hoping I could vote a couple of times.
Oct 13, 2008 - 1:09 pm 13. Sam Duncan:Oh and by the way, start sending over the Coffee Crisps or guess what country we invade next.
“My favorite joke party was the 1992 election’s Nation Law Party”
Sure it wasn’t the Natural Law Party? We had them in the UK that year too; astonishingly, contesting the fourth largest number of seats after the “big three”. Which must have cost them a fortune, incidentally: each candidate has to stump up a deposit of £500 which gets refunded if you pull in more than 5% of the vote. None of theirs did, needless to say.
Unbelievably though, they came back for more in 1997, actually managing to halve their 0.2% share of the vote to 0.1%
Oct 13, 2008 - 3:12 pm 14. Thomas Jackson:Canada’s elections have about as much relevance and impact on the US as Mexico.
Canada’s political parties are both slightly to the Left of Schumer.
Oct 13, 2008 - 5:40 pm 15. Chris:Just to clarify, the Rhinoceros Party started in the 60’s, in Quebec. Wikipedia has a reasonable write-up:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinoceros_Party_of_Canada
The Natural Law Party was actually a serious party (well, I guess a serious as yogic flying can be)that originated in the States, and created by the followers of the Marharishi Mahesh Yogi. Henning wasn’t the leader of the Canadian branch(Dr. Neil Paterson was), he was just its most notable candidate.
Paul from Hamburg – you sound seriously deprived; perhaps after the election perhaps Canada can set up special aid to create a more Tim Hortons in your area…
Seriously though, an Obama win in the States is going to be problematic for both countries; Obama wants to renegotiate parts of the FTA (if not do away with a good deal of it altogether). But you can’t do that without opening up things like oil & gas as well, which are currently quite favourable to the US. Banking as well could be a significant issue, last time I checked 3 of the top 6 money center banks in the US were Canadian.
Oct 13, 2008 - 8:18 pm 16. Marc Malone:Canada’s parties are left and lefter. Nothing will change with their election. That’s how it is with parliamentary systems… no power, so no real change.
The issues I care about in Canada is if they are ever going to really close their danged borders, and their development of tar into oil.
Oct 14, 2008 - 4:47 am 17. Yvon Thivierge:Lorne D. Thomson is fascist, francophobic Toronto-based writer and musician attempting to adjust his twisted and evil ways to life in Canada after a decade of living in South East Asia where he should return and stop publishing such mean-spirited and dishonest articles.
Oct 14, 2008 - 11:15 am 18. mk:My family is undoubtedly celebrating that victory. No matter how small, anytime those moron Liberals aren’t in charge of Canada, we be a happy group.
And as far as Quebec is concerned, I hope they do get out of Canada. After listening to the whining for the better part of my 32 years as a Canadian, I just want them to shut the h#ll up and get the h$ll out. But they won’t because they are pusses and know they have nothing without the rest of Canada holding them up.
Oct 15, 2008 - 8:47 am 19. David W. Lincoln:I see that Lorne D. Thomson did not touch on the persecution of Ezra Levant, Mark Steyn, and others, thanks to the Orwellian Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Code.
There is a forum called freedominion.com and the Harper-lead Conservatives were villified for
not lifting a finger to correct that wrong.
Also, when money goes to biofuels as well as the agricultural section (not to mention other
Oct 15, 2008 - 9:24 am 20. Kurt:sections), the most conservative a government could be under current circumstances would be what Nixon had. (And this would be too right wing by the crowd known by this statement, “Damn
Americans, I hate the bastards!”)
Fantom, I live in northern Nevada. And my polling place is inside of a welfare office. I’m not kidding. It has been inside of a welfare office for the four plus years I’ve lived at my current residence. (This fact didn’t keep Bush from winning Nevada in 2004, though my normally Republican-voting county was closer than expected. This year the registered Democrats have edged Republicans in the county.)
Oct 15, 2008 - 10:10 am 21. Chris:David Lincoln – It’s going to take a long time to undo Section 13. But Steyn did win his case, mostly by ridiculing it and the Commission (and he continues lampooning it by asking the authors of the case to appeal). But more importantly, both Levant and Steyn are taking the fight directly to CHRC, seeing if they can force the heavy hand of the Commission. (Check Levant’s blog post, http://ezralevant.com/2008/08/i-have-been-hit-with-another-h.html, for an example ).
jvon – As for whether or not conservative Americans will move to Canada if Obama wins – probably not. Most Americans I know are in it for the long haul, know Obamamania shall too eventually pass, and (once again) they’ll have to assist in cleaning up the mess. OTOH, I do know quite a few who are moving significant portions of their money here, as Canadian dollar is cheap these days, and the banks are in (modestly) good shape.
Oct 15, 2008 - 11:26 am 22. fred:Obamabots to Canadians:
We are The Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.
Oct 15, 2008 - 4:29 pm 23. Cynthia:I am a Canadian living in NY state. I mailed in my ballot for Steven Harper. They sent it to me so late that I had to pay 23.00 in postage! Maybe they knew that we headed for America because Canada was drifting so left of center. Harper is a decent politician and I think his gain of 18 seats is part of a trend towards conservatism in North America.
Oct 15, 2008 - 7:54 pm 24. David W. Lincoln:Chris, the Tories will not touch section 13, just like the Democrats will not touch abortion.
Frankly, there are differences between what is still common sense, and what Stephen Harper and cohorts have done (and what they plan to do).
I’m in favour of a new political party that would take a stronger stance in defending free speech, cut out wasteful spending by Ottawa (for
Oct 16, 2008 - 9:18 am 25. Chris:God knows it is needed), put the UN out of its misery, and send a clear message to the likes of Al Gore, Maurice Strong, and David Suzuki that politicized science is debased science.
David – I agree on all your points. I’d also like to toss in CBC, Native Affairs, and a host of other things. But a new party won’t work; if you come to people with the notion that basically they should be responsible for their own affairs, they’ll just look embarrassed & call the guys in the white coats. Reform tried that a decade or so ago.(*) Getting Canada to the current state it’s in has been a long slide, and it’s going to take a long time to get it out. If you figure it takes 15-20 years to bring an individual from total dependence to adulthood, how long will it take 30 million of them? lol…
*that reminded me of a neat party trick that still works, out least out here on the east coast. I’ve got all the “creds” of an ndipper – artist/mathematician/single parent – so folks seem to think I like to hear rants about how horrible (insert favourite target here) is. Let them get really wound up, and then smile & pull out the Tory membership card and watch the reaction. Always good for a laugh, at the very least. (The Reform card worked even better, but alas).
Oct 16, 2008 - 2:48 pm 26. JimCap:Yeah, but these guys are about as “conservative” as Bernie Sanders! They won’t abolish socialized medicine; they won’t abolish day care subsidies; they won’t abolish so many of the socialist programs up in Canada. They even admit, publicly, that they would never do these things. These guys are phony conservatives. Who cares if they win or lose? Canada remains extremely left no matter what.
Oct 16, 2008 - 4:10 pm 27. David W. Lincoln:Chris, then what about this: those who say that that the political arena is only about politics are accused of being narrow minded. Let them stew over that, and then begin to articulate a new vision, rather than using the same tools that
all other parties have used – and we wind up with
more of the same.
It can be done, and frankly Harper and others deserve to be pummelled like they were at freedominion.ca over Section 13.
BTW, the thought occurred to me: the “gaff” about
Oct 17, 2008 - 9:27 am 28. Old& Grouchy:arts funding cuts and justice for those under 18
was a manoeuvre to weaken the Liberals. After all, a Tory majority would have given them more time to recover.
Marc Malone. for your info 50% of your oil comes from the Alberta tar sands. Are you sure you want to close it down?
Oct 18, 2008 - 4:21 pm