Canada Votes 2008

So, its been a while, but I return with a political message this time. As some of you may know, Canada recently had a Federal election. The incumbent party was the Conservative Party, with a slim minority government. They just returned to power with another minority government, this time holding 143 of 308 seats in the House of Commons.

The Prime Minister, Stephen Harper stated Canadians "Voted to move our Country forward". The party is hailing the result as an indication of increased strength and the desire of Canadians to move toward a Conservative majority. I personally see quite the opposite. I believe that today's result is far from a decisive victory, rather a narrow defeat.

The main opposition to Stephen Harper's Conservative Party are Stephane Dion's Liberals. Although the Liberals lost a number of seats in this past election, they can claim their 77 seat opposition spot as a major victory.

Ever since the last election, the Liberals have been in a state of upheaval and disarray. They have lacked strong, decisive leadership since the retirement of Jean Chrétien. Although Paul Martin lead them to a Minority government, his role as Leader and Prime Minister was transitional. In the wake of major scandal and a political fall from grace, Martin was seen as part of the "Old Way" and would be fighting an uphill battle to win over Canadians.

Enter Stephane Dion. During a controversial and scandal ridden leadership convention, he emerged as somewhat of a surprise winner, the Heavyweights Bob Rae and Michael Ignatieff being the two favored to take the top spot. Vote-splitting amongst delegates from other hopefuls lead to Dion securing the popular vote.

After the dust settled on the convention, there was shock and awe. Many members threatened to quit the party and great divisions began to grow within the ranks. These divisions went all the way up to the highest level of the party. People were not confident in the abilities of Stephane Dion, and furthermore noted his difficulties with English. These difficulties were reminiscent of the days of Chrétien and his notorious mangling of both of Canada's official languages.

So the infighting began. Mud was slung within the party, divisions ran deep and the party was in a state of total disarray. Even long time party supporters refused to back their leader (and still refuse to this day) because of their concerns for his policies and what most insiders consider to be one of the worst platforms ever devised.

So on one hand we have the Liberals in a state of disaster, scrambling to try to form some semblances of unity to try to conduct a successful campaign. On the other hand you have divisions within the Left. Jack Layton, leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) became embroiled in scandal when he told the media that he refused to attend a leaders debate if Green Party leader Elizabeth May was allowed to attend.

Both parties targeted similar demographics, but with a distinct difference, the NDP has a chance of winning seats. These divisons destroyed what could have been a powerful venture. Although no chance for either party to form a government, with the elimination of Vote Splitting on the left, they would have stood a better chance of gaining more ground against the Conservatives.

My conclusion about this Election is that the Conservative minority is a clear message that Canadians aren't comfortable with the direction that Harper wants to take the country. The opposition parties were in a total state of disarray, there were no hard fought battles. The ads were uncreative and really disappointing, and there wasn't the strong spirit that usually gripped an election. Partially shadowed by economic slowdowns and the US presidential election, the election brought about a surprise. When Stephen Harper should have rallied his party to a landslide, instead, he limped them into another 4 years of Minority Government. I think the message is clear, Canadians aren't willing to take a chance on Harper, they want to keep him in check.