Canada’s Political Shift
By Denise Best | Related entries in Elections, In The News, The WorldLooks like the political winds are a changing for our neighbors up north, blowing in a more conservative direction …
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, Canada’s next prime minister, pledged to work with all parties in the next Parliament after Canadians elected a Tory minority government Monday, ending a 12-year reign of Liberal rule.
“Tonight friends, our great country has voted for change. And Canadians have asked our party to take the lead in delivering that change,” Harper told supporters in Calgary.
Harper acknowledged that Canadians have not given any one party a majority and have asked all parties to work together.
Earlier, Liberal Leader Paul Martin announced that he will step down as leader.
The Conservatives were elected in 124 ridings, the Liberals were elected in 102 (leading in one other), the Bloc was elected in 51 and the NDP was elected in 29. One Independent was elected, in Quebec.
Not a mandate certainly, but definitely a message from the Canadian electorate.
Seems as if the only constant is change, political power included.
The acknowledgement that there needs to be a commitment from both sides on working together is a step in the right direction.
We’ll have to wait and see how actions follow the post election promises.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 24th, 2006 and is filed under Elections, In The News, The World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
January 24th, 2006 at 2:47 pm
It is interesting to hear the commentary out of Canada. This for example -
http://catallarchy.net/blog/archives/2006/01/24/canadian-shift-in-power
I like the thought (in the comments?) that Canadian “right wing” would still be far to the left in USA.
It sounds to me not so much a win by the right wing as a bailout by the Liberal Party. I can not help but wonder just what little nasties are going to surface in the next few weeks; little secrets that the electorate knows nothing about.
It is a great pity for me that there are so few governments that have the objectivity and pragmatism to do what is best for their country rather than what is best for their political careers.
January 24th, 2006 at 4:49 pm
It’s not even close to a mandate, unless you consider what Bush considers a mandate. I wouldn’t foam at the mouth on this small conservative swing. Most canadians dislike this guy, but much like politics in the states, sometimes it comes down to which guy you dislike less.
January 25th, 2006 at 9:50 am
It should also be noted (as a few other blogs already have) that the Conservative victory has more to do with Canadians’ disgust at Liberal corruption than with their affinity for either the Conservative or Liberal agendas - and that a similar dynamic played out a few years ago along America’s other border when Vicente Fox was elected Mexico’s first non-PRI president in several decades (Mexican voters having become fed up with PRI corruption and incompetence).
Something for our Republicans to bear in mind.
January 25th, 2006 at 11:55 am
Just the Republicans? I’d say 95% of all politicians at the national level,
regardless of party, are corrupt and/or incompetent. It’s our collective fault for continuing to re-elect them.
January 27th, 2006 at 4:21 pm
I definitely agree that one thing it seems we can all agree on, no matter what party affiliation we have, is that corruption has got to go.
This is why, for example, I as a flaming liberal would consider voting for McCain. I definitely disagree with some of his views, but I perceive that he is has the qualities of honesty and integrity that I yearn for from politicians. He is certainly not the only one, but he pops into my mind first when I think about that concept. I guess the point is that weeding out corruption is one issues that would seem to be able to unite this country, and it’s a great discussion for a centrist blog.