In this election,we saw the Orange Crush take hold, the Liberals seeing red, and the Conservatives finally getting their majority. But how did these massive changes happen?
1) Green Party winning a seat
Many were surprised to see Green Party leader Elizabeth May defeat the Conservative incumbent (and cabinet minister)in her riding,securing the first ever seat for the Green Party. Perhaps more people across the country are beginning to seek an alternative to "more of the same" through the Green Party. Or, seeing that the Green Party actually received fewer votes than in the last election, maybe her constituents simply felt she (personally) was the best option on the ballot. Regardless, a fresh voice may be just what the House of Commons needs moving forward.
2) Bloc Minus the Party
The greatest shock of the election came with the loss of all but 4 Bloc seats which resulted in the resignation of (their leader) Gilles Duceppe and the loss of their official party status. The reason for this immense loss is fairly obvious, the "Orange Crush". The NDP's massive gains in support from Quebecers led the party to take over most of the seats in the province, mainly at the cost of the incumbent Bloc (now former) MPs. The implications of this historic loss are numerous as this defeat may be the final nail in the coffin of Quebec Separatism. Yes, after over 20 years of threats, mailbox bombings, protests and a poorly thought-out speech comparing the Canadian Government to nazis while on a visit to Expo 67 in Montreal (see "vive le quebec libre" article on Wikipedia), the concept of a "free Quebec" may be dead. One can only hope...
Aside from the death of separatism in Quebec, the loss of official party status will prevent them from having any significant input in the House as they will have limited opportunities to pose questions in the House and their MP`s are no longer eligible to be selected for committees put together not vote on, debate, and edit bills.
3) Liberals seeing orange
Many people were, you guessed it, shocked by the Liberals' plunge to a historic low of 34 seats in the House. This loss can be traced back to the same factor that crushed the Bloc, the NDP surge which (along with the Conservative efforts)led to the loss of 19 Liberal seats in Ontario. This massive loss has massive implications for politics in Canada. For the first time, the Liberals will be neither the government or the official opposition. 4+ years of a Conservative majority government with the leftist NDP as the opposition could result in some massive changes. Many also wonder whether or not the Liberals will recover in the next election. The future of the Liberal Party will now depend on how fast they can get a new leader, fire back at the Conservatives who will no doubt begin attack ads again as soon as a new leader has been chosen, and work towards regaining the trust and support of the people of Canada. This will be a large task for party members and supporters as the Liberal leadership is in disarray due to the defeat of many high profile members such as Ken Dryden and Gerrard Kennedy.
4) The NDP win big but still lose
Canadians watched as the NDP stormed forward to a party record of 102 seats in the House. This historic surge came mainly due to their massive gains in the province of Quebec, where they ended the decades old reign of the Bloc. Jack Layton's immense efforts in Quebec succeeded in winning over the majority of its citizens of which many were apparently tired of Bloc rule in the province. For the first time in party history, the NDP will form the official opposition in the House of Commons. However, despite the massive historical significance of this, the party will actually have less power than they did before the election was called. The reason? Two words, 1)Conservative 2)Majority. The NDP will do its best to assault government policies and try to prevent the Conservatives from shifting government policies further to the political right. However, in the end, (and as long as all members vote as expected) the Conservatives will have the final say on all bills and issues. Still, their massive gains may permanently change the face of politics in Canada.
5) The Harper (Majority) Government
After 3 elections, Stephen Harper finally got the majority government he has long fantasized about. How did this happen in the face of the NDP`s Massive gains? The answer is simple, the leftist vote split. In multiple formerly Liberal ridings, the NDP candidates had very little chance of winning but received just enough of the leftist vote to allow the rightist vote to win the riding for the Conservatives. This was true in multiple ridings including 8 in the Maritime provinces. Another cause was the negative image cast on Michael Ignatieff by the Conservative attack ads which began months before the election (which Harper supposedly did not want) that went unanswered by the Liberal Party. This victory will have massive effects on Canadians. Harper has promised results and he will most likely delivered now that the opposition parties can not vote down his bills. Although I tend to find minority governments better because the government remains accountable, it should be interesting to see the results Harper can get for Canadians. The only thing that concerns me is the possibility of the power going to his head. Harper was already found in contempt of parliament (first time this has ever happened to a government) twice and accused of scoffing democracy when he had a minority government. Hopefully he will be more cautious with this new Majority government. If he can do this, the majority government MAY bring some positives.
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