Canada’s Conservative party rolled to a convincing victory in Monday’s general election, winning a majority of seats and ending a string of unstable minority governments.
Final results show the Conservatives of Prime Minister Stephen Harper winning a healthy majority of 167 seats in Canada’s 308-member parliament, a gain of 24. The leftist New Democratic party (NDP), historically Canada’s third party, made history with a strong second-place showing, more than trebling its parliamentary representation with more than 100 seats and becoming the official opposition for the first time in Canadian history.
The NDP’s massive gains came mostly in the French-speaking province of Quebec, and largely at the expense of the separatist Bloc Québécois party. The Bloc has dominated the Quebec political scene since its creation in 1993, winning a majority of the province’s seats in every election. It now holds just 4 seats – a dramatic loss of 43, including the seat of its leader Gilles Duceppe.
On the surface, the NDP’s Quebec gains and the collapse of the Bloc represent one of the most pivotal moments of political realignment in Canadian political history. But some are taking a wait-and-see approach, pointing out that Quebecers have a history of dramatic swings behind political parties, only to reject those same parties en massean election cycle or two later.
They also note that the collapse of the Bloc does not signal the death knell for the Quebec independence movement, which about 40% of Quebecers still back. Polls show the Bloc’s provincial sister party, the Parti Québécois, is an even bet to win the next provincial election.
Another casualty of the night was the once-dominant center-left Liberal party, Canada’s hitherto “natural governing party” which has ruled for much of the last century. It sunk to its lowest popular vote and seat count in history. Squeezed between advancing Conservatives on its right flank and a surging NDP to its left, the Liberals only managed 34 seats, losing swathes of constituencies in its urban heartlands to both parties.
The results continue a trend of serious setbacks for the party, which held a substantial majority of 172 seats as recently as 2000. It has lost dozens of seats in every election since.
In one of the most surprising results of the night, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff lost his own Toronto-based seat to a little-known Conservative candidate. Conceding defeat, he bemoaned the polarization of Canadian politics into a U.S.-style two-party system with right-wing Conservatives and a left-wing NDP.
“We have a government that will pretend to govern from the center and there's a risk it will move the country to the right. We will have an official opposition that will criticize from the center but possibly move the country to the left,” he said.
Admitting it was “tough to lose like this,” Ignatieff resigned as Liberal leader. His party will now have to search for its third leader in just three years. A major debate of the next leadership election is likely to center on whether the Liberals should rebuild to fight another day, or if they should simply fold and merge with the NDP in order to “unite the left.” The second option would echo Harper’s successful strategy earlier in the decade to forge a united Conservative party out of two previous right-of-center parties.
The Conservative win ends Stephen Harper’s years-long journey for a majority government. He first ousted the Liberals in 2006, but only managed a minority of seats. He was re-elected to a second disappointing minority in 2008. This time he explicitly asked voters for a majority government, warning that anything less would entice the opposition parties to oust him mid-term and form an unelected coalition government.
With a majority finally in hand, Harper will no longer have to compromise with opposition parties or live under constant threat of no-confidence motions. He has pledged to reduce corporate taxes, enact tough-on-crime measures and balance the budget.
At a news conference the morning after the results were released, Harper recalled his emotions following news of the majority win.
"[My staff] pulled me up to the room, they made me pop this champagne,” he said.
“After I'd said a few words, they passed me the champagne and wanted me to guzzle it out of the bottle. And some of you know I'm not much of a drinker, but I did. However, they tricked me, and there was only that much in it.” He made a motion with his fingers signifying that only a few drops remained.
“So much for my wild side. That's as wild as it got."
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Harper’s Conservatives Steam to Victory in Canada
May 5, 2011
Canada’s Conservative party rolled to a convincing victory in Monday’s general election, winning a majority of seats and ending a string of unstable minority governments.
Final results show the Conservatives of Prime Minister Stephen Harper winning a healthy majority of 167 seats in Canada’s 308-member parliament, a gain of 24. The leftist New Democratic party (NDP), historically Canada’s third party, made history with a strong second-place showing, more than trebling its parliamentary representation with more than 100 seats and becoming the official opposition for the first time in Canadian history.
The NDP’s massive gains came mostly in the French-speaking province of Quebec, and largely at the expense of the separatist Bloc Québécois party. The Bloc has dominated the Quebec political scene since its creation in 1993, winning a majority of the province’s seats in every election. It now holds just 4 seats – a dramatic loss of 43, including the seat of its leader Gilles Duceppe.
On the surface, the NDP’s Quebec gains and the collapse of the Bloc represent one of the most pivotal moments of political realignment in Canadian political history. But some are taking a wait-and-see approach, pointing out that Quebecers have a history of dramatic swings behind political parties, only to reject those same parties en massean election cycle or two later.
They also note that the collapse of the Bloc does not signal the death knell for the Quebec independence movement, which about 40% of Quebecers still back. Polls show the Bloc’s provincial sister party, the Parti Québécois, is an even bet to win the next provincial election.
Another casualty of the night was the once-dominant center-left Liberal party, Canada’s hitherto “natural governing party” which has ruled for much of the last century. It sunk to its lowest popular vote and seat count in history. Squeezed between advancing Conservatives on its right flank and a surging NDP to its left, the Liberals only managed 34 seats, losing swathes of constituencies in its urban heartlands to both parties.
The results continue a trend of serious setbacks for the party, which held a substantial majority of 172 seats as recently as 2000. It has lost dozens of seats in every election since.
In one of the most surprising results of the night, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff lost his own Toronto-based seat to a little-known Conservative candidate. Conceding defeat, he bemoaned the polarization of Canadian politics into a U.S.-style two-party system with right-wing Conservatives and a left-wing NDP.
“We have a government that will pretend to govern from the center and there's a risk it will move the country to the right. We will have an official opposition that will criticize from the center but possibly move the country to the left,” he said.
Admitting it was “tough to lose like this,” Ignatieff resigned as Liberal leader. His party will now have to search for its third leader in just three years. A major debate of the next leadership election is likely to center on whether the Liberals should rebuild to fight another day, or if they should simply fold and merge with the NDP in order to “unite the left.” The second option would echo Harper’s successful strategy earlier in the decade to forge a united Conservative party out of two previous right-of-center parties.
The Conservative win ends Stephen Harper’s years-long journey for a majority government. He first ousted the Liberals in 2006, but only managed a minority of seats. He was re-elected to a second disappointing minority in 2008. This time he explicitly asked voters for a majority government, warning that anything less would entice the opposition parties to oust him mid-term and form an unelected coalition government.
With a majority finally in hand, Harper will no longer have to compromise with opposition parties or live under constant threat of no-confidence motions. He has pledged to reduce corporate taxes, enact tough-on-crime measures and balance the budget.
At a news conference the morning after the results were released, Harper recalled his emotions following news of the majority win.
"[My staff] pulled me up to the room, they made me pop this champagne,” he said.
“After I'd said a few words, they passed me the champagne and wanted me to guzzle it out of the bottle. And some of you know I'm not much of a drinker, but I did. However, they tricked me, and there was only that much in it.” He made a motion with his fingers signifying that only a few drops remained.
“So much for my wild side. That's as wild as it got."
