Canada Votes 2006 - Conservative's get minority government, depose Liberal's

YeatsCounty

The results are rolling in from across Canada and it looks certain now that Stephen Harper's Conservative Party will form a one party minority government. The Liberal Party has held the reigns of power for the last 12 years (won last election in 2004, minority government) but they have lost after, by all accounts, a poor campaign.

For those not familiar with the current state of Canadian politics, the main parties are:
Conservative Party - no allies, ergo no coalition majority government.
Liberal Party - Will ally with the New Democratic Party (NDP) in the Opposition
NDP - Are doing far better than they did in the last election. With a possible 30 seats, could be a big voice in the Opposition.
Bloc Quebecois - Quebec seperatist party. Only run in Quebec, will be a big voice for Quebec's needs in Opposition.


155 seats are needed to form a majority government. The results at this moment are:

Number of candidates elected:
CON - 102
LIB - 82
BQ - 48
NDP - 18
Independant - 1
Others - 0

Party lead in all undecided ridings:
CON - 20
LIB - 22
BQ - 2
NDP - 12
Independant - 0
Others - 0

dloob

Interesting, I'm surprised the Liberals did so well after all the scandals.
So the Conservatives are going to have to depend on the BQ support?
What sort of stance do the Conservatives have on Quebec?

YeatsCounty

Apologies for not replying until now. My opinion is that the Liberal Party did so well (considering) because many Canadians were simply not prepared to give the Conservative Party a bigger mandate until they see how a minority government works out. There is a lot of uncertainity in the air about the Tories (here in the east). If they perform well in this government, they might gain more seats in the next election. They would want to, their 124 seats are 11 less than the previous governments total of 135. The insipid performance of Paul Martin's Liberal's throughout the campaign ensured a Tory victory.

The Tories made major gains in Quebec, winning 10 seats......which is 10 more than they won in 2004! The Liberal's won 13 seats, a drop of 8 from 2004. The Bloc ended up with 51. They lost three seats, 2 to the Tories and one to an Independant in Quebec City. There is no doubt about it, the recently concluded investigation into the Sponsorship Scandal hurt the Liberal's in Canada and really damaged them in Quebec. For the record, my riding in Montreal has been Liberal solid for years and continues to be so.

As for the Conservative's having to depend on BQ support, they are going to pretty much have to in order to try and get some of their proposed legislation through. The BQ could support the Tories on some issues, but they are hardly allies. The Tories will have to work hard to convince the Bloc that they care about Quebec and that it will play an vital role in the future of Canada. Sure, the Bloc are a pro-seperatist party but they'll like to hear that.

The Conservative's stance on Quebec can be found here. The short version can be found below:

The Conservative Party is the only party that will provide Quebecers with results, giving the province an important place in government.

A new Conservative government will stand up for Quebec by providing results and not just promises that can never be kept. Highlights of the Conservative platform for Quebec include:

* Cleaning up Ottawa by putting an end to Liberal scandals that have sullied the reputation of federalism in Quebec and reforming federal political party financing along the lines of the model established by René Lévesque;

* Practising open federalism by respecting provincial autonomy, cultural and institutional responsibilities, and allowing Quebec to play a role in international institutions, such as UNESCO;

* Correcting the fiscal imbalance between the federal government and the provinces; and

* Encouraging a stronger economy and more prosperous families through tax cuts that benefit everyone, creating a healthy business climate and improving our trade relations with all our partners.

Under a Conservative government, “Québec would be better represented in Ottawa. And Ottawa will take Québec’s needs more seriously." said Mr. Harper.

The promise of allowing provonical autonomy and allowing Quebec to work in international bodies is a very interesting proposal indeed. It will be worth keeping a close eye on Quebec for the next few years. There are rumblings of discontent again from some seperatists, rumblings that could grow and lead to another vote on seperation from the Federation. A vote could happen within the next 10 years (at most), that's the word on the ground anyway.