Canada: A Different Coloured Minority

Canadians went to the polls yesterday to elect for the second time in two years members of parliament that would rebuild a government after the last Liberal minority government fell last November. At the end of the night, Canada had gone from Liberal red to Conservative blue.

The election threw out a fragile minority for the Conservative Party and their leader, Stephen Harper, will now be forming a minority government having won 124 seats in parliament in contrast to the Liberal's 103. In Canada, 155 seats are needed to form a majority government and the Conservative Party will probably reach out to the Bloc Quebecois (who lost ground in Quebec this time around) and even in some cases to the New Democratic Party who bettered their standing nationally to pass through budgets, legislations and other plans.

A mood of cautious change seemingly invaded Canadians as they sought new options to change the Liberal government that had been with them for so long. It seems that most were convinced by the more moderate social message that the Conservative party shared in their campaign. Others gave their trust to the New Democratic Party which made head way in provinces (such as British Columbia) where it wasn't prominent before. Whatever the choice, it seemed clear that Canadians finally decided to truly hold the Liberal party accountable for their scandals.

Stephen Harper must now seize this opportunity to prove his party is capable of running a government with fiscal and social policy that is congruent to what makes Canadians, Canadians. The minority in Canada is now blue.

Tags: Current events, International, In the News, News and Politics, Canada