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The Opposition opposes, the Official Opposition leads that opposition, has larger budgets to fund the shadow cabinet and the prestige that goes along with that honored and important position.. Parliament will now function as it historically has. The Government will have a large amount of power to pursue its agenda, the Official Opposition will, with a substantial, though not dominant voice, will hold the Government's feet to the fire and try to put itself forward as the next governing party.

So this is a pretty good government for everybody, conservative or not?

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I'm wondering, when historians look back on this in 30 or 40 years, if they will see tonight as the final act in the drama that began with the PC meltdown in 2003 that lead to the formation of the Bloc and Reform. The Liberals are going to have a tough fight, particularly as I can see Harper, despite the ideological divide with the NDP, somehow finding a way to help maintain the Federalist representation in Quebec. If it happens that way, the Liberals are done.

I think jdobbin's prophecy in 2008 has come to pass. If you have time take a gander at the archives around fall of 2008, he was mentioning something like this happening.

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So this is a pretty good government for everybody, conservative or not?

Time will tell. I think this idea that somehow a social conservative hoard is going to take over Ottawa and ban abortion and gay marriage is absurd. Harper won't throw away what really amounts to two decades of hard work by Preston Manning and then by himself.

It will definitely be a fiscally conservative government, now that he no longer has to seek consensus with the Opposition, but he's not going to move towards private health in some big way, because in that direction also lies special peril. He'll chart a centrist course, avoid divisive hot button issues like abortion.

In Quebec, he has been deprived a big breakthrough, but he has a vested interest in keeping a strong Federalist presence, and as August1991 points out, the NDP is a different creature, so he won't be able to dismiss it out of hand. I don't think he's going to want to crack open the constitutional question, but certainly, if he chooses to work on that file, he has a party that will be much more willing to work with him in that direction, and will, at least, have a substantial Quebec voice.

And one thing is very clear. Canadians will get two very different visions of Canada. And the Governor General will get to spend more time giving out awards and opening flower gardens, and less time wondering if the next big vote will require him to enter the no man's land of reserve powers. Guys like me and g_bambino are going to find it very dull constitutionally speaking.

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I think jdobbin's prophecy in 2008 has come to pass. If you have time take a gander at the archives around fall of 2008, he was mentioning something like this happening.

A lot depends on what the NDP and the Tories do. If the NDP can maintain its Quebec support and become sufficiently centrist to not scare the crap out of Ontario, and the Tories themselves can stick to the center, I don't really see where the Liberals are supposed to rebuild from.

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Best comment tonight was Chantal Hebert: Quebecers voted to get rid of Harper and will wake up tomorrow to discover that they got rid of Gilles Duceppe.

It wasn't like Duceppe was going to get rid of Harper. And let's face it, the Orange Tide started in Quebec. If they had really wanted to turf Harper, they should have started two weeks sooner.

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Harper trying to make it to the podium. Is that Ben his son towering over everyone? Jeez has he sprouted up. And Laureen, what a beauty she is.

Yeah... Stephen is 6'2, and Ben looks a couple of inches taller. This seems like just a couple of years ago, doesn't it?

-k

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The Opposition opposes, the Official Opposition leads that opposition, has larger budgets to fund the shadow cabinet and the prestige that goes along with that honored and important position.. Parliament will now function as it historically has. The Government will have a large amount of power to pursue its agenda, the Official Opposition will, with a substantial, though not dominant voice, will hold the Government's feet to the fire and try to put itself forward as the next governing party.

This sounds like you are reading a quote from a dictionary. Hold their feet to the fire LOL.

The official opposition in Canada, in a majority Government situation, has no power accept the power of complaint. All members of each party are expected to vote the party line on all issues, ignoring the wishes of the constituents they represent. When we vote in an MP we hope they represent the majority of the values of the people in our electoral region. In Canada there are no true checks and balances in the Government. Unlike the US who has an elected Senate that have a veto on all bills, an elected house of representatives who hold a veto and an elected leader, the president, who also has a veto.

In Canada we vote in a party who have appointed a leader and in a majority situation the country is at their mercy for the duration. While our Senate has the power to veto a bill that power is seldom exercised. Our Senate is little more than a retirement home for people who have served their party well in the past. In effect we have an elected dictatorship so we must be very sure of the people we elect.

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In Canada we vote in a party who have appointed a leader and in a majority situation the country is at their mercy for the duration. While our Senate has the power to veto a bill that power is seldom exercised. Our Senate is little more than a retirement home for people who have served their party well in the past. In effect we have an elected dictatorship so we must be very sure of the people we elect.

An elected dictatorship still has to face the electorate. If Harper pushes too far to the right, he'll lose the next one. Besides, his caucus is a lot more diverse than people think, even the Western "rump" is made up of a lot of different interests.

Harper will govern from the center, the NDP will try to make the Tories look bad and set themselves up for a potential victory in 2016. What else would you like? That's representative democracy.

Edited by ToadBrother
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A lot depends on what the NDP and the Tories do. If the NDP can maintain its Quebec support and become sufficiently centrist to not scare the crap out of Ontario, and the Tories themselves can stick to the center, I don't really see where the Liberals are supposed to rebuild from.

The only hope for the Liberals if if the NDP and CPC become captive to their extremes. If that happens there will be a need for a 'socially liberal fiscally conservative' party.
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Best comment tonight was Chantal Hebert: Quebecers voted to get rid of Harper and will wake up tomorrow to discover that they got rid of Gilles Duceppe.

I've always enjoyed Chantel and have been reading her column since I was a kimlet. The other comment she made that I found interesting was to suggest that it might be more than coincidence that the BQ's near-annihilation comes right on the heels of Pauline Marois making big noises about language and sovereignty after winning her confidence vote recently.

The BQ will have 4 years of non-official party status, and no recognizable face in the House of Commons. That'll be tough for them.

It will be interesting to see whether Quebec voters get "buyers remorse". A couple of the commentators on CBC tonight suggested that Quebec votes might be very much "in play" next election, and that it would be presumptuous to assume Quebec is suddenly some sort of NDP fortress.

-k

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An elected dictatorship still has to face the electorate. If Harper pushes too far to the right, he'll lose the next one. Besides, his caucus is a lot more diverse than people think, even the Western "rump" is made up of a lot of different interests.

Harper will govern from the center, the NDP will try to make the Tories look bad and set themselves up for a potential victory in 2016. What else would you like? That's representative democracy.

I agree completely, the party in power will not stay in power for more than one term if they do not satisfy the majority of the Canadian voters. The majority of my frustration with our political system still simmers from the Trudeau and Cretien governments when western Canada did not exist accept as a source of income with which to buy enough eastern votes to win the next election. Trudeau's government called it a "redistribution of revenue". I'm not convinced the Liberals under Ignatieff would not have tried something similar had they been elected into power.

I am very happy with the way this election turned out. I just don't kid myself into thinking the Opposition party has much power. Canada has gained most of it's best policies and gained some of it's most valuable programs during minority Governments when the second and third ranked parties truly did hold some power and the government of Canada truly did have to rule with the best interests of Canada in mind. We would not have Canadian Medicare if not for a minority government and I'm not sure this past Harper led coalition would have done such a good job of pulling us out of this recession if they would have had a majority instead!

From some of the statements I have read I expect the majority of people on this forum are a lot younger than I am. These are just the ramblings of an old man who has too many opinions about the past Canadian governments LOL ;) The fact is this current government has a high likely hood of outliving me! I feel my children and grandchildren are in good hands for at least the next few years :)

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Dosanjh lost to Wai Young in Vancouver South by 3,000 votes. No recount this time.

I doubt anybody outside of card-carrying Liberals feels too badly about Usual Dosage being gone.

I notice Joe Volpe is also gone, which probably everybody except for the Volpe family is probably very happy to see.

Hedy Fry survived the massacre, which I find both inexplicable and unfortunate.

Brad Trost won comfortably.

Did any MPs you wish were gone win their seats tonight?

-k

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I agree completely, the party in power will not stay in power for more than one term if they do not satisfy the majority of the Canadian voters.

I can't recall the last time a majority government was supported by the majority of voters...

Edited by Battletoads
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The only hope for the Liberals if if the NDP and CPC become captive to their extremes. If that happens there will be a need for a 'socially liberal fiscally conservative' party.

The Liberals need to find a strong leader who is humble enough to lose an election or two and is strong enough to reinvent the party. In 1984 after Trudeau had ground Canada into the dirt the Liberals only managed to attain 40 seats. Two elections later they were elected into a majority with 177 seats. I don't know if they can bounce back that fast this time as the majority of the Canadian electorate, with the advent of the internet and social networking, are much better educated but I'm sure they will come back. The Liberal party is like dandelions, just when you think you have them eliminated they sprout up all over the place! ;)

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Apparently Ignatieff isn't going to resign. This is gonna be fun - for the Conservatives. :lol:

He's going to resign. He might not know it yet, but he'll resign before long. He said he'd step down when they ask him to... and they're going to ask soon.

-k

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