The Liberals didn't win. The Conservatives lost.

[poochy]

The "liberal" media who mostly endorsed the Conservatives?

Its amazing how quick some are to dismiss conservative media as a bunch of loons, but then at the same time give them so much clout when it's useful as a diversion away from our state broadcaster's and the consortium's abject bias and obvious progressive bent on every issue, of course the reach of that consortium, including the CBC is MUCH higher. This won't change mostly because a large proportion of the population doesn't put much effort into actually thinking about what the CBC feeds them, not because the opinions they spread are above reproach. After all they have been brainwashed for the past 40 years to believe the CBC pov is the only appropriate Canadian pov. The conservatives should have killed it, it might have hurt them, but the CBC like most of central Canada won't accept a conservative government unless it's a red tory government, aka, liberals, cuz you know those Albertans are, to paraphrase your words, all anti abortionist, gun toting rednecks, right Squid? Anyway, the conservatives will have to fight the CBC again next election, that is if they have any opinions approaching conservative.

[Accountability Now]

The Conservatives didn't win a single seat in four provinces (and all 3 territories), despite having cabinet ministers in those places and ridings that hadn't voted Liberal in 100 years (save for '93).

It's a monumental loss.

LMAO. You still put so much emphasis on the Atlantic seats and now you're adding in the territories. In total these seats add up to 35 which is just a little over 10% of the seats. Lets put this in perspective....even if ALL of these seats went from Liberal to Conservative, the Liberals would still be in power.

Its not a monumental or colossal loss. Its a loss. I've shown the numbers to prove this.

[cybercoma]

The entire rightwing versus a divided left. These results are a very big problem for rightwing politics in this country. First Sun News goes under and now this. You guys haven't been having a very good time. But if shrugging your shoulders makes you feel better about it, fill your boots. I hope the party remains intransigent. That'll virtually guarantee Trudeau a decade of power. Hopefully the rest of the party isn't so stubborn. Many have already called for "rebuilding" so it seems they're not.

Edited October 22, 2015 by cybercoma

[SpankyMcFarland]

Conservative leadership hopefuls may be grateful Harper took the loss which was probably coming anyway.

There's a right-wing 30% in this country. To win, that party needs a few more centrists and a divided

opposition.

Edited October 22, 2015 by SpankyMcFarland

[dialamah]

Its amazing how quick some are to dismiss conservative media as a bunch of loons, but then at the same time give them so much clout when it's useful as a diversion away from our state broadcaster's and the consortium's abject bias and obvious progressive bent on every issue, of course the reach of that consortium, including the CBC is MUCH higher. This won't change mostly because a large proportion of the population doesn't put much effort into actually thinking about what the CBC feeds them, not because the opinions they spread are above reproach. After all they have been brainwashed for the past 40 years to believe the CBC pov is the only appropriate Canadian pov. The conservatives should have killed it, it might have hurt them, but the CBC like most of central Canada won't accept a conservative government unless it's a red tory government, aka, liberals, cuz you know those Albertans are, to paraphrase your words, all anti abortionist, gun toting rednecks, right Squid? Anyway, the conservatives will have to fight the CBC again next election, that is if they have any opinions approaching conservative.

I did see some media reports from Global TV, CTV and the CBC that presented information that looked pretty unbiased to me, especially when they would repeat the same talking points the Conservative supporters presented. I also saw opinions from columnists in the major papers that I both agreed with and disagreed with. Except the Sun papers, I very quickly realized how extremely biased they were, just as the Tyee and Huffington Post are biased the other way. Once I realized that the major papers endorsed candidates on command, I completely disregarded their endorsements. I'd say you are dead wrong about any 'left-leaning' bias in the main media. I think your confirmation bias is getting in your way. And, it's a lot easier to 'blame' the media rather than looking at one's own party and their behavior.

[Accountability Now]

The entire rightwing versus a divided left. These results are a very big problem for rightwing politics in this country. First Sun News goes under and now this. You guys haven't been having a very good time. But if shrugging your shoulders makes you feel better about it, fill your boots. I hope the party remains intransigent. That'll virtually guarantee Trudeau a decade of power. Hopefully the rest of the party isn't so stubborn. Many have already called for "rebuilding" so it seems they're not.

I am shrugging my shoulders. It was time for a change. Just like it was time for a change in Alberta when they kicked out the PC party. It happens when you have a party in power too long. For most its 10 years....for Alberta it was 43 years.

Harper's only shot at this was resigning a year or two ago and giving someone else with new blood a shot.

So yes...I am shrugging my shoulders at this loss since history has shown the swing from right to left and left to right has always occurred. The fact that you think this election somehow sets a new precedent is bizarre. Nothing new here....just another guy talking about change.

[dre]

The Conservatives lost this election because of policy. I thought they ran a pretty good minority government before and even as a center/left person I thought they deserved to stay in power.

But once they had a majority they started writing some of the worst legislation I have ever seen. The internet surveillance act was the line in the sand for me personally, then when Canadians rejected it, the CPC told us we were all pedophile supporters, then they submitted the same bill with "children" and "predators" in the title hoping that would make a difference. Then we had the omni-bus crime bill... the CPC version of "crackin down and gettin tough", and then our very own patriot act. These things combined with the utterly idiotic decision to enter the Iraq war and it was time for the CPC to say buh-bye.

[Moonlight Graham]

This election was a referendum on Stephen Harper. He was close to done-in when the election was called, but his continued control-freak behaviour (muzzling MP's, refusing to attend debates) just put the nails in the coffin. Power corrupts, and after a decade he was no better than Chretien's arrogance than brought he and party down too. Harper deserved to lose, our democracy needed him gone.

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

[Accountability Now]

Power corrupts, and after a decade he was no better than Chretien's arrogance than brought he and party down too. Harper deserved to lose, our democracy needed him gone.

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

Well said.

[Moonlight Graham]

Here's a fantastic article by Andrew Coyne at the National Post as to why Harper & the CPC lost the election. It's bang-on:

http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/andrew-coyne-conservatives-brought-down-by-their-own-cynicism

[Peter F]

I agree. A great bit by Coyne.

All criticism only confirmed the rightness of their position: the press were out to get them, the bureaucracy was out to get them, the courts were out to get them — and the academics were even worse. Within the party, the circle of loyalty grew narrower and narrower, even as the party itself left broader and broader swaths of society outside it: the young, the university-educated, women, even the minorities it had been so eager to court.

He is right on the money.

[Big Guy]

An interesting view from an elected Harper Conservative who is not afrid to tell the truth:

http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/don-braid-conservative-mp-paints-awful-picture-of-internal-fights-bickering-lack-of-respect

The knives are coming out!

[socialist]

Here's a fantastic article by Andrew Coyne at the National Post as to why Harper & the CPC lost the election. It's bang-on:

http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/andrew-coyne-conservatives-brought-down-by-their-own-cynicis

Or they could be the cover for massive voter fraud.

How do we check?

It seems likely that the LIV carried the election for the liberals in the East, but they are LIV, so how could they vote consistently for anything?

Just as many thought Harper was a Liberal, this tends to undermine the concept that LIV carried the day.

So who did the counting?

The same people who allowed masked persons to vote.My confidence is throughly strengthened …Not.

Vote early vote often.

Also I am real curious about the 8 million voters who did not.Who are they?

The Gone Galt Division?

[cybercoma]

I agree. A great bit by Coyne.

He is right on the money.

And this is the cold truth. People who hadn't voted in years came out in droves. Who are those people? The Conservative vote didn't collapse. Stephen Harper just finally pissed off enough people to unite the left and get more people to the polls.

[sharkman]

You liberal fans are in a much better frame of mind these days, and it only took an election! Point is, Canada is a liberal country. We've had a liberal government in power the majority of the time and the only time you get an extended Tory reign is when the preceding liberal government was exceedingly bad. It was a great decade under Harper because of it, and I have old man Chretien to thank.

Trudeau is young, and apparently has an "anointed one" attitude. The next decade or so should be funny!

[cybercoma]

If he has an "anointed one" attitude we can expect some spectacular scandals then.

[On Guard for Thee]

You liberal fans are in a much better frame of mind these days, and it only took an election! Point is, Canada is a liberal country. We've had a liberal government in power the majority of the time and the only time you get an extended Tory reign is when the preceding liberal government was exceedingly bad. It was a great decade under Harper because of it, and I have old man Chretien to thank.

Trudeau is young, and apparently has an "anointed one" attitude. The next decade or so should be funny!

Kind of like when the preceding Tory government was exceedingly bad? As you point out, Liberals have held power most of the time.

[Icebound]

Here's a fantastic article by Andrew Coyne at the National Post as to why Harper & the CPC lost the election. It's bang-on:

http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/andrew-coyne-conservatives-brought-down-by-their-own-cynicism

The key paragraph from that article:

The only party faction that was really served was the yahoo faction, the “toxic Tories” as a friend calls them, to whom this government truckled and whose loyalty was rewarded in turn. MPs who were willing to say the opposite of what they believed, or believe the opposite of the facts, were promoted; those who were not found themselves out of cabinet, or indeed out of the party.

[Moonlight Graham]

The Conservatives lost this election because of policy. I thought they ran a pretty good minority government before and even as a center/left person I thought they deserved to stay in power.

But once they had a majority they started writing some of the worst legislation I have ever seen. The internet surveillance act was the line in the sand for me personally, then when Canadians rejected it, the CPC told us we were all pedophile supporters, then they submitted the same bill with "children" and "predators" in the title hoping that would make a difference. Then we had the omni-bus crime bill... the CPC version of "crackin down and gettin tough", and then our very own patriot act. These things combined with the utterly idiotic decision to enter the Iraq war and it was time for the CPC to say buh-bye.

Well said. I voted for the CPC in more than 1 election. And you're right, some of the legislation they wrote was a joke. Some of it obviously unconstitutional, and thankfully we have the Supreme Court etc. to squash them. It's like they had no conception of Charter law in this country, i mean did they not run these bills by lawyers first? Obviously they did, but some of the lawyers in their party, like Vic Toews, were nuts themselves.

Often the CPC likened themselves to the Republican-party North and copied many of their policies and political tactics. A really bad example to model your party and policies after. There's definitely room for conservatism in this country but not the wingnut kind that we've seen here and south of the border in the last 15 years.

Edited October 23, 2015 by Moonlight Graham

[ReeferMadness]

I would say that if a party gets most of the seats with less than 40% of the vote, we all lost.

[socialist]

I would say that if a party gets most of the seats with less than 40% of the vote, we all lost.

But if we take a slightly longer time frame, Harper conservatism also accepted a host of ongoing social changes he inherited and wouldn't tamper with: abortion, same-sex marriage, public medicare, equalization payments, etc. You do have to go back to the Harper "firewall letter" of 2004 to see how many issues he put to rest. In a democratic framework, when you alternate in power, there are many things you have to accept.

In addition, the years of budget deficits clearly showed that he adopted liberal economic policy prescriptions to fight the recession. Yes, he played on the theme of balanced budgets, but the clear preoccupation was with job numbers, GDP growth numbers, etc. His recession fighting turned timid by 2011, admittedly, but he was able to count on the provinces to run large deficits and make up for the limited stimulus he provided.

[Michael Hardner]

But if we take a slightly longer time frame, Harper conservatism also accepted a host of ongoing social changes he inherited and wouldn't tamper with: abortion, same-sex marriage, public medicare, equalization payments, etc. You do have to go back to the Harper "firewall letter" of 2004 to see how many issues he put to rest.

Agreed. I also think that they made a choice to position themselves as immoderate when in fact they were more moderate than appears. Elections are about style more than substance now.

[sharkman]

If he has an "anointed one" attitude we can expect some spectacular scandals then.

Well, lets see how much gets spent on the PM residence, which was good enough as is for Harper.

[Smallc]

Well, lets see how much gets spent on the PM residence, which was good enough as is for Harper.

And is not good enough for anyone in reality. Trudeau shouldn't even move in until the house is brought up to the condition it should be. The house is our house. We shouldn't accept the deterioration of this important symbol.

[Michael Hardner]

Trudeau shouldn't even move in until the house is brought up to the condition it should be. The house is our house. We shouldn't accept the deterioration of this important symbol.

Not to drift the thread but.... what ? Is the house in bad shape or are you metaphor-ing ?