Conservative Majority

On Monday, May 2, Canadians went to the polls and exercised their democratic right to vote. While the Conservative majority is not a huge surprise, this election will still go down in history as significant. The demise of the Bloc Quebecois, including its leader Gilles Duceppe, and the crushing defeat of Michael Ignatieff were not predicted by any of the pundits. Neither was the enormous success of Jack Layton and the NDP, especially in Quebec.

In the 1990's, Jean Chrétien was able to win three back to back majorities because of the division of the right wing vote, first between the Reform Party and the Progressive Conservatives, and later between the Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives. Since the right wing parties have been able to combine into the Conservative Party, they have managed to first stave off a Liberal majority, and then win two back to back minorities. In the latest election we have come full circle with the left of center vote being divided allowing the Conservatives a majority. It will be difficult to defeat the Tories as long as the left of center is split. Are we moving to a two party system comparable to the United States? Time will tell.

Another interesting angle to the election results is the success of the NDP, especially in Quebec. The 42 NDP seats outside of Quebec is a significant victory too, but only because it's more than the Liberals total of 34 seats. Ed Broadbent was able to win over forty two seats with the NDP in the 1988 election, and that was without any seats in Quebec, so Jack Layton’s numbers outside of Quebec are not without precedent.

While it would be easy to give Jack Layton all the credit for the destruction of the Bloc Quebecois, one has to ask why Quebec is moving towards federalism at a time in history when Stephen Harper is Prime Minister. They might not want to vote for him, but they do not seem to have a problem being in a nation that he is leading.

With his new majority government, and a majority of Quebec MPs being NDP, Stephen Harper should move quickly put to health care reform on the agenda. It's time for Canadians to be able to opt out of the public system and go to a private clinic in Canada, instead of having to endure long wait times or travel to a clinic in the USA. With Quebec already being the province with the most private clinics, it would be difficult for Jack Layton to argue forcefully against a two-tiered system. It is time for the public system to endure some competition. Harper should strike while the iron is hot.

Regardless of what is on the political agenda, I think most Canadians are happy that the next election is at least four years away and that we should have a stable government after more than 7 years of minority governments.