Kind of whats been going on in America for the last 10 years, isn't it?
JD
June 28, 2004 09:59 PM EDT
OTTAWA - The Liberal Party lost its outright control of Parliament on
Monday
but easily won the largest share of seats and will now try to lead
Canada's
first minority government in 25 years.
Though dogged by scandal, and pressed by a newly unified Conservative
Party,
the Liberals prevailed by largely holding their ground in Ontario, the
most
populous province.
Projections by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. suggested the Liberals
might
win roughly 140 seats overall, short of the 155 need to single-handedly
control the House of Commons, but far more than 90 to 100 seats the
Conservatives were projected to win.
In Quebec, the Bloc Quebecois, which advocates independence for the
French-speaking province, did well at the Liberals' expense. The Bloc
increased its share of Quebec's 75 seats from 33 to more than 50.
The final polls taken before the election suggested the Liberals and
Conservatives were deadlocked, and many analysts had predicted the
Conservatives would win the most seats.
Thus the results, giving the Liberals a comfortable plurality, were a
relief
to Paul Martin, the 65-year-old Liberal leader who replaced Jean Chretien
as
prime minister last year. He had called the election five weeks ago,
hoping
the results would provide a solid mandate for his administration.
The Liberals had won three straight landslide victories under Chretien,
and
there were signs during the campaign that many Canadians were disenchanted
with the party and its recent entanglement in a financial scandal.
However, the results suggested a widespread reluctance to turn over power
to
the Conservatives' relatively untested leader, Stephen Harper, whose
stances
on tax cuts and social issues prompted concerns about unwelcome change.
Most minority governments in Canada's past have proven unstable and
short-lived; the Liberals may try to govern with the assistance of the
left-wing New Democratic Party.
Although the Liberals and Conservatives had much in common - including
sup****t for the national health insurance system and reluctance to deploy
troops in Iraq - there were some key differences. Harper wanted to slash
taxes for the middle-class, increase the military ranks from 60,000 to
80,000 and pull Canada out of the Kyoto Protocol, which commits
industrialized nations to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
Harper, 45, denied Liberal claims that he would seek restrictions on
abortion, but he conveyed some doubts about Canada's steady move toward
legalization of same-*** marriage, which already is legal in three
provinces.
Harper, a former Parliament member from Alberta, has spent most of his
adulthood in conservative politics and was a key figure in successful
efforts to end the right-of-center divisions that had enabled the Liberals
to dominate recent elections. The current Conservative Party is a merger
of
the old Progressive Conservative Party that was strong in eastern Canada
and
the Canadian Alliance, which arose from anti-Liberal resentment in the
West.
Roughly 22 million voters were eligible to cast ballots. In the last
national election, in 2000, turnout was the lowest ever at 61 percent.
The new Parliament - with 308 seats - will have seven more members than
the
outgoing one, in which the Liberals hold 168 seats, the Conservatives 73,
the Bloc Quebecois 33 and the New Democrats 14. There are nine
independents
and four vacant seats.
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Let the name calling begin!!! (its all you libs have)
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