Election surprises in Canada
I did a posting a few days ago warning that the Canadian general election might have a surprise or two for us, but the actual result is astonishing:
- The Conservative Party – which has formed the last two governments on a minority basis – was forced into this election by a vote of no confidence, when it was found to be in contempt of parliament because of a range of public expenditure measures, and yet it managed to win an overall majority of the seats.
- The New Democratic Party – which is a centre-left body – did spectacularly well by increasing the number of its seats from 37 to 102.
- The Liberal Party – which has always previously come first or second – had a disaster with its seats falling from 77 to 34 which put it in third place.
- The Bloc Quebecois – which supports separatism for Quebec – did spectacularly badly when its seats fell from 47 to 4.
More information on the election here.
For background, you might like to read my “Short Guide To The Canadian Political System” which does not include the results of Monday’s election.