So is Canada now moving to the right?

[WI_DEM]

I just heard that the conservatives won the election yesterday. And that the new PM promises to repair relations with the US--so Canada is now going to become a lap dog for Bush? Too bad.

[BigYawn]

1. First Australia, then Germany, now Canada.

Pendulum will eventually swing our way, so don't lose hope.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

7. Yes, it has to hit the far right before it turns in the other

direction. Such is life: up/down/back/forth.

[montanacowboy]

2. Harper is happy to be a part of the "willing"

hope those Canucks are ready to march in Georgie's new war in Iran

[whosinpower]

Don't hold your breath

Harper is hampered by a left wing majority opposition. Canadians did not really endorse Harper - they punished the liberals for the sponsorship scandal and insider corruption.

The Bloc - a seperatist party is left wing - held their own - lost a few seats but still maintain a credible presence.
The NDP - a leftwing party gained seats.
The liberals - speaks from the left and governs from the right - lost seats over scandal and a poorly run campaign.

we shall see how this all turns out - but my prediction is yet another election within a year.

[marmar]

3. I really don't think Canada is swinging to the right...

First off, they've got a minority government, which isn't going to wield a whole lot of power.
Second, the Liberal Party was widely viewed as corrupt and ineffecive, even by Liberals, so I don't really think the vote represents some kind of ideological shift among Canadians.
Third, if Harper tries to do something radical, I'm sure there will be a quick no-confidence vote. Jumping in to bed with Bush is a sure way for him to piss off Canadians, with whom Bush is about as well-liked as bird flu.

[trotsky]

4. Aren't Canada's conservatives...

not much different than our moderate Democrats?

[formercia]

5. Canada has just become polarized.

The Right and the Left both gained seats. When Harper screws up, out of ideology or ignorance I don't know which, there will be another election and Canada will take a sharp turn to the Left.

[TrogL]

6. It's different up here

Canadian politics isn't the zero-sum game in the US version, because we have a multi-party system.

The Conservatives have won the ability form a government, but only because the left is split multiple ways. If anything, Canada swung Left, because the left-wing NDP party gained seats. The Communists and Marxist-Leninists even got a few votes (but less than the Marijuana Party).

My prediction - the government will fall on the first budget.

[nickinSTL]

8. My online Canadian friends

don't buy that Harper is anything but a traditional Canadian conservative...and are quite happy that he won.

Of course, I don't share their enthusiasm...

[AX10]

9. No. This was an anti-Liberal vote.

This is a weak minority government (124 out of 308 seats belong to the Conservatives). The majority opposition is center/center-left/left.

[MrPrax]

10. Not over my dead body...

Merely round one and we are ahead on punches...

A mere bump in the road to freedom!!!

[Roho]

11. How does ...

How Does Prime Minister Ken Dryden sound?