[Canadaka]

First of all I want this thread NOT to be another left right flame war, remarks and comments on peoples post should not be the dumb one linerer posts that so many post. Would be best to just post your view.



My thoughts...

I am pretty happy with the outcome I guess. With polls the last couple weeks tilting to large Conservative wins and possible majority's I had very bad feelings going into tonight.

But to many peoples surprise the Liberals were resilient and strong and the conservatives did not win by a large margin at all.

I am also very pleased to see the the NDP gain in support, they will make a great force for balance in the new government.

I am also happy to see the the conservatives actually lost support in BC to both the liberals and NDP.

I am happy to see that the conservatives got support in Quebec, I migh6t have liked that support to be liberal if the liberals won, but I think its good for Canada and national unity that since the Cons won they did get support and so much more than was expected at the start in Quebec.

It is a bit troubling that the conservatives were shut out of 3 of Canada’s largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. This is kind of looking like the political picture of the US elections.

I personally like Paul martin and think he made a good PM. But i am happy with his decision to stand down as liberal leader, it is defiantly in the best interest of the party and of Canada. I believe that with a strong new Liberal Leader the Liberals will come back to win the next election whenever it might be. With that said I think that the new elected government will last more than a year and should, I am alright with Steven Harper being the PM.

I don't mind Harper all that much, I think he might do an alright job if he trys to keep his agenda pretty centralist. If he were to put forward something far right wing the government might fall from a non-confidence from the other parties, I don't think this will happen and hope it doesn't.

Although i am sad to see the liberals not win, I also think it is good and possible good for the country that they didn't. The cons with a very slim minority will not have much power and won't be able to do a lot of the things that are more controversial. But I think they will be good at dealing with certain issues and this is good for Canada. And now that martin has stepped down this really gives the Liberals a chance to regain the support of the Canadian people. I feel that the martin government was not corrupt and did a good job of cleaning up. But the people of Canada obviously didn't, So them not getting re-elected puts the Liberal Party in the penalty box for a round. I think after that the Canadian people will be ready to re-elect them.

I am also VERY happy to see that the Bloc LOST seats and failed to get more than 50% of the popular vote in Quebec as they were boasting they would.

It should be interesting to see how this all unfolds, All i know is that Question period is going to be very interesting. The Liberals have a very strong opposition, stronger than the Conservatives had, and the Liberals will be tough. The cons will have to work with the liberals they have no choice, Even if the Cons and NDP made a coalition (which i don't think were to happen) they don't have over 154 votes. And if the cons were to partner with the Bloc, it would be political suicide for the next election.

Congrats to our new PM Steven Harper, I may not agree with many of your points of views and your parties, but you are LEAPS AND BOUNDS better than another conservative leader to the south of us. You are no George Bush, you have my respect and confidence, you are an intelligent person and a good speaker. And I know that the Canadian Conservatives are not like the American conservatives.

[797]

I'm happy with the results,I would have prefered a majority but a minority may not be a bad thing.If nothing else it will keep Harper on his toes.
I just hope that we can all get back to being Canadians and make Canada the best friggin' country in the world....Oh wait,we already are..

[bossdog]

To me, this simply looks like a very small flip-flop of power. I would have been happier with a majority rule for either party. I have a feeling that we may be able to start the Federal Election 2006 \ 2007 thread within the next couple of months. There was no doubt in my mind that the Conservatives would come out on top but like Trev, I was expecting a larger spread. I am however, disappointed in one thing. I was really hoping that the NDP would get enough seats to claim balancing power. If we're going to have a minority government (which I'm not crazy about), let's make it as diverse as possible across the board. I think we'll be in better shape than before, but I think we could have done better with a majority. When I say "we", I don't mean Cons, I mean "we" as Canadians.

[Banff]

Hopefully we will all get a surprise and see all parties working together very well and possibly making a majority in the current state of this country seem unappealing . The winner of a future majority will be determined by trust and both the liberals and conservatives have given us that through responsible gov. . It is a new beginning in that aspect and a step into a brighter future and not a tool to become a preditor or wear the purpose of it out . Paul was very gracious and him and Stephen both gave great speeches .After awhile I started leaning more toward the human element just as Manley said that people don't always throw bricks and when you leave they throw flowers so it is rewarding . I contemplated life at sussex and the truth about being away from family and the kids . Its never easy and they are right . Most of us will contemplate whether we were too hard on Paul , some more than others and a few not at all but the bricks will probably stop flying . It was all good except for Belinda , I swear a person can get botchulism poisoning right off of the television from her. It was great to see a 64% turn out but I don't know whether I'd give so much attention to an election in the future .

[Rev_Blair]

My biggest recurring thought? Harper is going to look like a 90 year old man by the time the house rises for the summer.

How does he please his base and make deals with three other parties? How does he keep his socially regressive MPs muzzled? The man has a real problem now. He was likely more powerful in opposition than he can be as PM.

I have a feeling I'm going to be watching CPAC even mor now. I've always enjoyed a good comedy.

[RUEZ]

My thought's about the election without bashing the liberals to much, it's fricking awesome. I don't think I've ever had so much optimism for Canada. I'm quite disappointed in BC, but I think it had to do with the quality of candidates they had. I guess Lily was right about BC. My one dissapointment other than not getting a majority Con government, is that Belinda and Paul Martin both kept there seats. Oh well, baby steps I guess. I have a feeling that once Prime Minister Harper starts doing some good for the country all the liberal scare tactics will wear off and people will see the good that can be done. I also listened to Jack Laytons speech, I thought it was quite good, but the supporters showed there class when they boo'd our new Prime Minister. Anyway all in all a great day for Canada.

[curly11]

We will now see the true colors of Steven Harper, just glad it is a minority government and we have other people to keep him in check. At this time I don't think we need or want a majority government as there is no one person who stands out as the leader of a country so divided in who is the best person to run it. What we need is someone to step forward from some where and speak to all Canadians as a whole, and have the respect and vision of all parts of the country in mind. We just need to keep Canada as probably the most respected and loved country in the world, but we also need to have a leader to carry on our legacy world wide.

[IcedCap]

my thoughts?

exactly how bad an election campaign do the Liberals have to run to lose in the GTA

I'm holding out hope that Layton puts electoral reform at the top of the wish list he hands to Harper, I think its time has come.

The Greens really squandered the $1.75 a vote they got in 2004

[Robair]

I stated quite awhile ago that I was hoping for a Conservative minority.

That's what I got. So now I guess if no good comes from it, that makes me the dumbass.

Being from a farm outside of a very small town myself, I like the idea of a government whose main support is the rural vote.

I'm anxiouse to see what this government can do, sure hope it works.

Harper united two political parties, maybe he can use the same 'uniting' skills to run a minority...

[Ripcat]

I was thinking about when I might be receiving my next voter registration card.

[TheTreff]

I think it's sad. After last night I'm going to have to put my Canada Kicks Ass T-shirt into semi-retirement...

[ThePolitician]

Rev_Blair Rev_Blair:

I have a feeling I'm going to be watching CPAC even mor now. I've always enjoyed a good comedy.

I can't wait for the first session to sit. It's going to be great!!

[tired_of_red]

I'd have been more pleased if the Conservatives had done better in the GTA, Montreal and Vancouver. The silly, yet effective, "Stephen Harper, the extremist right-wing" blather basically saved the Liberal party. It worked with newer Canadians. YA, that's right, just like Parizeau said in the last referendum, "it was the immigrant vote that hurt us". Be that as it may, that's okay too.
I beleive that Haper will be able to stand up and show Canada that the pitiful rhetoric spewed by the Liberals was just that. Harper will show that he has a pretty solid approach to social issues in Canada, that he is more centrist than the Libs would have us believe.
Considering the inroads made by the NDP, the Liberals are in a position to lose their strong central position. They'll not dominate it and hold on to it so easily. They are being marginalized from left and right, and that too, is a good thing.
I just hope the Commons gives Harper a chance to work. His political success has come upwards steadily, and overall, that is a good thing, over a long period of time.
He still seems a little awkward, but that is okay as well. He'll grow into it.

[QBC]

Kinda the way I thought and hoped it would go. Martin will be gone, too bad he was the "rebound guy" for the Liberal party. We'll see what the Conservatives do now. I hope for Canada's sake the Conservatives don't go radical right wing on us.