May 2, 2011

Hope and Change in Canada?

At 10:17 p.m. Canada's parliament seats have the Conservative party at 150 seats, The socialist NDP at 91 seats, the Liberal party collapsing at 30 seats and the separatist Bloc Quebecois also collapsing at 4 seats.  The seat totals aren't all in yet but there are two major implications:

(1)  There is going to be a close race for a majority for the Conservative party.  They need 155 seats.  It may or may not happen.  It's going to be a nail biter.

(2)  The socialist NDP has doubled their highest seat count EVER.  That could be a leftward tidal shift.  It could be the volume of campaign advertising, or it could be the personal likability factor of their leader Jack Layton.  It could also be they are benefiting from a collapse of the other two parties.  It could be merely temporary.  This is the bigger story right now.  My suspicion is that the NDP is not the new left party in Canada beyond just for now.

UPDATE 1: The conservative party totals has slid back to 145.

UPDATE 2: Most of the NDP gains have come in the province of Quebec.

UPDATE 3: Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff probably won't survive this collapse.  Same holds true for Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe.  Conservatives are currently at 150 seats, NDP at 106.

UPDATE 4:  Conservatives have gained 24 seats in Ontario, Canada's most populous province. NDP have gained 6 there.  All seats lost are Liberal seats. [10:32]

UPDATE 5:  The West Coast, British Columbia will close the election and determine the minority/majority of the Conservatives.  [10:34]

UPDATE 6: #tweettheresults  Follow Canada's election results on Twitter, there's a fine for tweeting results ahead of time is cause for a $25,000 fine.  Stupid.

UPDATE 7: Conservatives in majority territory - currently won or leading in 158 seats. [10:37]

UPDATE 8: Conservatives elected or leading in 162 ridings.  That's a majority.  Fingers crossed. [10:39]

UPDATE 9: One network has now called it for the Conservatives. They have it at 165. [10:45]

UPDATE 10: Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is losing in his own riding.  He will not survive. [1048]

UPDATE 11: Conservatives at 40% of the popular vote.  In a 5 party country that's a solid number.

UPDATE 12: There may be the first Green Party (the environmentalist party) seat in parliament in the history of Canada. [10:53]

UPDATE 13: Thanks for all the re-tweets folks.  Results have slowed.  The current count is Conservatives 168 seats, NDP 105 seats, Liberals 33 seats, Bloc Quebecois 1 seat and the Green Party 1 seat. [11:10]

UPDATE 14: Liberal leader Ignatieff is trying to do his best to spin the election results and portray himself as the lone remaining voice of the centrists and his party's role as the same centrist role. Of course they're not really.  It's not a concession speech, it's more like a calm panic. [11:25]

UPDATE 15: The numbers are bouncing up and down by 1 seat here and there.  I'm shutting it down now.  The final numbers will be close to what it was in Update 13 and I can update it then.  Thanks for reading.

2 comments:

  1. Canada should be proud...they are becoming more and more conservative and prosperous and America is becoming more and more socialist and going down the tubes!
    Keep up the good work Canada....hopefully, we can right our ship next year, here in the states!

    ReplyDelete

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