Experts like David Frum can divine the True Meaning of today's Canadian elections, which the Conservatives entered with what now appear to have been extravagant hopes. There was talk of a Parliamentary majority for the reunited CPC. Instead, the party won about 95 (out of 308) seats and about exactly 30 percent of the popular vote. The Liberals, despite impressive scandals, held onto a plurality, c. 135 seats and a 37 percent vote share. They'll be able to form a government with the socialist New Democratic Party (22 seats, 15 percent), and we can expect our northern neighbor to move further and faster toward a Third World political stance. It is already the first Western country to grant legal jurisdiction (limited but effective within the Moslem community) to shari'a courts. Likewise, the economic regime will likely tend toward higher taxes, more welfare and fewer incentives for progress. From the narrowly selfish American point of view, we can look forward to an increasing trickle of Canada's best and brightest across our common border.
A tiny company called 80 Dimensional Software brought out a Canadian election computer game, oddly named Prime Minister Forever (as if this poll would be the last), just a couple of weeks ago (only $11.99, with the promise of a free Australian add-on in the near future). Two playings prepared me for disappointment this evening. In the first, my Conservatives got all the breaks: bad economic news and almost continual Liberal scandals − which yielded a plurality of 116 seats but brought me nowhere near the 155 needed to govern. In the second, I was confident of my chances, having deciphered a few of the secrets of successful campaigning, and strategized astutely enough to gain the coveted "Big Mo" in the final week. But the economy was strong, the scandals were weak, and I got only 88 seats to the Liberals' 130. A good game; I wish that it had proven less accurate as a prognosticator.
Update: The final results: Liberals 135 (36.7%), Conservatives 99 (29.6%), Bloc Québécois 54 (12.4% [contested seats only in Quebec, where they won 48.8% of the popular vote]), New Democrats 19 (15.7%), unaffiliated 1. The combined Liberals and NDP thus fall one vote short of a majority, which will roil Paul Martin's life. David Frum is philosophical: "Canadian conservatives have become so used to heartbreak that mere disappointment can feel almost like good news."
You are completely wrong about Canada. Have you ever visited here? The reason the Conservative party lost is because they are full of bigots and their economic platform would have recreated deficits in Canada. They are out of touch and will never win support in Quebec. I think that the conservative party being in office would lead to the breakup of this remarkable country. The Liberals have done a pretty good job running the country. The debt has decreased, taxes have been cut for everybody, more jobs have been created and support for separatism has waned since 1995. This is the complete opposite of what has happened in the U.S where you have massive deficits, tax cuts which benefit the incredibly wealthy, an economy which produced only 30000 new jobs in the last month and a completely polarized society. As for our scandals, I think that you are overstating the case to say that they are impressive. At most the sponsorship scandal cost the country $100 million. It was a complete outrage, but it is nothing compared to the scandals of the Bush administration. How about the Enron scandal? George W's biggest campaign contributor driving the company into bankruptcy. Or the Halliburton scandal? Dick Cheney's company while he was CEO misstated their earnings and their are rumours that they were trading with Iran! And lets not forget the biggest scandal of all. Iraq. All that lying, all those young Americans dieing for what? No weapons of mass destruction. Al-Queda was not there before the war. And now freedom is coming to Iraq in the form of shutting down the most independent TV station in the region! As for Canada having Sharia courts. That is under review. Most people I have spoken to are opposed to that, but the court has not yet been established (you should check your facts). Oh yes, and David Frum is out of touch with reality.
Me: Proud Americans can expatiate for hours on the glories of their country without ever mentioning Canada. Does it tell us something that most of a "Proud Canadian's" spiel consists of denigration of the United States?
BTW, the Halliburton non-scandal to which P.C. refers cost no one a penny. It involved an esoteric accounting issue affecting only the timing of reported income.
Posted by: Proud Canadian | Sunday, August 08, 2004 at 10:52 AM