Canada’s MPs will face a profoundly different political landscape after Monday’s federal election
The Conservative Party won a long-sought majority government, while the New Democratic Party will take over as the Official Opposition from a decimated Liberal Party.
Conservative incumbent Ted Menzies said the majority government will give the party the opportunity to continue the initiatives it was working before the vote was called.
“We have the majority we were hoping for, we have the stability that we need to be able to continue on what we were doing,” he said.
The Conservatives won 167 seats, securing 39.6 per cent of the vote. The NDP have 102 seats, the Liberals will have 34 seats, the Bloc Quebecois have four seats and Green Party leader Elizabeth May was the party’s first elected MLA.
Both Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff and Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe lost their seats in Parliament and the Bloc was nearly wiped out, seeing its seat count drop from 47.
Menzies said the Conservative government’s first priority will be to get the budget passed.
He said having a majority government won’t result in much change in the Conservative Party’s policies and approach. The party will continue to work on priorities it feels strongly about, including pursuing justice legislation it believes will help protect Canadians and its low-tax plan, Menzies said.
“Our plan is to make sure we keep creating jobs and that businesses are given the opportunity to compete both here and internationally,” he said.
According to Menzies, it’s too early to see what having an NDP lead opposition will mean in Parliament, but added he Conservative government will work with the NDP.
However, he’s happy the NDP’s surge in Quebec gave the Bloc Quebecois a knock out blow. Menzies said the Conservatives and NDP may not see eye-to-eye on in a number of areas, but neither party wants to see Canada split up.
“I’m happy that we have a weakened Bloc Quebecois in this country,” he said. “I think my constituents are happy about that, they were very concerned they were very frustrated.
The NDP scored a major political upset on Monday winning 102 seats in parliament, up from 36, and secured 30.6 per cent of the popular vote.
Macleod NDP candidate Janine Giles credits much of rise in the party’s fortunes was the result a tidal wave of support in Quebec, where it won 58 of the province’s 75 ridings.
Giles she said the NDP’s strong showing in Quebec paved the way for the party becoming the official opposition.
“A lot of it had to do with the sovereignty message getting old,” Giles said. “The Bloc had a strong union of social conservatives and social democrats and that seemed to crumble.”
Giles said Canada’s political landscape has changed with the election.
“It’s a political realignment in Quebec. Sovereignty was always a democratic expression but now people are putting their preference with New Democrats rather than the Bloc,” Giles said. “This is the first time we have seen a majority formed through Ontario and Western Canada. Usually it is through Quebec.”
While the NDP has nearly triple its number of seats, Giles admitted it may have less power than a month ago, because they no longer have the opportunity to topple the government as was the case when the Conservative had minority power.
“When there is budget time, opposition won’t have the same voice as they did before, absolutely,” she said.
The Liberal Party saw its seat count in Parliament drop from 77.
Macleod Liberal candidate Nicole Hankel, who came in fourth in the riding, was disappointed to see a lot of Liberal candidates not do better in other ridings across the country.
Hankel blamed U.S.-style Conservative political attack ads targeting opposition parties for distracting voters from the real issues.
The historic defeat of the Liberals across the country, Hankel said she is unsure what the future holds for the Party but remains optimistic.
“I think that remains to be seen,” said Hankel. “But I have a lot of hope for Canada and I have a lot of hope for the Liberal party in the future.”
The next election could result in a much different picture, Hankel believes, if the Conservative government continues on the path it started before the election.
“I think the next election, if we see further erosion of the important social programs basic to family, like education, pension, healthcare,” she said. “If we keep seeing rising debt and priorities being put on jets and corporate tax cuts, we may have a very different picture a few years from now.”
