Well, as predicted, the Conservative Party was elected as Canada’s new federal party. Quite a wild ride last night watching the coverage. They pulled off a narrow minority government. So narrow that if 2 of the other parties wanted to, they could apparently topple the government.
But, considering one of those is the Liberals, who the country is already pissed at, and the other is the NDP, who are trying to gain the country’s trust and have been saying all through the campaign that they would support the dominant party by keeping them in line, as opposed to trying to topple them…
I think we have at least 2 years of stability here. A full term would be nice, though, as there are some good changes that the Conservatives have been talking about, including making the Senate an elected body (which is the only way it really makes sense), making elections on scheduled dates (ditto) and giving more assistance to post-secondary education.
We’ll see what the future holds, but as I spent some time yesterday (pre-crash) looking over the parties platforms, I realized that the Conservatives have a relatively good one. I’m unconvinced on the need for a same-sex vote, but beyond that it’s a fairly good platform.
So, welcome Mr. Harper. I hope you use the small bit of trust Canadians have given you for good, and that you don’t squander it.
Ah predictions … 2 years, eh?
I think Mr. Harper (PM Harper I should say) will soon realize that the GST reduction and saving is not as big of deal as he thinks, and doesn’t really affect businesses in a negative or positive way …. and will come up with some real tax saving plans and incentives to keep Canadians happy. Taking that into consideration, Martin resigning party leadership, recession almost over, usa election in 2008, …I think he’s headed for full term plus a few months up to the limit!
Heck .. I was looking to see if the odds were out at William Hill Online on PM Harper’s future, but it’s too early - they only have the 2008 USA presidential elections to bet on … Did you know that Arnold Schwarzenegger is currently at 34:1 odds ? Mind you, the odds that Elvis is still alive is only 501:1 …(disclaimer: not that I gamble or anything - i was just curious)
I haven’t read the papers today (my time) but I did watch some of the election coverage on CPAC yesterday (side note: when they interview someone in French the panel looked totally bored…mainly because they had no idea what the person was saying
) and I’m surprised the Conservatives are forming government given my understanding that NDP and BlocQ are regarded as left of centre parties….how is it you guys can totally stuff up a perfectly good inherited Westminister (or Washminister as we call the variation here in Australia) system of Government and deliver such a mess! 
Give me a 2 party democracy any day of the week 
well i’m pretty sure mr.harper and his right wing ideas are going to take over the world. He will kill all the gays, blow up the abortion clinics, make us all have either crappy healthcare OR pay for it.. and yeah i think this is the exact world i wanna live in…