Canada re-elects Harper....

See, that's a good statement.

i make them all the time. keep up.

don't get so pissy. i like givin you a hard time about voting conservative because it was obviously a bit of a struggle for you from your comments before the election.

it is what i do.

although i didn;t vote conservative,i am a big fan of the way it is and hope it stays this way for another 4 years.

the liberals are taking some well deserved time in the penalty box and the cons can't make any moves without at least one of the parties voting with them.

it is the cons turn. i don't like harper's enviromental record , his views on iraq and following the states are scary,and he promises to spend too much for a conservative, but overall he is doing a good job and I am happy with him as our minority leader

I'd have to agree with most of this as well. I would have liked to see a few seats go to the Greens just to give them a voice in Parliment and less PQ because I don't believe they accomplish anything except whoring out their support to the highest bidder. Otherwise I'm OK with how things turned out as well.

If Harper gets a better chance at a minority than this one I'll be surprised.

On another note, aside from young Trudeau, does anyone see the possibility of a French PM ever again? I truly can't see it happening any more than a Harper majority.

I think you're batting .900.

Not so much a great article as it is ironic. The point that bothers me most is the fact that those who envision themselves as Quebecois first and Canadians second, hold the balance of power within the rest of Canada.

I do agree that it sucks to have all those votes tied up in a party who sole purpose is to split the country, but I really don't think Bloc support is holding back the conservatives because it is doubtfull that most Bloc supporters would ever swing over to the conservatives.

On another note, aside from young Trudeau, does anyone see the possibility of a French PM ever again? I truly can't see it happening any more than a Harper majority.

Not with the Bloc holding so many seats. Why pander to a province that won't vote for you anyway?

I do agree that it sucks to have all those votes tied up in a party who sole purpose is to split the country, but I really don't think Bloc support is holding back the conservatives because it is doubtfull that most Bloc supporters would ever swing over to the conservatives.

exactly, in ridings that didn't go bloc, the next highest vote getter was a liberal candidate but our con friends like to ignore that little FACT.

it is what i do.

And you do it very well.

Not sure if that is a compliment or not.

exactly, in ridings that didn't go bloc, the next highest vote getter was a liberal candidate but our con friends like to ignore that little FACT.

Cons ignore that fact because it isn't a fact.

Of the 10 seats the Cons won, the Bloc finished second in 9 of them. This would mean the next highest vote getter was not a Liberal in these ridings.

source, cause cbc coverage election night said it not me.

Cons ignore that fact because it isn't a fact.

Of the 10 seats the Cons won, the Bloc finished second in 9 of them. This would mean the next highest vote getter was not a Liberal in these ridings.

That is kind of a technicality since we were discussing what would happen if the bloc didn't exist. Really the question is "Who would the Bloc voters vote for if the Bloc wasn't on the ballot?" Second in Quebec popular vote is the Liberals and I would think that most of the seats held by the Bloc currently would go to the Liberals, but of course I am guessing.

Second in Quebec popular vote is the Liberals and I would think that most of the seats held by the Bloc currently would go to the Liberals, but of course I am guessing.

I'd say your guess is pretty good.

Despite the popular belief that the Bloc is a "single issue" party, they have a clear mandate on every major issue that voters care about and it just so happens that the Bloc is better aligned with Quebecers' generally left-leaning stance on major issues.

For example, Quebecers (and the Bloc) don't side with the conservatives on big issues such as Iraq, environment/Kyoto, young offenders, arts etc… On those issues, the Bloc's platform is much closer to the Liberals.

I'd say the only major platform agreement between the Bloc and conservatives is government decentralization: the conservatives are much less prone to meddling in provincial responsibilities, which Bloc voters tend to agree with.

Overall, on issues, I'd say Quebecers would more likely side with liberals than conservatives but the mistrust for liberals is still pretty strong so not sure every Bloc seat would go to liberals if Bloc wouldn't exist…

Cons ignore that fact because it isn't a fact.

Of the 10 seats the Cons won, the Bloc finished second in 9 of them. This would mean the next highest vote getter was not a Liberal in these ridings.

I would agree with Lamb on this one. Out of the 50 ridings that the Bloc won about 30 of those the liberals came in second, 17 of which the Tories were second and the NDP 3 .
However I would like to point out that even with the backlash the Tory's were dealt in the last remaining weeks they only lagged behind the Liberals by 2% points in popular vote within QC.

Despite the popular belief that the Bloc is a "single issue" party, they have a clear mandate on every major issue

If every province had its own party with a clear mandate of protecting its own interest than this great nation of ours would be fucked.

For example, Quebecers (and the Bloc) don't side with the conservatives on big issues such as Iraq, environment/Kyoto, young offenders, arts etc… On those issues, the Bloc's platform is much closer to the Liberals.

Iraq is a non-issue. Maybe you meant Afgan. In regards to Kyoto of course they'd want to see it implemented. Do you really think QC would suffer? No, they'd just get increased transfer payments.
Arts was a red herring during the election. Obviously several artists with community pull got their funding cut. The Liberals and the Tories have similar spending initiatives for Arts.
Now the young offenders policies there proposing is slightly scary.

Iraq is a non-issue. .

non issue?

be on whichever side you wish, but harper would have, if in charge, sent men (likely hundreds) to die in vain in iraq, making canada much less safe in the process.

this is an issue to every canadian (don't have to agree with me on it, but whether or not you want your PM following the States into illegal pre emptive wars is an issue fo sho)