This isn't the Canada I came to...
Tonight was an interesting night in politics.
The Conservatives prorogued parliament twice when it was inconvenient and then was the first Government in Commonwealth history to be found in contempt of Parliament. Yet, after an election the Conservative Party will have a majority. One way this happened was by having the left vote split between the Liberal and NDP.
The Green Party got an MP elected. The first elected official at this level in North America. It's only one, but it's huge. Elizabeth May is smart and having her in parliament is a great boost to us all. This is a real high point.
For the first time ever since 1867 in Canada, the Liberal Party are not the Government or the opposition. That's just huge.
The Bloc Qubcois were nuked, down to (maybe) four seats. However, I can't believe that Quebec have just abandonded their goal of sovereignty overnight. They will be expecting the NDP to deliver. And since around 59 of the 103 NDP MPs are from Quebec, they will have a lot of influence.
Over the last few years we've seen Canada move away from the being country I respected. Internationally our reputation has gone down the toilet and I can't help but feel that it's only going to get worse.
However, lets breathe deeply and relax. We've survived Conservative governments before in Canada and reason more than ever to get involved in politics.