Harper wins majority, CBC projects

[curlycool89]

Canadian voters have delivered Conservative Leader Stephen Harper his first majority government after five years of governing in a minority situation, CBC News projects. Meanwhile NDP Leader Jack Layton was set to become Official Opposition leader.

The NDP, according to projections, made a major breakthrough and appeared to have nearly tripled their seat count, while the Liberals — often touted as Canada’s “natural governing party” — were poised to suffer a stunning historic electoral loss and place third.

As of 10:49 p.m. EST, the Conservatives were elected or leading in 164 seats, followed by the NDP with 103, Liberals with 32 and the Bloc with four. A party needs to capture 155 seats to win a majority in the House of Commons.

Story

The Bloc and the Liberals have both been decimated. Looks like we can have a majority government for a while.

 

[Gift_from_God]

I voted NDP and am glad they managed to get to over 100 seats for the first time in their history. Ignatieff just didn’t seem like leadership material to me

It’s kind of funny that the BQ and Liberal Party lost their own leaders.

I look forward to see how Jack Layton handles being the leader of the opposition

 

[Digitonomy]

What happened to the Bloc? Were their winning margins thin in previous elections so they were always vulnerable, or did their popularity fall dramatically in the last couple years?

 

[Phemie]

What happened to the Bloc? Were their winning margins thin in previous elections so they were always vulnerable, or did their popularity fall dramatically in the last couple years?

I don’t think their winning margins were that thin before. I think the people of Quebec who are not rabid separatists saw that the Bloc cannot do much beyond being a dog in the manger and went with a party that had some hope of forming the Government.

I don’t know how this country is going to fare over the next four years with Harper at the helm. That man scares the daylights out of me. I fear for our freedom.

 

[nguirado]

I don’t think their winning margins were that thin before. I think the people of Quebec who are not rabid separatists saw that the Bloc cannot do much beyond being a dog in the manger and went with a party that had some hope of forming the Government.

I don’t know how this country is going to fare over the next four years with Harper at the helm. That man scares the daylights out of me. I fear for our freedom.

What freedom does he want to take away?

 

[Digitonomy]

I don’t think their winning margins were that thin before. I think the people of Quebec who are not rabid separatists saw that the Bloc cannot do much beyond being a dog in the manger and went with a party that had some hope of forming the Government.

It’s not as though that is new this election. Was there some watershed moment that changed voters’ minds as compared with 2008?

 

[Gift_from_God]

I don’t know how this country is going to fare over the next four years with Harper at the helm. That man scares the daylights out of me. I fear for our freedom.

To me, he’s not fiscally responsible

 

[Brendan]

To me, he’s not fiscally responsible

As opposed to what, the NDP?

Can you say ‘Bob Rae’?

This election is the best news in a long time. Harper gets a great shot a remaking the Supreme Court, as several justices will be reaching the mandatory retirement age in the next four years.

So maybe, just maybe, some of those anti-life, pro-homosexual decisions can be overturned.

 

[Bluegoat]

What freedom does he want to take away?

Harper has always tended to have real anti-democratic tendencies, and is kind of an uber-partisan. To be specific:

He’s consolidated more and more power to the PMO. The MPs in his caucus are controlled more than any other administration in history - they are less responsible to their constituency then they have ever been, and cannot speak on behalf of their constituency without his permission. He has made sure Access to Information requests are more difficult and placed more restrictions than ever on civil servants. He has cut funding to research within government and stopped government scientists from reporting their findings. He has attempted to stop the judiciary from speaking out. He tried to quietly eliminate the long census to avoid having to make decisions based on actual information. He has restricted access of the media to government. He continually threatens the public broadcaster. He has the House sit as little as possible and prorogues Parliament rather than face the elected MPs. He allows his ministers to lie to the house and withhold information from the house and then denies it. He instructs his MPs to disrupt committee work to achieve partisan ends. He tells the public falsely that the proper procedures of government are anti-democratic and incorrect. He kicks out the public from political rallies if they may not be supportive of him. He tries to undercut public funding of political parties. He has made more motions confidence votes to try to force the other party’s hands to avoid elections.

He also changed the name of The Government of Canada ™ to The Harper Government™ and took down the pictures of past PMs that used to hand in the lobby pf Parliament and replaced them with only photos of himself.

All a little too “Russian Despot” to be comfortable with. The man scares me, and it scares me that Canadian conservative MPs and voters are willing to go along with it.

 

[Brendan]

I look forward to see how Jack Layton handles being the leader of the opposition

Yes, especially with the bank of students, bar tenders and ex communists that Quebec just elected.

theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/students-ex-communist-a-cree-leader-and-more-join-ndps-swollen-quebec-ranks/article2008082/

I think he will have his hands full just keeping these rookies from burning themselves and the party.

Especially since the caucus will be almost entirely run out of Quebec.

 

[Bluegoat]

As opposed to what, the NDP?

Can you say ‘Bob Rae’?

This election is the best news in a long time. Harper gets a great shot a remaking the Supreme Court, as several justices will be reaching the mandatory retirement age in the next four years.

So maybe, just maybe, some of those anti-life, pro-homosexual decisions can be overturned.

As opposed maybe the Liberals who are the reason we’ve managed ok in the recession? Do you remember when Harper made fun of Dion for thinking it was serious, and recommending an immediate meeting of world leaders? They have generally had a much better fiscal record than the Conservatives, despite their underhanded dealings.

I don’t think the Conservatives have done badly since they have been in, but I doubt they’d have done much different than the others. Their success comes largely from Canada having its house in order already.

 

[Gift_from_God]

As opposed to what, the NDP?

Can you say ‘Bob Rae’?

One (former) NDP doesn’t represent all of them.

 

[jdnation]

Glad the Conservatives won.

The Liberals and Green Party and NDP were all pro-abortion intent on making it more available and intent on funding Planned Parenthood spreading overseas.

The Conservatives aren’t exactly pro-life, but at least putting them in hopefully prevents the spreading of abortion. Or delays it over the long term.

This was all that really matters for Catholic voters. If we vote with our conscience no doubt God will look favorably on us and help us economically too.

 

[Gift_from_God]

God will look favorably on us and help us economically too.

God will not help us economically, that’s our job.

 

[The_Reginator]

Glad the Conservatives won.
**
The Liberals and Green Party and NDP were all pro-abortion** intent on making it more available and intent on funding Planned Parenthood spreading overseas.

The Conservatives aren’t exactly pro-life, but at least putting them in hopefully prevents the spreading of abortion. Or delays it over the long term.

This was all that really matters for Catholic voters. If we vote with our conscience no doubt God will look favorably on us and help us economically too.

I did not want to vote for Harper in many ways, but as a Catholic there is no possible way I could vote for the other pro-death parties.

You are very correct.
The other parties, especially the NDP, are definitily pro-abortion. At least Harper stood his ground when it came to refusing to include abortion in the maternal health initiative for the third world. It’s not OK for the third world, but abortion’s OK in Canada???

We should have started a thread here to get Catholics to examine the parties policies in light of Catholic teaching before the election was even called.
DRAT!

 

[Brendan]

One (former) NDP doesn’t represent all of them.

It gives an indication of what would happen if the NDP was given political power.

 

[Bluegoat]

I did not want to vote for Harper in many ways, but as a Catholic there is no possible way I could vote for the other pro-death parties.

You are very correct.
The other parties, especially the NDP, are definitily pro-abortion. At least Harper stood his ground when it came to refusing to include abortion in the maternal health initiative for the third world. It’s not OK for the third world, but abortion’s OK in Canada???

We should have started a thread here to get Catholics to examine the parties policies in light of Catholic teaching before the election was even called.
DRAT!

In Canada abortion hasn
t polarized political parties as much as in the US. There are people with a variety of views in all of the parties. That is a good thing.

The problem when people jump on that as the only issue is that it means that Christianity seems to get attached to a whole host of political ideas as the only “correct” Christian position.

What people seem to miss is how political parties get their positions in the first place. It isn’t that every member of every party agrees with each position the party takes. But people join a party that has an underlying philosophy that they generally agree with. Then the views of all the members go towards determining what the party says about various issues.

If people who are pro-life don’t join a party like the Greens because they think it might be pro-choice (and really it isn’t particularly) then it certainly isn’t going to become sympathetic to or support the pro-life position. But there is really nothing in Green philosophy per se to say it could not have a pro-life position.

So - my view on abortion and politics in Canada is that to affect change you have to get involved at the party policy level.

More generally though, I don’t think any party will do much, or could do much, as long as the population is split in half on the issue. So the real task is to change people’s thinking and hearts. There is plenty of room for that as most people are misinformed about Canada’s abortion laws.

 

[Phemie]

More generally though, I don’t think any party will do much, or could do much, as long as the population is split in half on the issue. So the real task is to change people’s thinking and hearts. There is plenty of room for that as most people are misinformed about Canada’s abortion laws.

Yes, they actually think there are some. We have no abortion laws.

 

[The_Reginator]

More generally though, I don’t think any party will do much, or could do much, as long as the population is split in half on the issue. So the real task is to change people’s thinking and hearts.

Indeed.
If only I had faith the size of a mustard seed …

 

[Bluegoat]

Yes, they actually think there are some. We have no abortion laws.

Yes that is just what I was thinking of, but more than half of Canadians don’t realize that. It is true than many think the abortion laws are fine, but when they are mistaken about what they are that doesn’t have much meaning. I think this is really fertile ground, because it is very non-confrontational to simply make sure people understand that. Unfortunately, talk about abortion makes many people just turn away thinking that it must be zealots.

Anyway, I don’t think it will help Canada in this area if people start to think that pro-life = Conservative. You’ll just get a situation like in the US where people begin to equate pro-life with ideas and values they can’t support.