5 minutes to go

[whosinpower]

Until the election results begin to come in from Canada.....starting from the east coast....the suspense is giving me butterflies!!!!!!!

[fryguy]

1. didn't even notice there was an election going on up there today....

and here I thought I stay informed...

[NMDemDist2]

2. does it still look like the conservatives are gonna take it? n/t

[AliceWonderland]

3. I know

I'm here listening to the CBC stream from Halifax... here we go...

[merh]

4. Good luck...

keep us informed, thanks.

[bigwillq]

5. Who/What are you Canada folk voting for?

I had no idea there were elections today.

[whosinpower]

6. General election today

It is THE BIG ONE for us in terms of federal elections....

[bigwillq]

10. Well, I hope everything goes well

Was turnout expected to be high?

[Bill McBlueState]

7. sources for results

I'm watching the Globe and Mail website -- nothing there yet. What other web sources do you recommend, in case traffic slows down there?

Elections Canada isn't releasing anything until 10 pm Eastern.

[Sticky]

14. Click on "Live Results" link

http://www.ctv.ca/mini/election2004/

[Junkdrawer]

31. Are you from Nova Scotia???

Mrs. Junkdrawer and I are planning a vacation there in July...

[Sticky]

40. Yes, I am!

I'm in the Annapolis Valley, about an hour from Halifax.

Is this your first trip to Nova Scotia? If you have any questions just ask.

I hope you enjoy your trip!

[Spazito]

45. I spent 2 weeks touring Nova Scotia and it was awesome!

I am a Nova Scotian by birth but my parents moved when I was very young so it was wonderful to go back. I rented a car and drove ALL over, the Cape Breton Highlands were stunning and I loved my three day stay in Halifax too. You are very fortunate to live in such a beautiful province!

[Junkdrawer]

47. Thanks...

:)

[CHIMO]

29. CBC Site

Scroll down a bit on the right for selection of audio/visual options.

http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes/

[metis]

8. Winnipeg

Anyone else here in the Charleswood-St.James riding?

[Wonk]

9. Early results: Liberals leading in 1 riding, Cons leading in 1 riding

306 more to come.

Hey, I did say early results...

[Sticky]

11. Libs leading in 3 ridings right now

could be a trend....or maybe not. It is Newfoundland, after all. :-)

[Bluebear]

12. btw...was in Halifax early this month, had a blast. Thanks!

[AliceWonderland]

13. Heh

I'm a Newfoundlander and this is always my favourite part of the election. Everyone in the country has to listen to what we're doing for a half hour...

[Sticky]

15. Newfoundland

My favourite place on the planet!

Rex Murphy talking now. Gotta pay attention. :-)

[AliceWonderland]

18. Ah... Rex...

I hope he's on CBC One at some point. I'm in exile in the US, so all I have is my internet stream.

Polls closing in the Maritimes...

[Tripper11]

37. Seperated at birth?

On the left, Colin Mockery when he was with This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and of course the true Rex on the right.
Colin did an awesome Rex when he was on 22 Minutes.

[whosinpower]

16. 1 liberal elected - Bill Mathews

1 so far is declared elected, 2 more liberals leading 2 conservatives leading and the others are in tight races.....

[JimT]

17. eek!

Awww, Cheney me! I feel really uninformed for not knowing there was an election in Canada today. thanks, I will watch for the details now.

[whosinpower]

19. Hehehhe

"Cheney Me".......the new curse word of the new world order......

[whosinpower]

20. High voter turnout so far.....

[Longhorn]

21. Pardon my ignorance

But what is a "riding?" Is it comparable to a congressional district or precinct or what?

Thanks for taking the opportunity to educate me today! I love to keep up with election results! :D

[Bluebear]

22. Me too. It sounds so.....equestrian?

[Bluebear]

23. It sounds like what the US would call a precinct or ward maybe?

[Spazito]

27. A riding is, I think, very close to your congressional district...

each riding equates to a seat in our House of Parliament and is determined by population, the more populated provinces have more ridings therefore more seats.

Edited to add: found this on Elections Canada site that might help explain:

Canada is divided into 308 electoral districts. One representative, or member of Parliament (MP), is elected for each electoral district.

Each electoral district has a returning officer, who opens an office when an electoral event is called. The returning officer is responsible for organizing and administering federal elections and referendums within that electoral district.

[Longhorn]

30. Thanks! :) n/t

[Bluebear]

34. Appreciate that!

[Lautremont]

28. It's an area which will be governed

by the Member of Parliament who gets the most votes. That's where the numbers count. They're geographically small in the cities and considerably larger in rural areas - my province has a riding as big as two Utahs and an Ohio. The MP who wins in the riding has won a seat in parliament, and the party with the most seats runs the country as long as it's a majority (155 seats or more is a majority), which it won't be tonight.

[Longhorn]

32. Thanks! :) n/t

[Bluebear]

33. Merci! ....Et bienvenue a DU!

[Lautremont]

38. Thanks, folks

I've learned a lot about how it works up here myself lately, since the last minority government happened well before I was old enough to vote.

[Bill McBlueState]

48. minority government

How does a minority government work? I think different parties form coalitions until some coalition has a majority... But how formal are such coalitions? Are the parties involved obliged to support one another in any sense?

[Lautremont]

51. They're coalitions of necessity

In this case, to defeat the Conservatives on a given bill and generally get things done, the Liberals will often have to play to the NDP, which is in my view wonderful. It's pretty unlikely the NDP and Conservatives will find common ground on anything besides keeping the Libs in check, which is also good and an example of how Conservatives, like mosquitoes, can actually do some good in the great scheme of things, whether they like it or not.

An official coalition means a coalition government, which is another thing again.

[AliceWonderland]

24. Sigh, this was supposed to be the breakthrough for the NDP in Nfld

But the one viable candidate lost his riding early. On the other hand, the Nfld vote for the NDP is up -- I think I heard 8% -- so maybe there's a chance for the party to break into the province at some point.

[Robbien]

25. Thanks for starting this tread

This election has had me worried about the conservatives also taking over our neighbor to the north. Hope it turns out well for the liberals.

[senseandsensibility]

26. Please keep this thread

going! I"m rooting for you guys! Good Luck.;)

[Tsiyu]

35. Go Libs!

Many of us are intensely interested in your races. Thanks for all the info and let's hope it turns out "our way" because a lot of us may be relocating up there if the Shrub and his fellow flora dig their roots in for four more years.....

[Gregorian]

41. You said it!

I'll toot my own horn again. I could very well be buying a house in Canada THIS WEEK. Yikes, I'm scared and excited.
Go libs!

[Longhorn]

42. I'll join you in beautiful Canada

if Bush is re-selected in November! :evilgrin:

[Tripper11]

36. Watching on CBC now...

I actually forgot I got CBC here in Seattle for a brief moment :silly:
Libs have 8 to the Cons 5

[Massacure]

39. More results now at 8 EST.

Libs 18
Cons 7
NDP 3

[Sticky]

43. Beautiful sunset behind Alison Smith

Halifax Harbour looks so picturesque, almost like an oil painting.

Hehe ...she just said Theodore Tugboat is in the harbour off to her left.

[Sugarbleus]

44. Are the liberals AHEAD???????? got my fingers crossed n/t

[Tripper11]

46. Latest Results according to CBC at 5:14PST

Liberals 20
Cons 7
NDP 4

[catzies]

49. A kick for our beautiful neighbors to the north.

Yes, this DUer knew you were having elections today. It has been talked about here after all for days, along with everything else that's been going on. I paid attention! :hi:

[Longhorn]

50. The results are coming in quickly now! n/t

[Dover]

52. I find it difficult to believe there is such a strong conservative base

in Canada. Is it for real?

[AliceWonderland]

53. It isn't the same as what you call "conservative" here

There are a few yahoos, but by and large, the concept of "social conservatism" doesn't fly in most of Canada -- except in parts of the West, and for specific reasons. The old Progressive Conservative party wasn't like the Canadian Alliance (the two joined for the current party). I mean, where I come from, you can be Tory and it doesn't even mean much politically, it's just what your family *is*. There are Tories in Eastern Canada, but people are generally appalled by Harper's agenda.

It's all rather a mess right now.