This is a great outcome for Canada

[Harper_is_Bush]

Canada gets to see the Harper government in action with a weak minority. He will be hard-pressed to make things happen and Canadians will get a good look at him.

The Bloc seperatists are big losers. Lost seat count & popular vote. Less chance of another referendum anytime soon.

Liberals has a strong triple-digit opposition seat count. This fulfills the "time out" that Layton was calling for.

Canada can wait 18 months for another election to get a majority gov't that is better focussed to lead, and in the meantime the Conservatives won't be able to fuck with anything significant with such a weak minority.

:)

[tuvor]

1. Careful.

If, in the meantime, the Cons manage to appear to the electorate to "play nice" with everyone else, they may garner more seats next time around.

We all owe it to ourselves to keep a close eye on Harper.

[MiwSher]

3. I agree

We can't afford any complacency now, otherwise we could be conned -- literally and figuratively.

MiwSher

[daleo]

2. I guess that's one way of looking at it.

There will be a lot of political maneuvering rather than any attempt to get much governing done in the near future, though.

We lose:
- the day care initiative, which would have been the first new major addition to the social welfare system in a long time.
- the tax cut on the lowest income tax bracket, which is about as progressive as recent political trends seems to allow.
- the same sex marriage debate will be brought back, with consequences one cannot be sure of.

Things could have been a lot worse though. As you say, Harper will find it hard not to reveal his real agenda, if only because the old Reform Party elements of his party won't stay quiet.

[jackbourassa]

4. They won't last 18 months...

There will be an election next winter at the latest when the 2007 Budget fails to pass.

The only reason Harper may survive this budget is because the Liberals have to find a new leader. So if there isn't a no confidence motion this fall, expect an election for next March or April.

P.S. I agree the Bloc were huge losers in this race. Remember when they said they would win every riding?

[Canuckistanian]

5. Who did the Bloc lose to?

Sorry, I'm just getting home from work.

[sonicx]

6. i dunno, but they are down 3 seats from last time

[Canuckistanian]

8. Well, it's not like they can expand anywhere

Maybe into Alberta or some parts of Newfoundland.

[Posteritatis]

7. Juuuuuuuust enough rope... (n/t)

[Wabbajack]

9. No it's a terrible outcome

He may not have a majority but he is in power, every action he takes will be designed to win him more support. Be afraid.

[AX10]

10. Exactly!

[Conker]

11. This question is coming from an American, so please excuse my ignorance.

What is voting fraud like in Canada?Is it common or becoming a problem there?

[Spazito]

12. No, it is not common at all

There were allegations of voter fraud in Quebec during the last vote on Quebec separation but, over all, our elections are fair, open and very simple, paper, pencil, ballot.

[glarius]

13. And we know the outcome right away....Machines do not make it faster!

:)

[dsc]

14. I admit to being stunned at how fast you know

I figured I would go to bed that night unsure of the outcome but instead knew within a seat or two the entire outcome before 11:30. Impressive.

[Spazito]

15. It is a great process!

As a scrutineer, one can watch the vote count taking place and there is a scrutineer in attendence for every candidate and many counters. After scrutineering myself, I am even more confident of our system. I KNOW every vote is counted.

[dsc]

16. It helps that your ridings have around an eighth or so

of the population of a Congressional district. In your big cities it makes them very small geographicly and in rural areas you still aren't counting millions of ballots. It would take longer here, though not forever.

[Spazito]

17. Actually not so, imo

Given each polling place has it's own counters, the ballots are not moved, one just ensures there is a good ratio of counters based on the number of voters expected at each polling place so the size of the whole district/riding is not really relative, imo.

The key is to have more polling places the greater the size of the city, each polling place with it's own counters.

[Wabbajack]

19. Do you guys have absentee ballots?

In some very close races in the US counting them can delay the result, for weeks in some cases.

[Spazito]

20. Yes, here is info on special ballots

SPECIAL BALLOT: The special ballot accommodates voters who:

reside temporarily outside Canada


reside in Canada, but will be away from their electoral districts when it is time to vote


will be in their own electoral districts during the election or referendum but cannot or do not wish to vote in person at the ordinary or advance polls
Canadian Forces electors and incarcerated electors serving sentences of less than two years also vote by special ballot, using different procedures than do other special ballot voters.

Electors must first apply to vote by special ballot; registration forms are available from Elections Canada or the offices of returning officers.

At an election, a voter may cast a ballot only for a candidate in his or her own riding. The special ballot is a blank one, and the voter writes in the first name or initials and the surname of the candidate of his or her choice for that riding. It is the voter’s responsibility to obtain information about the candidates. At a referendum, the ballot is pre-printed with the referendum question(s) and the voter places a mark in the space indicated for a "Yes" or "No" answer.

To preserve secrecy, the voter then seals the ballot in three envelopes, and sends it by mail or courier to the Chief Electoral Officer in Ottawa, or (if the voter is in his or her own riding) to the returning officer for that riding.

http://www.elections.ca/content.asp?section=gen&document=elecproc&dir=ces&lang=e&anchor=4&textonly=false#4

Special ballots have never, to my knowledge, caused any delay in the overall election results. The only way they could is if the vote in one riding was very, very close and that riding would make the difference between a majority versus minority government or, even more rare, a one riding difference between which party wins at all. I have not researched it though. I suspect the date to return special ballots is far enough ahead to not create a time problem.

[Telly Savalas]

18. That's not really an issue...

Assuming a constant scrutineer/counter to population ratio, it doesn't matter how big a district/riding is. If it's bigger, there'd be more counters.

The one factor which does make it go fast is that there's only one item on the ballot, unlike a typical U.S. election where you've got to tally 15 or more items.