Conservatives win majority government

CANADA - Hell hath frozen over, so says supporters of the NDP and Liberals, but to political pundits the new Conservative majority government of Canada comes as no surprise. Thanks to vote splitting, it was actually predictable.

Its now after 12 midnight so we can legally post results: Conservatives won 167 seats, which means they will form the first majority government since 2004. The NDP won 102 seats, the Liberals 34 seats, the Bloc 4 seats and 1 independent (Green Party leader Elizabeth May finally managed to scratch out a seat).

See The Canadian Political Spectrum.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good

The NDP won over 100 seats for the first time in Canadian history. This signals that Canadians want change and are unhappy with the Conservative/Liberal status quo. The Liberal Party has become too moderate and too centrist in recent years, unwilling to change. This left a large part of the electorate dissatisfied and looking for change.

The Bloc has been reduced to 4 seats and could spell the end of the Separatist movement in federal politics. They lost official party status and will be marginalized. They couldn't even get their leader elected.

The Bad

The Liberals have dropped to their smallest size in Canadian history. Michael Ignatieff didn't even get elected and has resigned in defeat. The party tried to rest on its laurels and prided itself on tradition. Its time for the Liberal Party to consider unification with the NDP or be resigned to the history books for failing to evolve.

The Ugly

The Conservatives won a majority government. This means that their policies will finally be given room to breathe. Policies which have hitherto caused social uproar, everything from wanting to ban gay marriages and make abortions illegal. Harper has repeatedly said they will not reopen the gay marriage and abortion debate, but politicians aren't exactly known for keeping their word.