up against the wall

[the_siobhan]

In Canada we technically have three major parties. In practice we have two major parties (PC and Liberal) and our small loud socialist self-appointed conscience of the government (NDP). The NDP had been doing pretty well for itself the last few rounds, to the point where they had a real shot at being the power.

But because it's a first-past-the-post system (aka, winner take all) if you really really really have to get rid of the guy from one of the major parties - most people figure they have to vote for the other major party. It's a perception the Liberals have always encouraged, because they benefit from it. As they did yesterday.

I lost my MP, who was a brilliant dedicated man who was very good at his job. I'm pretty unhappy about that. A lot of other really good people lost their seats. (Peggy Nash, Dan Harris - and seriously, how far has the Liberal party fallen that they would even consider letting a fascist racist like Bill Blair represent them?)

But at least Harper *spit* is gone. We can rebuild from that.

Comments

[jo]

All the parties, including the NDP, courted Bill Blair. Just sayin'.

Also, from what I've seen in a lot of ridings, the vote totals for the NDP and Conservatives didn't change much or at all in this election compared to 2011. What changed was the Liberals got a whole slew of NEW votes -- so it wasn't really vote splitting in a lot of cases. The Liberals shed a total of 2 million voters since the 2008 election. about a million in that election and another million in 2011 -- people who didn't turn to another party, they just didn't vote. I think they just came back. Not to say there wasn't some strategic voting going on, but it doesn't explain what really happened.

[greylock]

I liked the NDP, what I had read about them, after the got elected in Alberta, but they seem really waffly on controls over oil sands extraction (or possibly not working to ban the industry completely).

I am also pleased to see the back of Harper.

But because it's a first-past-the-post system (aka, winner take all) if you really really really have to get rid of the guy from one of the major parties - most people figure they have to vote for the other major party.

The same, or similar, works under proportional representation, so pretty much everyone votes for the two major parties in the lower house because to do otherwise is to "throw away your vote".

People seem more willing to vote for a third party in the Senate, which has made things very interesting (especially in recent years because a lot of minor parties have ended up winning senate seats... sometimes with a fraction of a percent of the vote).

[tcpip]

Canada needs preferential voting; and even before that electoral cooperation between the Liberals and the NDP.