Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. Over $600 million to change absolutely nothing. Over $100 million more than the 2019 election, primarily because of the cost of COVID protocols. All quite unnecessary with a parliament that was working rather well and an election scheduled for 2023. Ah well, I suppose we would have had to spend it then if not now.
Anyway, I shouldn’t quibble. It’s exactly the result I was hoping for. A Liberal government that must work with the NDP (or—heaven forbid—the Bloc) to get anything done. In other words, about as progressive a government as we could reasonably hope for. With a slap on the wrist for Mr. Trudeau.
As always the number of seats each party won doesn’t match the will of the Canadian people. The Conservatives got more support than the Liberals, but it’s the latter who will form the government. And the Bloc got a third more seats than the NDP with less than half as many votes, giving them influence they clearly do not deserve. Such are the idiosyncrasies of a corrupt voting system.
The people sent the political class the same message they sent in 2019, the same message the polls indicated they would repeat, i.e. that we don’t want any one of the parties running this country by themselves. We want them to work together. A hint, perhaps, that we would be amenable to proportional representation?
In any case, Mr. Trudeau wasn’t interested in the people’s wishes. He wanted all the power for himself. Thus he risked some important initiatives, including a national day care program, initiatives that would have been scrapped had the Conservatives won. These initiatives may now proceed with the co-operation of the NDP. And of course climate change policies, the most important of all, would certainly have been weakened under the PCs.
The next election I would like to have a say in would be for the Liberal Party leadership so I could vote for Chrystia Freeland as leader. And, if the Fates smile upon us, eventually for prime minister.
“Over $600 million to change absolutely nothing.”
I’m shocked and dismayed that you would wilfully repeat a key CPC talking point.
When is any election in a democracy unnecessary? Would you or the CPC still be bitching if the result was either an NDP or CPC win? I think not.
You had me mostly agreeing until you brought up Freeland’s name.