To those who cast their eyes enviously to the south and watched Americans embrace change in their November 4 election. Look again to Canada. To those who feel that Canadian politics lacks the panache and excitement of other countries. Look again to Canada. And, to those who think they know what’s going to happen. Look again to Canada.
The past week’s events have to be some of the wildest we’ve seen yet in Canadian politics. For the Monarchists among us, the political scene in this country may soon lie in the hands of the Queen’s representative in this former colony – Governor General Michaelle Jean.
Should the Liberal-NDP-Bloc coalition succeed in toppling the Harper minority, it will be Jean who decides what we do next. Once again our politics is interesting, albeit a bit strange, but interesting nonetheless. While Jean doesn’t really take her marching orders from the Queen, her position, which still holds some authority, is colonial. It’s ironic that First Nations blame much of their plight on colonialism.
Should the new coalition be successful, Jean will have three options before her. She can tell Stephen Harper to go back to the drawing table and come up with legislation that will pass in the House of Commons, she can give the new coalition a chance at governing, or she can order a new election. Given the time of year and the cost, the latter may be the least favourite choice.
And make no mistake about it, the three opposition parties are serious about toppling Harper and the Conservatives.
“In light of the critical situation facing our citizens, and the Harper government's unwillingness and inability to address the crisis, we are resolved to support a new government that will address the interests of the people,” wrote Liberal leader Stephane Dion, NDP leader Jack Layton, and Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe in a letter released Monday. “Today we respectfully inform the Governor General that, as soon as the appropriate opportunity arises, she should call on the Leader of the Official Opposition to form a new government, supported as set out in the accompanying accords by all three of our parties.”
They point to the fact that the Conservatives’ plan to deal with the current financial crisis is woefully inadequate. In Harper’s defence, he did campaign on “slow and steady hand on the tiller,” when it came to the economy and suggested that we shouldn’t change our tactics. So, this isn’t a departure from what Canadians were told in the election campaign. The question remains, though, is doing little in these tough economic times the right course of action?
The other compelling piece of the puzzle is how our electoral system elects parties without a majority. In the October 14 general election, the Conservatives garnered only 37.6 per cent of the popular vote and only 46.4 per cent of the seats in the House of Commons. The Conservatives cannot claim to have the support of the majority of Canadians. Slightly more than 62 per cent of Canadians who cast a ballot, voted for someone else than the Conservatives on October 14.
So what choice does Jean really have? It is incumbent upon the Governor General, after every election, to ask one party or another to form government. When that party has a majority, the choice is easy. When in minority situation, the choice is more difficult and it, in no way, has to be the party with the most number of seats. Jean is compelled to choose which party, or coalition of parties, can best form a government. Coalitions are nothing new in Canadian politics. The current Conservative party are a coalition of the old Reform Party and Progressive Conservatives, the latter of which was a coalition of other parties itself.
So who will be the big winner here? Quite possibly it will be Elizabeth May and the Green Party. A Liberal/NDP coalition may result in the demise of our traditional third party. Canadians, not ready to go to a two-party system, will likely embrace another third choice.
Canadian politics? Wild, wacky, intriguing, irritating, colloquial, and truly Canadian.