No strategic voting here


If yesterday's vote was a rebuke to the Conservatives, it was a mild slap on the wrist. Still a minority government, but with a big gain in seats. I was afraid the Liberals would do this poorly, and am not at all confident they can rebuild their party in time for the next election.

Here in the riding of Essex Conservative Jeff Watson easily won re-election. In his victory speech he thanked God and the people, saying "It's no secret I'm not just a member of Parliament, I'm a Christian MP."

He also got some help from the NDP and the local labour council, who misled the electorate by claiming their candidate was the "strategic" choice for the opposition. In fact Susan Whelan of the Liberals came in second, with 1,267 more votes than the NDP's Taras Natyshak. Together they outpolled Watson by more than 8,000 votes, but of course that doesn't matter in a first past the post election. The Green party came fourth, with 4.3 per cent of the vote.

I talked to a handful of people who planned to vote for Watson. None of them gave religion as the reason. Autoworkers and truck drivers, they were afraid Dion's green shift would do even more damage to their troubled industries. When Watson and Harper came through at the last minute, just as the election was called, with a grant for the Ford engine plant, they decided to stick with the devil they knew.

The voter turnout in Essex was 58.5 per cent, about the same as the national level, which was the lowest ever.

Posted: Wed - October 15, 2008 at 04:46 PM          

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