Zoot Woman - Grey Day

Well it's been an appropriately grey day here after the game-changing results of last night's election. Unsurprisingly, the Conservatives won. Surprisingly, they now have a majority. What does this say of our country, to re-elect a man found in contempt of parliament? Given that only 61% of eligible Canadians bothered to vote, it smacks of the same apathy that has plagued our political landscape for years.

People simply are not educated enough, or don't feel that their vote matters. Without knowing the demographics of those that voted, I can hypothesize that once again it was the youth of Canada that did not stand up to be counted, and now we have a thoroughly repugnant man as majority Prime Minister for the next four years because some 24% of Canadians thought he should be. The system is a shambles to be sure, but one cannot blame the system with such low voter turnout. It is a bitter blow, and one that will surely be looked upon in a very poor light by outsiders. That such a so-called free democratic society should so frivolously spurn its civil right, and duty, to decide its leader is contemptible in and of itself.

If there are positives to be taken from the result, it is to be found firstly in Quebec, who have overwhelmingly voted to oust the Bloc from official party status in a clear demonstration that sovereignty is no longer a strongly held desire of its people. The NDP's now commanding foothold on the province thrust it into pole position as head of the opposition, which could have been significant if Ontario had not completely dumped the Liberals and gone Conservative, which is particularly confounding.

Indeed the fall of the Liberals must be seen as the largest story of the election, and who it must be said have capitulated in embarrassing fashion. Thankfully Michael Ignatieff has resigned his position, and one feels that there must be a complete overhaul of the party that appears totally rudderless and bereft of any significant political strategy beyond disparaging its competitors. A leader with character and integrity, and a legitimate platform that addresses appropriate issues with coherent and reasonable solutions that are more congruent with its perceived representation of the Canadian left are desperately needed if there is any hope of a return to prominence.

While I am not in favor of party politics, nor do I subscribe to the left/right argument on my own behalf, it seemed clear to me that the failure of Ignatieff's Liberals to distance themselves from the eminently polarizing right of Harper's Conservatives was key to their downfall. Layton's NDP, on the other hand, recognized an opportunity to seize the left, and did so in remarkable fashion given their relatively inauspicious outlook only a few weeks ago.

As the dust settles it is difficult to imagine Canada strengthening its international reputation under the banal leadership of Mr. Harper, and it is a similar outcome that should be expected domestically. We must now instead look to strengthen our communities internally, supporting local businesses and talent, improving our relationships individually and educating those around us to the importance, however dull it may seem, of understanding democracy. Without the support and participation of all Canadians it will continue to invoke abject derision from our friends and critics alike, and we have only ourselves to blame.

See ya tomorrow.