Journal: News & Comment

Permalinks to this entry: individual page or in monthly context. For more material from my journal, visit my home page or the archive.

"Well, that was easy," say Canadians

With the Americans still dithering over whether they've elected a president, Canada managed to get our election over with in record time.

Of course, almost nothing changed. The Liberals under Jean Chrétien are still in power (with a few more seats), the Canadian Alliance (formerly the Reform party) is still the opposition (with a few more seats), and the remaining parties -- the Bloc Québecois, the New Democratic Party, and the Progressive Conservatives -- all continue in Parliament (but they all lost seats).

Chrétien has now won three elections in a row as leader of the Liberals. Perhaps more impressive, he has been elected in his riding in Québec eleven times -- in every election since 1963.

 |