In yesterday's Canadian elections, Conservative Prime Minister Steven Harper was reelected, as were many of his fellow conservatives. Based on conversations I've had with my students and some of our neighbors, this wasn't a huge surprise. Many Canadians, young people in particular, are following the state of American politics more closely than Canadian politics. Thus, voter turnout was at an all time low for this election. I also know that many Canadians were unhappy about this election, which Harper moved before the U.S. elections hoping that no one would be paying attention.
I hope this isn't a warning of things to come for the U.S. in a few weeks. . .
1 comment:
The problem with Canadian politics is divided groups in your quasi-Parliamentary system.
You have a conservative party, that reflects 37% percent of the population. But, this block wins because the larger liberal majority is sub-divided between three groups (liberal, NDP, and Greens). See here:
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/10/not_so_worthwhile_canadian_electoral_system.php
For better or worse, our two party system does not allow for the political fragmentation.
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