Welcome to the first in a series of daily wrap-ups of cross-Canada election coverage. VanRamblings will strive each day to bring issues of importance to Canadians to the fore, and point you towards the most provocative election commentary published on the ’Net each day.
Canadians have elected eight minority governments over 37 campaigns, and those governments have created pivotal law: universal medicare, housing co-operatives, the Canada Pension Plan, and official bilingualism.
Tonight’s Decision Canada coverage begins with a video report (RealPlayer required) by CBC’s Susan Bonner, in Ottawa.
Not everyone agrees that a minority government is in the offing, though.
Kevin Brennan, one of the moderators at Tilting at Windmills, believes that we’ll see “An uptick in Conservative support in the next couple of weeks, followed by a substantial drop in NDP support as people move to the Liberals to prevent a Conservative win. And if a third to half of NDPers do that, Paul Martin will win his majority after all.”
That certainly isn’t a belief shared by Conservative leader Stephen Harper, who says in this Globe and Mail article, that he’s seeking advice from a “large number of Conservatives across the country on what would need to be done on transition.”
Oh, poor, poor federal NDP leader Jack Layton, who’s already contemplating the role his party would play in a Liberal minority government. In today’s Winnipeg Free Press, University of Calgary professor Keith Archer poses the question Will (The) NDP Hold the Axe?, and portends the consequences.
And, do you really believe that Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe has formally ruled out an alliance with the ‘new’ Conservatives should they win the plurality of seats necessary to be considered for government?
Meanwhile, Globe and Mail columnist Roy McGregor writes that “a minority government can hold an enormous attraction — especially when that country is not likely to do much harm to itself or to anyone else by having a government that could blow up at any given moment.” The real thrust of his piece, though, is captured in the headline, ‘Minority governments give Canadians what they like: a lot more grist for griping’.
Okay, okay — hold on one damn minute!
As Arjun Singh writes, “I am really surprised with the tone of what I am reading today. PM turns to Chretien’s people. Harper planning a freaking transition. We got FOUR weeks left. It’s anybody’s election.”

Continue reading Decision Canada: We’re Gonna Get A Minority Government? →