The federal Conservatives have finally convinced Canadians it should form a majority government.
For Prime Minister Stephen Harper it is his party’s first majority government after five years of governing in a minority situation.
“”It’s something we worked so hard for. We’ve had two minority governments and tried to put out a platform people could trust,” said Earl Dreeshen, Tory incumbent for the Red Deer riding. Dreeshen was easily reelected last night.
Looking across the floor of the House of Commons the new majority Tory government will see the New Democratic Party (NDP) as its opposition foe, the first time the left-of-centre party has been the runner-up in a federal election.
The Liberals, once Canada’s powerhouse federal political party, slid to third place in what is being considered a major electoral loss. But while the Grits’ performance is viewed as devastatingly disappointing for supporters it pales compared to the disaster endured by the separatist Bloc Quebecois.
At press time the Conservatives were elected or were leading in 168 ridings. They needed only 155 to form a majority government. The NDP had elected or were leading in 104 ridings, while the Liberals were third with 32 elected or leading. Gilles Duceppe’s Bloc Quebecois party was leading in only two Quebec ridings. The Green party was leading in one.
Locally, early poll results had Dreeshen with 4,349 votes. The NDP’s Stuart Somerville was second with 890, while the Green Party’s Mason Sisson was in third with 331 votes and the Liberal’s Andrew Lineker was last with 194.
Dreeshen said he was “extremely pleased’ that Red Deer riding constituents delivered him a vote of confidence.
“Coming into tonight I wasn’t too worried after talking to the residents. I had a good campaign team, and that is really what kept me going,” said Dreeshen. “We have a good budget and people are starting to recognize that. One of the big things people have been talking about in the election is the economy.”
He said he was equally surprised as many Canadians that the NDP was able to turn over its pre-voting day poll results into votes, as well as what transpired with the Bloc Quebecois.
“I think one of the big things to look at is what happened to the Bloc. That is a big story,” said Dreeshen. “The NDP will go through a few growing pains as well. I don’t know what the final numbers will be yet but the Liberals are going to have some more building to do.”
At press time the Conservatives has attracted almost 40 per cent of the popular vote, while the NDP has earned almost 31 per cent.
Final polls heading into voting day showed the Conservatives having 37.1 per cent support nationally, compared to the 38.6 per cent with which they started the election campaign. In the past election, the Conservatives polled 37.6 per cent of the vote.
The NDP, which climbed dramatically since half way into the campaign, immediately after the televised English and French language debates, entered Election Day with 31.6 per cent support. The NDP began the campaign as the third party across Canada, with 19.9 per cent support.
In Quebec, where the NDP made the most dramatic gains according to polls in the final weeks of the campaign, the last polls before Monday showed the NDP drawing 45% support, while the Bloc trailed at 26%, with the Liberals trailing at 16%, followed by the Conservatives at 13%.
Meanwhile, prior to Monday’s vote, Michael Ignatieff’s Liberals was a distant third nationally at 20.5 per cent. They began the campaign with 27.6 per cent support. At press time Monday night the Liberals has earned 19.3 per cent of the popular vote.
