Liberals left with minority

Prime Minister Paul Martin and the Liberals win 135 seats in Canada’s 38th general election.
Image supplied by: Photo courtesy of canabisculture.com
Prime Minister Paul Martin and the Liberals win 135 seats in Canada’s 38th general election.

Last night Canadians voted a Liberal minority government. Of the 308 seats, 135 went to the Liberals, 96 to the Conservatives, 20 to the NDP, 54 to the Bloc Quebecois and one seat went to an independent. The Green Party was unable to win a seat but received 4.3 per cent of the popular vote.

The Liberals will assume government for the fifth time in a row, with Prime Minister Paul Martin at the helm.

This election was the closest in recent history. Polls were indicating a very tight race between the Liberals and the Conservatives throughout the campaign. Regardless, the Liberals came out on top.

At 11:30 p.m. when most of the seats had been decided, NDP leader Jack Layton thanked supporters for electing him as well as 19 other NDP candidates.

“Right across the country tonight, twice as many people voted for the New Democrats from coast to coast to coast,” he said.

“There is a new energy in our party … it’s a new energy we are going to have in the House of Commons,” he said.

Stephen Harper spoke to supporters in Calgary and congratulated Conservative candidates across the country.

“Men and women have put aside their differences and fought to deprive the Liberals of the majority they we’re sure they would win,” he said. “Until someone achieves the majority, the fight is never won or lost.”

Prime Minister Martin spoke in Montreal and thanked his family first.

“I feel pretty good,” he said.

He also thanked those Liberal candidates who lost their seats.

“It has been an honour working with you,” he said.

Political Studies Professor Jonathan Rose anticipates that Canadians will be heading back to the polls in the near future.

“The last part of this campaign, and now, are the beginning of the next election,” he said.

Rose said Martin will be facing very different “polling and pushing” from members of the House and he will have to be extremely strategic.

He applauded Layton for saying he would work to hold the Liberals accountable.

“That means a lot more activist government, that Martin would rather not deal with,” he said.

He said he thought many “soft” NDP votes went to the Liberals because of fear of the Conservatives.

“I think people wanted the Liberals but wanted to send a message about being dissatisfied and we will see that in the make-up of the next parliament,” he said.

AMS Academic Affairs Commissioner Omar Kadrie said he is looking forward to working with the Liberals this school year.

“It is up to us to hold [the Liberals] to their promises,” he said.

Kadrie said in this election youth and post-secondary education issues were ignored but this can only be changed by student involvement.

Although post-secondary education is a provincial jurisdiction and the Academic Affairs Commission will be concentrating on working with the provincial government in the post-secondary education policy review, Kadrie said students must remember that the federal government is a key stakeholder in their education.

“I feel, if we increase [the student vote] we will see change,” he said.

The last time the country was in a minority situation was under Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Joe Clark in 1979 to 1980.

Other minority governments included Pierre Trudeau’s government of 1972, Lester Pearson’s governments of 1963 and 1965, John Diefenbaker in 1957 and 1962 and William MacKenzie-King in 1921 and 1925.

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