I knew I was going to regret that election prediction column. No matter how certain something appears from a month-away vantage point, your fellow human creatures will always come up with a way to surprise you.
In the case of the 2011 election, the fellow humans who served up the biggest surprise were the people of Quebec, who amazingly handed Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe not just his hat, but his coat too.
They let NDP leader Jack Layton keep his, as well as his by-now signature cane. Incredible. In my wildest dreams, I could never have imagined an orange crush swamping the Bloc’s wide blue sea.
Read Also
Senft to step down as CEO of Seeds Canada
Barry Senft, the founding CEO of the five-year-old Seeds Canada organization is stepping down as of January 2026.
Although I really hate to do this, I will remind the reader that I predicted yet another minority Conservative government. Oops.
I thought that, tactically, the Liberals and NDP made a bad move in toppling the government, in that we would end up with just more of the same after an expensive exercise in democracy.
If they made the call strictly on moral grounds, killing the 40th Parliament was less dumb, but it depends how badly you want to win.
It turns out that, tactically, the Liberals and NDP did make a bad move, in that Canada ended up with a majority government not made up of either party.
Poof goes their influence. They wielded more power before the election, at least when they voted with a united voice.
Now, the Liberal voice is howling in the political wilderness.
The NDP can still be heard, having surged to official opposition status – its best federal showing in history. It should therefore have more clout than ever, but I doubt it.
A majority government, being what it is, pretty much overwhelms anything the opposition can throw at it.
Being sick of the election rhetoric, I hope prime minister Stephen Harper meant what he said right after the election: “We must be the government of all Canadians, including those who didn’t vote for us.”
I hear that as a more conciliatory tone than Harper (or anyone else) used during the last Parliament, or during the election.
I hope so. If he could turn down the heat in the House and really represent all Canadians, that would be the biggest win of all.
