This has been an election-rich year in Canada.

Besides the federal election, whose results were exactly the opposite of what I'd hoped, there were also provincial elections here in Manitoba as well as in neighbouring Ontario this week, with more provincial elections in most of Canada throughout the year ( Read more... )

As I write this, the body of the Honourable Jack Layton, Leader of the Official Opposition in Canada, is lying in state in the House of Commons in Ottawa, two days after dying in the early hours of Monday morning. Layton is receiving this honour, along with a state funeral this Saturday, even though it is usually only accorded to the very highest ( Read more... )

What can I say? I was wrong.

Not in a good way, of course.

The Canadian federal election came and went last week, but I've been reluctant to write the post-game wrap-up because the results were so disheartening. People reading this in the United States and elsewhere can start with CNN's article about the election results, which has some decent ( Read more... )

I hadn't brought it up here until now, but a federal election was called in Canada a couple of weeks ago, to be held on May 2. (If nothing else, Americans reading this may have caught Stephen Colbert making the announcement.)

You can follow the news on it more closely if you'd like (there are plenty of social media options for this, too), but let' ( Read more... )

You thought your politics were filled with The Drama, America?

The political parties in Canada are currently involved in a very dramatic power struggle.

Our three opposition parties (Liberal Party, New Democratic Party, Bloc Québécois) signed a deal this week which would have them topple the government of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen ( Read more... )

The Canadian federal election is over and done with, so I'm here with some post-game wrap-up...

Here is the parliamentary seat count, before and after:

Conservative Party = 127/143
Liberal Party = 95/76
Bloc Québécois = 48/50
New Democratic Party = 30/37
Green Party = 1/0
Independent = 3/2 ( Read more... )

On this Canadian Thanksgiving Day, along with all of the other things (and people) I'm lucky to have in my life, I am thankful that I live in a country with universal suffrage.

Canada's system certainly isn't perfect (there are problems with current election law, for example, which are troubling), but considering that most Canadians wouldn't have ( Read more... )

Election Fever has actually started taking hold in Canada, with only a few days left to go ( Read more... )

No sooner had I posted about how Canadian politicians tend to run a clean campaign than the Conservative Party posted a graphic on one of their election websites of a puffin dropping a deuce on Liberal Party leader Stéphane Dion. That's 100% class, right there ( Read more... )

As expected, Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper called a general election in Canada today, which will be held on October 14...despite this violating the spirit of his own law which provided for a fixed federal election date next year.

For those generally unfamiliar with Canadian political affairs, you can always follow more closely, but ( Read more... )