It's like if Texas turned blue overnight: Alberta's elections toss out 44 years of conservative rule

[telemann]

Comments

[mahnmut]

Gee, Canada. Even their conservative party is called the progressive conservative party (sounds like an oxymoron really).

[sandwichwarrior]

It is. But then that is pretty common among political ideologies, try arguing with an "social anarchist" some time.

[telemann]

Yeah, they are relatively progressive compared to the Wildrose Party (a Canadian version of the tea party) and quite a bit of fighting between those two factions (a replay of "no true conservative") helped the NDP gain victory. Some of the staunchest conservatives I've encountered online, on IRC political channels, have been Canadian conservatives and libertarians from Alberta.

[mahnmut]

There goes the myth of socialist Canada.

[airiefairie]

Hopefully, this will facilitate a faster shift to a paradigm on climate change that does not boil down to outright denial and burying metaphorical heads in the (oil-rich) sands.

[sandwichwarrior]

I'm not seeing a whole lot about "climate change" here.

I'm seeing a bunch of different economic and social trends that certain people get wrapped around the axle.

[airiefairie]

If Canada could revert its decision to abandon the Kyoto protocol, then I am totally seeing a whole lot about climate change.

[yes_justice]

We just signed the TPP though so....

[htpcl]

OK, but what caused this major shift in Canadian politics?

[yes_justice]

I wondered this too. I'm hoping its due to Afghanistan. But I am ignorant. Could be they just were effective.

I wonder if sabotabby knows?

[htpcl]

Maybe they conducted Obama-style viral campaigning? :-)

[404]

There are so many factors to consider as to why Canadians voted the way they did. It's a bit premature to think this is anything but a blip on the radar, driven by immediate issues, and may or may not represent a long term sea change.

[luvdovz]

By that logic, the same could be said about any election result.

[404]

One election does not make or imply a trend.

Besides, according to the OP, ostensibly the center-right party lost sixty seats, with the center-left NPD (gaining 49) and the farther right Wildrose Party (gaining 16) taking over. What happened to the PC? Rarely does a political party that has been in power that long get crushed so handily. I would like to know more about why this occurred, and then make some conclusions as to the long-term effects of it, sadly the OP omits this.

[telemann]

The OP noted the event, and its remarkable importance (party because it didn't really get much notice in US media) The OP was merely hoping to stoke discussion and curiosity about our important neighbors to the North, and their political system; and in this effort , the OP has been apparently a success, for which they are pleased.

However, while the OP appreciates your very keen disappointment with the lack of possible explanations for the voter's shift away from the Progressive conservatives, the OP deliberately left the "whyness" and "howness" to more qualified Canadian poly-sci experts; it certainly wasn't the goal of the post, and it wasn't under any obligation to provide that speculation.

[bdouville]

Telemann has asked me to take a stab at explaining WHY this shift took place. Well, there are many more qualified commentators than myself on this matter, but I'll give it a try. And let me qualify my analysis by saying that these aren't necessarily original arguments. If you comb through recent editorials in Canadian newspapers, such as The Globe and Mail or The National Post, you'll find plenty of insightful punditry published in the wake of the recent Alberta election