The Stephen Harper Conservative majority offers a fresh start for Canadians – and we welcome it.
Locally, we continue to be served by Michael Chong and Gary Schellenberger, both competent, experienced, and well regarded in their respective ridings.
Due to our office’s location in Fergus we tend to deal with Mr. Chong’s office. It has to be said his staff are exceptional, particularly Jim Smith, who handles most of our queries. A good constituency office makes the MP’s job much easier and shows up in election results, which, for Chong, were definitive on Monday.
Guelph also made what we consider to be a wise choice, re-electing Liberal Frank Valeriote, the incumbent.
As the results poured in Monday night, starting with that first glimpse from the east coast, the prospect of a majority loomed. NDP wins in Quebec bore out pollsters’ suggestions in recent weeks that Jack Layton would make progress there. But it was Ontario and those key ridings in the 905 and 416 area codes that really told the tale. A move to a majority was underway and it was ultimately a decisive Conservative victory.
Far smarter minds will dissect this campaign, but we suggest the vote splitting between Liberals and NDP were quite similar to the vote splitting that plagued the Reform Party and Progressive Conservatives some years ago. We also think it unwise to dismiss the notion that an NDP rally late in the campaign might well have caused voters to jump in with Harper to avoid what would have been a calamitous situation had Layton got enough votes to form a government, minority or otherwise.
This four-year fresh start has many advantages.
First, Harper will finally have the chance to govern without compromise on every point. Readers will be familiar with the old joke about what a horse looks like when designed by a committee – a camel. We argue that compromise rarely turns out well and in recent years, the product of half measures to quell dissent has been more debt, greater acrimony, and a restrictive form of leadership to ensure staying in power.
Second, the Liberal party will have a chance to renew itself. Since Jean Chretien’s time, the party has been in a state of disarray. Personal ambitions and egos are the culprits for the disastrous third place showing. The party needs to review its core beliefs and set aside the idea that it is the natural governing party in Canada.
Third, if the NDP are to benefit from its recent jump in seat count, it must attract legitimate candidates. Locally, the NDP candidate in Wellington Halton-Hills was a no-show for debates held in the riding. Elsewhere, Anglophones were elected in Quebec as a result of Layton’s popularity. He now has to deliver – and that is far more difficult than what can be promised on the campaign trail. The $2 vote reward that the Conservatives were unable to abolish in their minority governments should now be abolished.
Fourth, Canadians can get on with their lives knowing there is a sense of stability in Ottawa. These past few years have not been good for the country. We point again to the compromise needed to stay in office. Claims that Harper alone ran up the debt are not simply his cross to bear; all the parties pushed for spending initiatives.
Fifth, it is time for new blood locally. This publication is profoundly grateful any time someone catches the bug to run for office. The rollover of the same candidates from one election to the next does little to challenge the mind set of voters here.
Finally, there is now time to breathe and talk about bigger issues. The pending seniors’ crisis, affordability of communities across the country, and a national transportation plan all need action. Under the minority government, too much effort was placed on electability, rather than governing.
A majority was a good choice for Canada.
