We have an election.
The announcement came in the middle of a long weekend for most Canadians (Civic Day, Natal Day, etc.). Prime Minister Stephen Harper also made his announcement on my last day on a long vacation to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
Canadians may not be ready for the early call but this largest election cycle in modern times in Canadian history isn't about them; this is about the Conservatives.
Calling an early election allows the Conservatives to limit outside spending. The Conservatives have at least twice as much money than the 2 other major parties.
Tom Mulcair (NDP), Justin Trudeau (Liberals), Elizabeth May (Green Party), and Gilles Duceppe (Bloc Quebecois) want the job Stephen Harper currently holds.
The parties are racing for 338 seats, up from the current 308 seats. A party needs 170 seats to get a majority. The Conservatives have 159 seats with the NDP at 95 seats and the Liberals with 36 seats. The Green Party, Bloc Quebecois, and Forces et Democratie all have 2 seats. There are 8 independents and 4 vacant seats.
So much is truly unknown. There is a lot of anti-Harper anger, a lot of which I heard in my Maritimes travel. Where will that anger go? Who will be the recipient of that anger? Will there be an increased turnout? Or will the avalanche of ads discourage people from voting?
Some Canadians who want to vote will likely be prevented from doing so thanks to the "Fair Elections Act." The similarity isn't as severe as the U.S. efforts in this area, but the same categories of voters (university students, senior citizens) are under attack.
The longer election will cost Canadian taxpayers a lot more money despite what Harper said on Sunday. Then again, Harper took 5 questions — not that he really answered them but Mulcair took 0 questions on Sunday. Trudeau and the others followed later in the day.
The first moment of the election season comes Thursday with the first debate — the Rogers/MacLean's debate.
Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin, and Patrick Brazeau will now get a paycheck. We knew this would happen once the writ was dropped but by dissolving Parliament so soon, the undistinguished senators get more than an extra month of salary. Wallin can even draw expenditures, which is tremendously ironic.
photo credit: Jake Wright/The Hill Times
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