Kevin Laliberte
Editor, Smoky River Express

Well, surprise, surprise. The “writ has hit the fan!” Our beloved Prime Minister Stephen Harper officially yanked the cord on his minority Progressive Conservative government Sept. 7, ending a 31-month stint of rule which will ultimately see Canadians head back to the polls for the third time in just over four years. Harper, who attributes the election call to a weakening economy and a gridlocked House of Commons, dissolved parliament by launching a five-week federal election campaign which culminates on Oct. 14 – Election Day for Canadians. Opposition leaders say the Tories want to force a vote before the economic fall-out gets too bad, and before a series of ethics investigations into the party can bear fruit. Hmm, kind of brings back memories of the Gomery Report in 2005 and subsequent RCMP investigation into allegations of insider trading and corruption by the Liberals within the Finance department. Harper also hopes to slew-foot Liberal Leader Stephane Dion’s proposed overhaul of Canada’s tax system – a plan designed to shift taxation off income and on to greenhouse gas-emissions. The Conservatives go into this campaign having managed the longest, uninterrupted parliamentary minority in federal history. It was also numerically the weakest, with the opposition Liberals, New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois holding almost 60 per cent of the 308 seats in the Commons. Looking back, the 2006 Canadian federal election resulted in a minority government by the Conservative Party of Canada winning 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes: up from 29.6% in the 2004 election. One of the primary goals in the upcoming election by Harper is to establish a majority government, which means winning in 154 ridings or more. This, is a nutshell, makes it much easier to get legislation passed in the House of Commons based on a “power of numbers” theory. On the flip side, a minority government usually has to adjust policies to get enough votes from MPs from other parties through the House of Commons. Constituents in the Peace River Riding gave Progressive Conservative Party of Canada candidate Chris Warkentin a firm thumbs up as their representative in the House of Commons in the 2006 election. Warkentin, of Sexsmith, received more than 55 per cent of the popular vote in the riding. He scooped up the lion’s share of votes with 27,775 (or 56.4 per cent) from an overall voter turnout of 49,245. (The number of registered voters on Election Day stood at 87,854, which translates into voter response of 56.1 per cent). He was followed in the election race by Independent Bill Given, who came in with 10,232 votes or roughly 21 per cent of the total, Susan Thompson, who finished with 5,569 votes, Tanya Kappo of the Liberal Party at 4,573 votes, and Green Party candidate Zane Lewis (1,096 votes). Ironically enough, in calling the snap election, Harper ignores his own fixed-election-date law – a law he said would stop prime ministers from manipulating the electoral calendar to their advantage. So here we are a full year before it was legally slated to start, we’re faced with another federal election campaign with battle lines firmly drawn over who’s the best leader to steer Canada through troubled economic times. The stakes are high and the prize is grand: the ruling Conservatives see a majority government within their grasp and the Opposition Liberals are vying for a return to power. Let the promises, smear tactics and mud-slinging begin!

Copyright © 2002 Smoky River Express. All Rights Reserved.
No part may be reproduced without written permission.

View our Privacy Statement.
Send website suggestions to the Webmaster