Democracy is alive and well in Canada despite desperate fears from worry warts who say (said) it is dead.
Anti-Harper sentiment permeated the hearts and minds of people of all stripes.
The result was surprising. Was it going to be a Conservative majority or minority, a Liberal minority or a possible coalition of centre-left and socialists?
These were the questions on the minds of most political pundits.
It is important to acknowledge those who bucked the trend of the political chattering classes (like yours truly).
They were the minority antagonizing for a Liberal majority.
They were mostly dismissed as either naive or just being silly, but they were the big winners in the end.
They deserve to relish the win for a long time.
For many young first time Liberal voters, it will be a lifelong positive memory.
Many of us were wondering how vote splitting among NDP, Green and Liberal voters would shape the country.
Pundits spoke less about a possible vote shift. Canada experienced a vote shift not a vote split.
Voters from all camps left their political homes and voted Liberal. This is the most lethal blow the Conservatives could have been dealt because it has potential long lasting recovery time.
The Conservatives were not wrong about Justin Trudeau himself, they were wrong about the timing.
They did not say he was not ready, they said he was not ready “yet”. Parliament has returned to traditional form of two centrist free world mixed economy parties occupying government and official opposition benches. There is a social conscience third party to rouse the free press of the behaviour of establishment.
Sounds like a democracy to me brought to us by a first past the post process and fixed elections.
John Koury
North Cowichan