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WORLD> America
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Canada's Conservatives win stronger minority
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-15 13:13 Split on the left One of Dion's problems was that he was competing with two other parties on the left nationally, the New Democrats and the Greens, and a fourth party, the separatist Bloc Quebecois in the province of Quebec.
Each party made the pitch it was the best one to deny Harper a second term. Just as a split on the right guaranteed Liberal rule from 1993 to 2006, a split on the left now helped the Conservatives. A Conservative majority looked within reach at times during the campaign, but besides questions on the economy, Harper lost major support in Quebec over cuts to arts funding and plans to give adult sentences to violent youth criminals. The careers of both Harper and Dion were on the line. Dion, who became Liberal leader in 2006, was re-elected to Parliament but due to his national defeat his party under its rules will automatically have to decide whether to replace him. The Liberals' Smith questioned what the point was of having an election when the result appeared to be another minority government. Harper had said earlier that even if he only got a second minority, he would be in a stronger position than he had been 2 1/2 years into the minority mandate he won in the 2006 election since opposition parties would be less likely to topple him for now. "This was about trying to reset the clock and move forward," Conservative strategist Sandra Buckler told CTV. |
