CANADA-Canadian Federal Election Great Divide

Canadian Federal Election: 'Great Divide'?
V Subramaniam THE Canadian federal election on October 25 produced some unexpected results. The predictions before the dissolution of parliament on September 8 indicated a 'hung' parliament with no majority party. Polls by late September began to indicate a possible Liberal Party majority and polls closer to October 25 showed a clear majority. The final result took everyone by surprise. The Liberals won a thumping majority of 177 in a house of 295 and the ruling Progressive Conservative Party (PC) was virtually annihilated with just two seats. The separatist Bloc Quebecois gained 54 seats and official opposition status and the new Reform Party from Western Canada counted 52 members. The left wing New Democratic Party bagged a bare 9 seats, losing its recognised party status. More than a hundred elected members were new to parliament. It has been called a political watershed in Canadian history. To understand its significance for Canada and for the democratic world, we need to go into some recent background history and actual campaign details.