[geedee]

I tend to defer to you two on most things Canadian. What do y'all think about this? Is this good, bad, or indifferent for the conservative cause in Canada?

I know it's not "too damn" good because the conservatives lost . . . but is it a total loss or are the Liberals now on notice at least?

The folks of Alberta . . . how are they taking the constant beating they get from the Federal Government? The Socialists who care so much about their fellow man? I'm a dreamer . . . I still think Alberta will become numero fifty-one in my lifetime -- I'm fifty-ish.

Where do the conservatives go from here?

[FlipWilson]

I tended to view Canada as a lost cause. The fact that the Conservatives could unite and then shake things up like this is encouraging. I am not writing them off yet. I think they will have to keep the heat on the socialists and wait for the inevitable collapse. Hate to sound like the Bad News Bears, but "just wait till next election!!!"

[Alberta's Child]

Here's an angle to this whole story that hasn't been discussed very much . . .

The magic number here is 122, by my last reckoning. That's the summary of this election in a nutshell, no matter what the individual party totals may show.

This number represents the combined total of the Bloc Quebecois (54) and the Conservatives in ridings west of Ontario (68). This isn't close to a majority, but it tells a very intriguing story . . . because this is what I would now call the combined "separatist" element of the new Canadian parliament.

Canadians had better figure out soon that the only thing that may eventually keep the nation together is a substantial Conservative presence in Ontario and Atlantic Canada.

[Clive]

The Conservatives lost in that they did not get a majority or even a minority government.

But we got 24 seats in Ontario, 19 of them from Liberal incumbents, so we are starting to make gains, and we held the west. Quebec and the Maritimes were a lost cause from the beginning, but we did get 7 seats in the Maritimes, so we held our own there.

Also, this election was called a full year before it would ordinarily have been called in a majority mandate specifically to deny Harper time to consolidate the newly formed merger into the new Conservative Party. It would have been called earlier but for Martin having been set back by the burgeoning scandal. He needed the extra time to do some damage control.

[Alberta's Child]

You can take this to the bank, too: Alberta will not be the 51st U.S. state anytime soon.

The only place Albertans despise more than Ottawa is Washington, D.C.

For Alberta, it's either independence, semi-autonomy (I would make the case that it is already semi-autonomous), or the status quo.

[Snowyman]

I think this is just a step along the way and lessons will be learned . CPC with an minority, say 136 , would have been a disaster. Who would we ally with in order to govern ?

We have gone from 52 seats (1993) to 60 seats (1997) to 66 seats (2002) and now to 99 seats (2004)

In Ontario, we went from 2 seats to 24 in one election.

We have 5 more Ontario seats than the NDP nationally.

Martin and the Liberals cannot govern without NDP support. The Liberals must name a speaker , who must resign his party affiliation. That gives them 134 and with severe negotiation with Smilin' Jack , 19 NDP for a total of 153 which is two short of a majority.

Election in 2005 . For a CPC majority government .

[gymbeau]

I live in Alberta. I can't speak for the rest of us but I'm really PO'd. Once again we've been given the back of the hand and told to sit down and shut up (and, oh, don't forget to keep sending those tax dollars back east).

I'll be looking for a credible separatist option starting today. My ideal outcome would be to become the 51st state.

Cheers
Jim