[goldstategop]

I agree a stronger role for the provinces would make Canada's politics more accountable and also even the political playing field. That being said, its not hard to understand why Ontario and Quebec will never vote for a Western-based party. They're being asked to give up the spoils to make numerically insignificant provinces feel better. If you were an Ontario or Quebec voter, would you want to see your power and benefits diminished? The question answers itself. The Liberals will make sure Ontario stays on top and the Bloc looks out for Quebec's interests. The Conservatives are little more than a Western-based protest party, unless they give up their Western agenda. That will they will never do for no one else would want them. No wonder the Liberals are justly described as Canada's "natural governing party."

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie.Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[NZerFromHK]

The first Prime Minister of Australia, Sir Edmund Barton, was so furious with Canadian Senate structure that he literally said that Canada has a "banal federalism".

Australia's Senate has equal representations for all states and like the US Senate, it still has real power as opposed to the Canadian one. In 1975 the government of leftist Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was brought down just because he couldn't pass the budget through the Senate.

In fact official Australian government-approved publications all describe the Canadian Senate (and thus dominance of the "big two" in Canadian politics) as a negative example for Australia to not emulate. Examples of such publications are below:

http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/pubs/odgers/contents.htm

http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/pubs/occa_lect/transcripts/220302.pdf

http://www.samuelgriffith.org.au/papers/html/volume8/v8chap6.htm