alternatehistory.com
Part 42: Canada (after 2009)
Despite winning a third consecutive majority for his party, John Manley's fortunes had finally begun to wane as his government entered its ninth year. The Progressive Conservatives' selection of Manitoba MP Brian Pallister to replace Mike Harris became a major problem for Manley's continued leadership, as the "Blue Liberal" prime minister faced, for the first time in his term, an opposition leader who could take away soft Tory voters who voted Liberal out of disagreement with Harris' hard-right policies. Added to this was Manley's continued unpopularity in Quebec and serious concerns that if he continued as leader a combination of Quebec voters choosing the UDQ over the Liberals could jeopardize the Liberals' future election prospects and it was no wonder that Manley was persuaded to announce his retirement as Liberal leader and prime minister in late 2010.
As part of the informal Liberal tradition of rotating between Anglophone and Francophone leaders, the party chose Minister of Justice Thomas Mulcair of Quebec as the new party leader. Mulcair, who like Pierre Trudeau (before him, the last prime minister to hail from Quebec) had previously flirted with joining the NDP, reversed Manley's course and pushed through measures to appeal to both Quebecers (passing a motion that formally recognized Quebec as a 'distinct society within Canada' and mandating that a certain percentage of ministries be reserved for Francophones and non-Anglophones) and left-leaning voters (including increasing funds for post-secondary education, supporting net neutrality and pushing the provinces to raise employer contributions to the Canadian Pension Plan).
By the time Mulcair decided to call for new elections in 2013, the Liberals still held a lead over the Progressive Conservatives, but it looked increasingly likely that the Liberals would lose their majority and Canadians would have their first minority government in nearly 20 years.
On Election Night, a happy surprise greeted the Liberals as their party came out with a small majority of three seats. The UDQ, already facing an uphill struggle with a native Quebecer leading the Liberals, ran a disastrous campaign, with very public disputes between the party and local riding associations over candidate selections that caused many UDQ-leaning voters to switch to the Liberals. As a result, the UDQ lost all of their seats to Liberal candidates, leaving the party without any members of the House of Commons for the first time since 2001.
The UDQ wipeout mostly offset the Liberals' loss of seats to the PCs (mostly in Ontario and some Atlantic ridings) and the NDP (mostly in the western provinces) as both other major parties made gains. Despite this, Mulcair has rode high since the Liberals' fourth straight majority, the first such occurrence in over one hundred years (Wilfrid Laurier's Liberals had been the last to accomplish this, winning their fourth straight majority in 1908). His government has again made Canada one of the global leaders in fighting climate change and has introduced several bills that would bolster the national safety net. However, polling indicates that Canadians are finally beginning to tire of the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives have had a slim lead in the polls as it becomes closer to the traditional period to call for new elections...
As part of the informal Liberal tradition of rotating between Anglophone and Francophone leaders, the party chose Minister of Justice Thomas Mulcair of Quebec as the new party leader. Mulcair, who like Pierre Trudeau (before him, the last prime minister to hail from Quebec) had previously flirted with joining the NDP, reversed Manley's course and pushed through measures to appeal to both Quebecers (passing a motion that formally recognized Quebec as a 'distinct society within Canada' and mandating that a certain percentage of ministries be reserved for Francophones and non-Anglophones) and left-leaning voters (including increasing funds for post-secondary education, supporting net neutrality and pushing the provinces to raise employer contributions to the Canadian Pension Plan).
By the time Mulcair decided to call for new elections in 2013, the Liberals still held a lead over the Progressive Conservatives, but it looked increasingly likely that the Liberals would lose their majority and Canadians would have their first minority government in nearly 20 years.
On Election Night, a happy surprise greeted the Liberals as their party came out with a small majority of three seats. The UDQ, already facing an uphill struggle with a native Quebecer leading the Liberals, ran a disastrous campaign, with very public disputes between the party and local riding associations over candidate selections that caused many UDQ-leaning voters to switch to the Liberals. As a result, the UDQ lost all of their seats to Liberal candidates, leaving the party without any members of the House of Commons for the first time since 2001.
The UDQ wipeout mostly offset the Liberals' loss of seats to the PCs (mostly in Ontario and some Atlantic ridings) and the NDP (mostly in the western provinces) as both other major parties made gains. Despite this, Mulcair has rode high since the Liberals' fourth straight majority, the first such occurrence in over one hundred years (Wilfrid Laurier's Liberals had been the last to accomplish this, winning their fourth straight majority in 1908). His government has again made Canada one of the global leaders in fighting climate change and has introduced several bills that would bolster the national safety net. However, polling indicates that Canadians are finally beginning to tire of the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives have had a slim lead in the polls as it becomes closer to the traditional period to call for new elections...
- lord caedus
- Word Count: 540