Electoral Record and Contentious Issues - Essay Example

Electoral Record and Contentious Issues Electoral Record and Contentious Issues The electoral landscape of Canada led by theStephen Harper’s conservative government was anticipated to encounter strong challenges on 19 October 2015. After having occupied office in 2006, he has served for the two terms while aligned to the minority side of the government before attaining the majority side during the elections that were carried out in 2011. During these elections, 39.4 percent of the votes were cast whereby he attained about 166 out of the 308 seats prevalent at House of Commons (Fekete, 2015). In line with the victory that Harper witnessed, the major story linked with the elections carried out in 2011 resulted from the demise associated with the party that has been traditionally dominant in Canada, the Liberal Party of Canada. It went down to attaining the third place by about 18.8 percent of votes cast, which represented 34 percent of the seats. The New Democratic Party (NDP) ranked second, although it serves Canada’s form of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), is linked with prearranged labor program. NDP attained a record of approximately 30.4 percent of the overall votes cast, allowing it to win 103 seats, comprising of an astounding 59 out of 75 seats in Quebec, although the party had managed to attain a single seat in this French-speaking jurisdiction previously (Powers, 2015). Bloc Quebecois went down to four from 49 seats in Quebec, whereby NDP managed to win certain seats in Quebec among candidates who rarely engaged in campaigns or spoke in French. When the NDP and Liberal votes were combined, they reached 49.2 percent, allowing them to outdo the Conservatives easily. However, under the initial past the post system of voting of Canada, Harper together with Conservatives managed to win an easy majority in a surprising manner (Vaughan, 2015). In 2011, furthermore, the Conservatives managed to perform better compared to what the polls would have suggested. Furthermore, the splitting of votes between the rivals allowed the Conservatives to perform better while occupying the seat (Eliott, 2015). This paper will lay emphasis on contentious issues prevailing between NDP and Conservatives since 2011 to reveal whether the two parties are regionally focused as opposed to national. Discussion Leadership Changes Jack Layton, who was considered as universally respected led the NDP to elections in 2011, although he died from cancer in a tragic manner several months before the onset of the elections. The new leader for NDP, Tom Mulcair, as in the case of Layton, was bilingual and came from Quebec. However, the political career for Layton was based in Ontario, which was an English-speaking region, where Mulcair used to serve as a Minister for the provincial administration of Quebec. The Liberty Party was unsuccessful during the 2008 elections, while under the leadership of Stephane Dion as well as in the 2011 elections when Michael Ignatieff, a previous professor from Harvard led the party (Michaels, 2015). After the loss of the two academics, the party has decided to select a new leader, John Trodeau, whose name was popular as he is the son of Pierre Trudeau, who served as the previous Prime Minister (Michaels, 2015). At the birth of John Trudeau, his father served as the Prime Minister, meaning that in case the Liberal Party succeeded, then Trudeau would manage to step to the house, the Prime Ministerial dwelling situated at 24 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, since that was where he was raised (Brewster, 2015). Unfolding Count Canada is usually spread in times zones of about 4 hours, although the close times gap for the polls are compressed to approximately three hours. With the announcing of the results, bans have been put in place in the recent years with regard to reporting results for those provinces whereby voting is still taking place. Nonetheless, the growth of social media, such as Twitter has made it impossible to ban this practice, particularly in the elections taking place in 2015. Based on this issue, it will be possible to witness the unfolding of the results. Internet broadcasting will no longer be banned until the closure of the polls (Graves, 2015). Just as it is the case with Australian Electoral Commission, reports of results by Elections Canada will be based on the polling place. The polling places in Canada are not big compared to those of Australia, whereby most ridings comprise of numerous small places for polling. Because of this, the process of reporting results starts quickly (Simpson, 2015). As opposed to the case of elections in Australia, no major bias prevails with regard to exercising favoritism in the event of one party. The picture for reflecting the number of seats that each party secures unfolds at a fast pace. For most broadcasters in Canada, they report the results as “leading as well as elected.” In this case, leading normally relies on the count whereas each broadcaster’s decision determines the elected (Brewster, 2015). Polls Follow up Toronto Star and The Signal serve as the major sites for poll aggregation, which reflect similar trends during campaign elections during a situation whereby NDP slipped from first place to emerge as a distant third, while the support for Liberals grew significantly. In the case of the two polls, they anticipate that Liberals would attain a higher vote while sharing more votes. The victory of the liberal will be highly be influenced by the willingness of NDP voters to vote in Liberals to facilitate on overcoming the conservatives (Fekete, 2015). Government Formation Although the process of determining the seat number that every party would attain would be carried out easily, it would be challenging to determine what the following Canada’s government would be like. Canada initially adopts a past the post process of voting, particularly because three major political parties drive the country. The Conservative government led by Harper normally leads the majority, although the three former parliaments led to the emergence of minority governments (Simpson, 2015). No sufficient history prevails with respect to Canada’s coalition governments, although several instances affiliated with minority governments have prevailed, which have facilitated in reaching agreements regarding the confidence and supply with an additional opposition party (Michaels, 2015). Minority governments in Canada tend to operate on a short-term basis. It is not possible for a minority administration to go past two years before the calling of fresh elections. During certain times, minority administrations are coerced to polls after witnessing an overthrow in parliament. At other times, an early election may be called in case a minority administration will be in a position to attain a majority status (Simpson, 2015). For instance, during the 1972 elections, Pierre Trudeau came back to office as a majority administration, although he called for fresh elections after two years when he secured a majority. After the defeat of Trudeau in 1979, Joe Clark who led the Progressive Conservative for the minority experienced defeat in parliament forcing him to call for a fresh election, although Pierre Trudeau emerged again as the dominant majority leader (Brewster, 2015). During the 2004 elections, Paul martin, who served as successor to Jean Chretien went back to office as Prime Minister for the Liberalists. He was forced back to the polls in 2006 when Stephen Harper replaced him following the minority administration. In 2008, Harper decided to call an early election, although he again fell to the minority side before attaining the majority state in 2011 (Fekete, 2015). In case Harper manages to secure a large number of the seats, he will be in a position to demand a right for creating a minority government. In case the NDP supported the Liberals to ensure that a large number of conservatives left office, issues would emerge regarding the Canadian constitution undermining, although certain provincial instances of these kinds of deals are being carried out to facilitate in replacing minority governments (Eliott, 2015). Regional Voting One of the major dynamics affiliated with Canadian politics is the ideal that difficulties prevail with respect to ensuring that national parties serve their ideal purpose. The ten provinces in Canada show notable potential for voting differences compared to states of Australia. All the provinces portray distinct histories, particularly Quebec’s conquest. The strengths associated with the parties differ greatly between provinces. The Liberal Party has disappeared virtually as a western Canada’s government party (Vaughan, 2015). Furthermore, Liberals supporting British Columbia tend to oppose the provincial NDP. The Conservatives are also incapable of contesting while serving as a party. Quebec’s Liberal Party also reflects a federalists label in the Province, just as it had done previously for numerous years while following Jean Charest, who served as a the federal leader for Progressive Conservative, while Tom Mulcair operated as the Quebec’s government Liberal Minister (Simpson, 2015). Meanwhile, the nature affiliated with the National Liberty Party has managed to recruit previous NDP provincial members, including Uijal Dosanjh from British Columbia and Rob Rae, a former figure from Ontario Premier. Conservatives have always embarked on moves aimed at allowing them to secure seats in Quebec (Eliott, 2015). For instance, Brian Mulroney, managed to lead Progressive Conservatives to attain victories during the time of Pierre Trudeau aimed at amending the constitution of Quebec. However, these grievances failed leading to the birth of bloc Quebecois. This bloc was accorded sufficient polling to emerge as the official opposition of the parliament in 1993 (Powers, 2015). During the same election process, the splitting of the Conservative family fragmented the Progressive Conservative party. A new party emerged referred to as the Reform Party before being renamed Canadian Alliance, which dominated across Canada. After the slipping of the Conservative votes, the initial past the post process of voting led the Liberals to attain three consecutive majority wins under the leadership of John Chretien (Brewster, 2015). The victory by Chretien resulted mostly form the splitting of the conservatives. In the case of Western Canada, it has emerged as a weak region for Liberal Party for many years. The Liberals have managed to secure more than 20 seats only twice. Surprisingly, NDP swept across the entire Quebec in 2011 (Powers, 2015). Traditionally, the party portrayed more strength in those societies it rivaled for government, particularly Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia. During the Alberta elections carried out in May 20105, NDP witnessed an astounding upset victory. This provide was characterized by a conservative pattern for voting, which went back about eight decades (Graves, 2015). After the end of the elections that took place in 2011, the conservatives managed to attain a win of 72 out of 92 seats in the western side of Canada, 5 out of 75 Quebec, 14 out of 32 Atlantic Canada, and 73 out of 106 Ontario. Although the polls reflected a fall for the support of Conservatives since 2011, losing any seat in Ontario would mean that the party would head back to minority status (Simpson, 2015). A Liberal renaissance in both Ontario and Quebec would provide the liberal party with opportunities for winning most seats, although this would call for the fall of Conservative support in Ontario or an outbreak of tactical voting by supporters of NDP, allowing the Liberals to acquire the majority government (Fekete, 2015). Conclusion Based on the issues surrounding the Conservatives, NDP, or the Liberals, it is apparent they are driven by the urge to attain dominance. In this case, some have emerged successful in some regions while others have failed in others. In this perspective, therefore, it is apparent that care should be taken during the voting process in diverse provinces in Canada. Individuals involved in the voting process need to ensure that they are highly influential to ensure they secure the most influential positions for their parties, mostly by ensuring that the parties they stand with occupy majority stakes. References Brewster, M. (2015). NDP, Tories hit homegrown hot-button issues ahead of next leaders debate. Retrieved from http://www.torontosun.com/2015/09/27/ndp-tables-climate-change-plan-conservatives-criticize-trudeau-ahead-of-debate Eliott, J. (2015). Mulcair makes his case to Kamloops voters. Retrieved from http://truomega.ca/2015/09/08/mulcair-makes-his-case-to-kamloops-voters/ Fekete, J. (2015). Voter guide: How the parties differ on issues that will affect Canadians’ pocketbooks, security and more. Retrieved from http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/voter-guide-how-the-parties-differ-on-issues-that-will-affect-canadians-pocketbooks-security-and-more Graves, F. (2015). The EKOS poll: NDP digs a deeper lead — and it may have C-51 to thank. Retrieved from http://ipolitics.ca/2015/06/12/the-ekos-poll-ndp-digs-a-deeper-lead-and-it-may-have-c-51-to-thank/ Michaels, K. (2015). Election 2015: Conservatives showing signs of concern in steadfast ridings. Retrieved from http://www.kelownacapnews.com/news/333282311.html Powers, L. (2015). Conservatives pledge funds, tip line to combat barbaric cultural practices. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-election-2015-barbaric-cultural-practices-law-1.3254118 Simpson, J. (2015). Even if the Tories lose, they win on key issues. Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/even-if-the-tories-lose-they-win-on-key-issues/article26318678/ Vaughan, A. (2015). NDP, Tories hit homegrown hot-button issues ahead of next leaders debate. Retrieved from http://www.timescolonist.com/ndp-tories-hit-homegrown-hot-button-issues-ahead-of-next-leader-s-debate-1.2070290 Read More