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Liberals Pull Off Victory In Canadian Elections
by Mohamed el Ansary
MONTREAL (IslamOnline) - On Monday, Canadians went to the polls to elect a Federal Prime Minister in elections called for last September by Jean Chretien, the eventual winner. Chretien’s victory is his third straight, securing the main prime minister’s seat he has held since1993.
Chretien’s Liberal party acquired 41.3% of the popular vote, an increase in votes of almost 2.3% from 1997. Canada follows a parliamentary electoral process with proportional representation similar to the British electoral system.
The Liberals also secured 171 seats in the Federal Parliament. They were followed by the Canadian Alliance, headed by Chretien’s staunch and young rival Stockwell Day, which secured 67 seats, acquiring 24.4% of the popular vote.
The French separatist party, the Party Quebecois, came in third securing 38 seats, but acquiring only 10.7% of the popular vote. Party Quebecois voters largely come from the province of Quebec, and from almost nowhere else in the rest of the Canadian provinces and territories.
The New Democratic Party came in next securing 13 seats and 8.7% of the popular vote; followed by the Conservative party which secured 12 seats and 12.9% of the popular vote, the highest in their political history.
David Vanniev of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) was quoted on Canadian national television as saying “like the results or not, at least we have the elections settled and we have a prime minister. For the last twenty days the Americans have been trying to elect a president.”
The Canadians are not usually prone to compare their politics with that of their big neighbor to the south, but in Chretien’s words “we have every reason to be proud of quick and efficient elections.”
The election results signify two main conclusions in Canadian politics according to most observers.
First, it provides a high degree of confidence and ability to the Liberals’ mandate as they secured 10 more seats than they did in federal elections in 1997. Secondly, the results represent a clear message of the failure of the separatist appeal in Canada, as Chretien is known for his sharp unionist approach.
In 1995, a referendum was conducted in the province of Quebec on the question of separation from Canada, the outcome of which was to remain in Canada, albeit by the thinnest of margins.
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