Head Tale

So, having had a couple nights to sleep on it (barely on the night of the election – I was up until after midnight waiting for final results in Regina-Lewvan which the NDP won by 143 votes then woke up at 6am having weird dream/nightmares about the election result), here are a few closing thoughts before this blog turns back into the usual mix of libraries, technology, memes, pics of the kids and yes, the occasional political post.

The Liberals Form Majority Government 
What did George W. Bush (like Justin Trudeau, another legacy leader) say: “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on you, won’t get fooled again?”

I feel the same way about the Liberals – I don’t have the visceral dislike of the Liberals that many in my parent’s generation do for the National Energy Program but I do have memories of a Liberal government that repeatedly promised a national childcare program and failed to deliver, even with multiple years and majority governments to do it.  Or failed to eliminate the GST (not that I agree with that but another broken promise among many.)  Or, at the risk of sounding like a conservative, didn’t the Liberals bring in the changes to the Income Tax Royalty structure that cost me a shit tonne of money?  I think so.

Anyhow, I hope that this time will be different and Justin Trudeau talks a good game on that front.  But actions will speak louder than words so we’ll see if he implements some (or any) of the more progressive policies from his platform (especially electoral reform) and reworks or abandons the less progressive (C-51, TPP, etc.)

Justin Trudeau
Obviously, it’s hindsight now but I wish the NDP had a leader who could’ve really captured the “change” mantle the way Trudeau did.  He ran on this weird amalgam that was part Obama circa 2008, part Jack Layton circa 2011 and of course a big dash (though he rarely acknowledged it) of Trudeaumania 2.0.  It’s also nice to see a generational change in leadership too – going from leaders who are of my parent’s generation to one who’s of my own generation – Trudeau’s 44 years old (I’m 42) with kids and all sorts of shared cultural references and experiences.  Plus there’s a meme going around about he’s the first Prime Minister with an English Lit degree (which all my more socially conscious friends are quick to jump on to point out that’s not what made him Prime Minister as if people don’t realise that being the son of a former Prime Minister obviously has a bit more to do with it than his undergrad degree.  But yeah, still cool to have someone with an arts background in the big chair to me.)

NDP 
Yes, the NDP got hammered out in the…uhm, do we have a Liberal equivalent of “Orange Crush” yet?  (Red Wedding?  Feels like it cause it was an unexpected slaughter!) But the NDP still had their second best showing of all-time and aren’t going away anytime soon.  To put it in perspective, the Conservatives lost 96 seats and the NDP lost 51.  They also had impressive gains (3) in Saskatchewan which has been a Conservative fortress (minus Ralph Goodale) for years and on Vancouver Island showing they are still thought of as the *real* progressive party in the areas of Canada where progressive politics are something real and tangible.

Thomas Mulcair
I don’t blame him for this loss as much as others I’ve seen on social media doing.  It was all kinds of things that blended together – a leader picked with a strong eye to holding our Quebec gains instead of looking forward, someone who would never match the charisma and personality of his predecessor (and I’m not sure any of the last NDP leadership candidates could), a move to the centre as a way to appear non-threatening and non-radical to independent/undecided voters and swing voters from other parties.  (Though I’m inclined to agree with a colleague that “balanced budgets” aren’t a fundamental conservative position since borrowing money is actually a way that – via interest payments – the wealth of a majority of citizens is transferred into large private corporations in the form of the banks that lend the money.)  I keep asking – is there someone I would have rather had lead the NDP in this election than Tom Mulcair and even Nathan Cullen, who I supported for leadership or Niki Ashton who I think was my second choice, don’t strike me as people who could’ve beat Trudeau.  But that we’ll never know (unless one of them ends up as NDP Leader in the next four years of course!)

Stephen Harper
Ding dong, the witch is dead!  I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say he was our worst Prime Minister ever.  Easily.  Divisive.  Secretive. Controlling.  Destroyer of information, libraries, and civil society.   Racist.  Hypocritcal. Lying.  It was pointed out that Justin Trudeau constantly referred to us as “citizens” in his victory speech and that’s a beautiful contrast from always being called a “taxpayer” by Stephen Harper.  I look forward for further revelations about his corruption now that he’s lost power.

Conservative Party of Canada
Will be interesting to see who they pick for their next leader.  Other than that, I can give two shits about them.

Greens
Talk to your buddies in the Liberal Party and make sure they follow through on their promise for electoral reform.

Bloc
Even though they made some gains, Gilles Duceppe was the only party leader to lose his seat and that looks good on him.