By the time this paper goes to press, the election will be over and Canada may or may not have a new government.
While full results of the election are available on thenorthernview.com, one of the longest campaigns in Canadian history seems to have also been one of the most uneventful campaigns in recent memory.
Perhaps the biggest story coming out of this election is the NDP’s “Orange Wave”, under the leadership of Jack Layton, turning into an “Orange Crash” under the leadership of Tom Mulcair.
While the three parties started the campaign essentially deadlocked with around 30 per cent support, the last Nanos Poll, published Oct.18, put the NDP at just 19.7 per cent, a double-digit drop from the start of the election. The majority of that support seems to have gone to Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party, who held a nine point lead in the last poll.
It may be difficult to pinpoint what led to this turnaround, but this drastic drop in support across the country is something New Democrats should look long and hard at when it comes to future elections. Perhaps Tom Mulcair simply isn’t the right person to lead a federal party.
Perhaps that role should go to someone who has an almost untouchable base of support in their home riding, who has a proven track record connecting with young voters and who is young and energetic and passionate about the issues that matter to the electorate.
Wonder where you could find someone like that…
Aside from that, the focus of the election seemed to be on whether or not it was time for change, with staunch opposition to another Stephen Harper government forming early and maintaining its momentum until the end.
On the local scene, despite so much happening in terms of potential industrial development, one would be hard pressed to see there was an election going on at all. Aside from signs on the street and the occassional extra piece of mail in the mailbox, the 2015 election here in the Skeena – Bulkley Valley riding was the definition of a snoozer.
