THE PERFECT LIBERAL ENVIRONMENT?:

CBC projects Conservative government (Andrew Davidson, 10/14/08, CBC News)

Canadians have re-elected Stephen Harper's Conservatives, but it is still unclear whether the party will gain enough seats across the country to form a majority government, CBC News projects.

The Tories' fortunes were buoyed early in the evening by surprising gains in Atlantic Canada, especially in New Brunswick, despite the party being shut out in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Meanwhile in Ontario, early returns suggested vote-splitting was cutting into Liberal support in the party's traditional heartland.

Canada's Harper Returned to Power As Prime Minister: But Conservatives Fall Short of Parliament Majority (Keith B. Richburg, 10/15/08, Washington Post)

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and the Canadian Press both projected Tuesday night that the Conservatives would return to Parliament with at least 142 seats, up from 127 seats they held when the last Parliament was dissolved in September. A party needs 155 seats for a majority.

"I'm very delighted we've been given a second mandate," Conservative senator and campaign co-chair Marjory Lebreton told CTV. "I'm very optimistic about what's going to happen the rest of the night."

The big loser was Liberal Party leader Stéphane Dion, whose party looked set for its worst showing in at least 20 years and who was now expected to either resign or face a challenge to his leadership.

"I think Dion will resign," said University of Toronto political scientist Nelson Wiseman. "It's Conservative gains, Liberal losses, and the Liberals look very weak."

With the global freezing-up of credit markets last month and the collapse of stock prices, the economy emerged as the most important issue in the election. Harper campaigned as having kept the worst of the crisis out of Canada. He was also helped by splits on the left between three rival parties.

In some ways, the campaign here was overshadowed by the electioneering underway in the United States. One of the debates here took place on the same night as the American vice presidential debate, which is believed to have attracted more Canadian viewers and interest.

"A lot of our citizens pay more attention to what's happening in your election than to ours," Wiseman said.

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 14, 2008 8:39 PM