You can never accuse Canadian politics of being boring.
Monday's night's federal election was full of enough drama, political intrigue, jubilation, history - and, in some cases, horror - to make any Hollywood script writer envious.
Who could have predicted the orange crush that would spread across this country where the New Democrats would win 102 seats and, for the first time in its 50-year history, become the official opposition? In the days leading up to Monday's vote, party leader Jack Layton was confident, and political pundits expected the NDP to do well, but this? Well, come on.
Of those 102 seats, 60 were won in Quebec, all but wiping out the Bloc Quebecois and sending party leader Gilles Duceppe, who also lost his own seat, to the unemployment line. He resigned on election night. (This is one of the horror shows we were referring to.)
Another horror show involved the Liberal Party. The Liberals came off with their worst election night showing in history, winning only 34 seats. Party leader Michael Ignatieff lost his own seat and resigned on Tuesday. The Liberal Party is in utter chaos, and unless some fresh blood, innovative ideas and a new approach emerge in the months to come, the Liberal Party could be an afterthought on the Canadian political scene.
As for history, there was enough with the NDP, Bloc and Liberals - but how about a Green gain in the form of Elizabeth May? May became the first elected Green MP in Canadian history when she toppled incumbent Conservative MP Gary Lunn in Saanich - Gulf Islands. The Greens now have their seat at the table. They are part of the discussion. It will be interesting to see what impact May will make.
And the blue wave of the Conservatives swept back into power, power that was strengthened with 167 seats and a strong majority government. Here in West Vancouver - Sunshine Coast - Sea to Sky Country, John Weston was re-elected easily with 45.5 per cent of the vote. Weston's knowledge and understanding of the riding's issues should prove to be invaluable to his party moving forward in the next four years.
And after the retirement of several B.C. Conservative MPs and several who did not win on election night, Weston could very well be in line for a party promotion. Does he warrant a spot in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinet? We'll find out in the next few days.
When the election was called, many didn't want it. But despite that, voters got engaged and were involved. In our riding, 64.2 per cent of registered voters cast their ballots, almost three per cent more than the national average.
People wanted to see some change - and change indeed happened as the winds of transition blew across this country like a tornado on Monday night. When the dust had cleared, the House of Commons saw a major shake-up - one we see as for the better. We're looking forward to a fresh debate, some fresh ideas and a fresh approach to government over the next four years.
