Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Conservative Majority in Canada

Canadians went to the polls earlier this month and elected a majority Conservative government. For years now the Conservative have governed the country in a minority government which mean conservative legislation had a tough time passing Parliament. All that has changed. The graph shows that with the majority of seats the Conservative party of Canada can now push their agenda, and the one that was supported by most Canadians.

(Actually the majority of Canadians in accumulation voted for left wing parties, but because there are 2 left wing parties in Canada, that vote was split.)

The new official opposition is the socialist party the NDP. A definite surprise in this election.

What will this mean for foreign policy and the economy (with the majority government)?

Well because Canada is a parliamentary system the majority of votes will pass any legislation. That means there's little to no opposition even though there are opposing opinions, when it comes to voting it's merely symbolic.

The Conservatives tend to be slightly more right wing when it comes to fiscal policy. They would opt for less government intervention, lower taxes, and eventually deficit payments. One can also expect a hard line stance on immigration, increased spending for the military, lower taxes for corporations, and cuts to unnecessary social programs.

For America we can expect Canada will continue to milk a stronger economy and offer their oil exploits to us, that's a win. That's important to because a strong Canadian economy means a strong export economy. They do after all buy 30% of our exports.