I know we have some Canadian Kossacks out there. I wondered if any of you thought there were lessons to be learned or comparisons to be made with Bush's tenure & Brian Mulroney's rule in Canada. Canada is a multi-party nation with a Parliamentry system, so it's a little different. Right now the Democratic party is at a low point, just like the Liberals were in Canada after the 84 election. However, just 9 years later the liberals were the dominant party again.
In 1984, the Tories (Progressive Conservative Party Of Canada) took power after a long rule of Liberals led by Pierre Trudeau. When Tredeau left, Brian Mulroney (A Quebecer) led the conservatives to a rout of the liberals by capturing 211 of the 282 seats & 50% of the popular vote...
1988 would be the first challenge to conservative rule. Even though Mulroney was unpopular, ticket splitting among liberals ultimately spelled their doom. The Tories would hold power until 1993, when Jean Chrétien would lead the Liberals back to victory. The Progressive Conservative Party was basically
destroyed in that election. A party that had 151 seats was reduced to 2 members in parliament. They limped along for some years until it was absorbed into a new Canadian Conservative Alliance.
What's the lessons from all this? One thing that sticks out in the Liberals loss in 1984 & the collapse of the Tories in 93 is the effect of third parties. The New Democratic Party was, in part, a reason for the severity of the loss of the Liberals in 84 & 88. The Tories were hit with 2 new parties to split their vote in 93, with the Bloc Québécois and the Reform Party. This might be a lesson for us & how we deal with both the madness of Ralph Nader, & the GREEN PARTY candidates that syphon votes on a state & congressional level in the Bluer states.
1984
Progressive Conservative Brian Mulroney
SEATS BEFORE
100
SEATS AFTER
211
POPULAR VOTE
6,278,697 50.0% (+17.54%)
Liberal John Turner
SEATS BEFORE
135
SEATS AFTER
40
POPULAR VOTE
3,516,486 28.0% (-16.38%)
New Democratic Ed Broadbent
SEATS BEFORE
31
SEATS AFTER
30
POPULAR VOTE
2,359,915 18.8% (-0.86%)
1993
Liberal Jean Chrétien
SEATS BEFORE
79
SEATS AFTER
177
POPULAR VOTE
5,647,952 41.24% (+9.32%)
Bloc Québécois Lucien Bouchard
SEATS BEFORE
8
SEATS AFTER
54
POPULAR VOTE
1,846,024 13.52%
Reform Preston Manning
SEATS BEFORE
1
SEATS AFTER
52
POPULAR VOTE
2,559,245 18.69% (+16.59%)
New Democratic Audrey McLaughlin
SEATS BEFORE
43
SEATS AFTER
9
POPULAR VOTE
939,575 6.88% (-13.50%)
Progressive Conservative Kim Campbell
SEATS BEFORE
151
SEATS AFTER
2
POPULAR VOTE
2,186,422 16.04% (-26.97%)