There is discussion of solution to the minority government we are having in Canada and to the deepening polarization to be a joining together - coalition - of the two main parties.
Perhaps the only time that this was done --or almost done -- in Canadian history was during WWI when Borden got -- or tried to get -- the Conservatives and Liberals (and token Independent and farmer representation) to form a Union government .
Many Liberal MPs joined but Laurier stayed out and the "Laurier Liberals" remained a major contending party throughout the period.
(sidenote: the Union cabinet is said to contain one labour rep. This was Gideon Robertson, later to arouse labour anger with his handling of the Winnipeg General Strike. He never said in the House of Commons - he was a Conservative Senator who had had a union job as telegraphist but had never belonged to any labour party.)
Now same as in 1917, getting the two main parties - the Liberals and the Conservatives - to work together would be difficult to manage.
That they are close in politics is not because they want to be the same or like that - they are close together because they each see the mass of votes there and both want them - also each operates as umbrella taking in as much of he voters as they can. tin fact you could say they are close because they are opponents fighting for success in a zero-sum contest. you win or I win.
Even in New Zealand, it is Labour (and Greens) against the National Party. The National Party, Labour's traditional rival, was not invited into the love-in that is NZ's coalition government.
And if they did, a new centre-right or right party would be borne because some voters just don't vote Labour or Green.
O'Toole could be seeing some of that. In the last election campaign he tried to entice the progressive/scientific/future-looking voter, even defending carbon tax. -- he lost voters to the right who switched to the People's Party.
As I see it there will always be the ins and the outs.
Perhaps the best we can hope for is that the ins are in because they are popular among votes and the outs are out because they are unpopular among voters.
a majority of voters should elect a majority of the seats
a minority of the voters should elect a minority of the seats - that is, have at least some representation.
As Maxwell points out, that 8M votes were ignored on Monday, didn't elect anyone, is abominable.
We need fairness.
I don't want false majorities though. I want majority government that reflect the views of majority of the voters, if no one-party majority government, then through coalition or some working arrangement among two or more of the parties (but not all)
And perhaps with repeated minority governments this new reality may be coming about. But Trudeau showed in his recent ill-fated quest for power, that he is not the great compromiser, the kind of leader that Canada needs now.
Compromise and majority rule would be great - but to hope for grand coalition of all parties or of a joining of the two main parties would be dreaming, I think.
Thanks for reading.
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