I know I'm in the minority here. But this is nothing but power hungry politics. I am left wondering how a government can be in power that WAS NOT elected by the people -- how is that democracy? - Shey via Bookmarklet

Welcome to parliamentary democracy: we elect ministers, not governments. - Chuck LeDuc Díaz

This is a consequence of a minority government that can't cooperate with the opposition. I think it's a symptom of poor capacity for governance, which is unsurprising for a party which dogmatically states that government is intrinsically evil. - Chuck LeDuc Díaz

It's b/c it's a multi-party system, not solely dominated by two parties who transfer power back and forth, therefore the vote split is much larger. It's called "first past the post", or somewhat likened to proportional representation and is considered more democratic as it offers more choice for voters. - sofarsoShawn

I think proportional representation would be much more likely to result in a coalition government than the current system. And I think that's a good thing. - Chuck LeDuc Díaz

Exactly as compromises have to be reached cross parties. - sofarsoShawn

To govern, a party needs to maintain the confidence of the House of Commons. The Conservatives attempt to govern without negotiating with the opposition parties, despite the fact that they don't hold a majority in the House. Considering that the three opposition parties have a majority of the seats, and received >60% of the vote, if they manage to make it work, the result will be MORE representative of the results of the election than a minority party trying to act on their own. - Scott of Two Countries

@V You may have voted for them -- but the people of Canada as a whole didn't elect them. - Shey

Ignoring the NDP for a minute (which is very easy to do) - the Liberal party didn't just lose the election - they were shown the door. Now, I'm not beholden to any one party - at some point I've voted for them all, so I can say this with a good deal of unbiased candor... The Liberal party is a dysfunctional gang of dopes who believe in one thing and one thing only: ENTITLEMENT. - Kevin Cearns

In the parliamentary system we cast votes for individuals, not for parties. The parties are imaginary: affiliations and alliances change. It's called politics, and some are better at it than others. I personally think the Conservatives are much better at opposition than they are at governing, and they should be relieved they won't be responsible for governing over the next two years (which promise to be disastrous). - Chuck LeDuc Díaz

The conservatives won 37% of the popular vote. If you combine the votes received by the NDP, Liberals, Greens, and Bloc (who agree on a lot more issues than they disagree on), they received 61% of the popular vote. So the population of Canada massively voted in favour of swift action on climate change and left-wing social policies, but because of the uneven concentration of votes, the 37% that voted Conservative get to dictate terms for the rest of us? I say bring on the coalition. - Louis Simoneau

@Louis That rationalization is flawed. The people voted for a specific party and their policies. There is still a large philosophical gap between the Liberals and NDP. If there were to be an election today, the coalition wouldn't just simply have a combined policy of the two parties, this is a totally different platform. - Shey

Remember the huge "anybody but Harper" campaign? I do. I remember newspapers with voting guides on how to vote strategically to prevent a Conservative majority. - Chuck LeDuc Díaz

If the shoe was on the other foot you would hear constant cries and complaints about elections being stolen and democracy's death to tyranny and on and on. I know this. - Mike Lewis

No Shey you're wrong Harper tried to subvert good governance & no amount of back peddling puts it right. He is duty bound to resign as head of conservatives.... perhaps another leader would be able to gain the confidence of the majority of members. 60% of the population voted for other parties. Our constitution is quite clear on the proper checks and balances in our governance and Harper ignored them at his own peril - I don't think the government should fall, his party should have turfed him last week - David HC Soul

Gee thanks David. My opinion is wrong because your opinion says so. Anyways, I'm not tied to any leader or party. If Harper must go so be it, I won't miss him. But this is whole coalition thing is just a pathetic (yet legal and effective) attempt at a power grab. Listening to Dion's speech today, he's being totally hypocritical by not following his own advice of working with the other side and accepting defeat. - Shey

Even if Harper manages to convince the Liberal-appointed Governor General to suspend parliament and provides a sound budget, they'll still go through with the coalition. Why? Because politicians are politicians, doesn't matter if you are left, right, or center. It's just too bad our system gives them so much power. Harper was arrogant to think he wasn't going to piss people off with partisan politics. And the Liberal-NDP are now trumping that with the ultimate partisan move. - Shey

Harper blew it and should go( I mean he should go as leader). He blew it and put parliament in a terrible state. But, what he didn't do was wreck the country. Nobody lost a job this week because of him. No bank failed because of it. Nobody lost their home because of it. The GDP didn't go down and cats and dogs didn't suddenly start getting married. I would rather jump off a cliff than let dionlaytonduceppe have a chance to blow it because imho they'll set a new standard for wrecking things. - metageoff

Shey: Sorry, I should have been more specific in my statement. I should have said I believe you are wrong in saying it "is nothing but power hungry politics" in Canada the principle of Parliament confidence in the government is a foundation of the system. This is not a matter of opinion - It is the duty of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition to call for a confidence vote if they feel the government has lost the support confidence of the majority of members - and the throne speech did just that. - David HC Soul

The vote of confidence is our primary tool in our system's "Checks and Balance" where the leader of the party with the largest number of members (whether majority or not) is nominally the chief executive of the country as well as the head of parliament. It's an essential part of good governance, and I think too important a principle to be tossed aside when government has tried to abuse its powers (btw I think the public at large will thrash the liberals for this next election, but it is their duty). - David HC Soul

I want another election. 300 mil is a small price to pay compared to the billions this coalition will send down the toilet. - metageoff