I'm not surprised with the results of the October 10th Election and Referendum. On the surface, the Ontario Parliament remained essentially the same. We have a Liberal majority government, PC opposition, a few NDPs and no Greens. But, beneath the surface, I sense that change is just around the corner.
Although they didn't win any seats, the Greens increased their support 3 fold from the 2003 election. Up from 2.7% to 8%. No other party has come close to this amount of change. In addition, there were several notable achievements from individual Green Party candidates. Shane Jolley in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound came a close second with over 33% support. And, in my own riding in Guelph, Ben Polley came in third with over 19% support.
More hope is given to me when I look at the results from the Student Vote - a mock election held in schools. If these students had there way, Ontario would remain Liberal a liberal majority, but would have a Green Party opposition.
As for the Referendum, I have to say, that I was not at all shocked with the results. The change seemed confusing to people. In fact, I have heard several reports from friends working at the election booths, that people weren't sure what the question meant. I don't think that the government did a good job of educating the public (why would they... when they are currently benefiting from the current system).
Did anyone else notice something wrong with the "Your Big Decision" television campaigns? Every time the person in the commercial said "Yes" to the question, something bad happened... hmmm.
In the end, MMP was rejected - overwhelmingly rejected. But, two statistics stand out in my mind that give me hope for the future. Firstly, more people voted in the referendum than in the election (something like 55% vs. 50%). Secondly, of the people ages 18-34, 67% were in favour of adopting the MMP electoral system.
Change happens slowly. For those of you who are disappointed with the results of this election, don't loose hope. There are always more elections. Don't feel defeated, your vote does matter.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Post-election impressions
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I started to read up on MMP only after reading your earlier post. I did as much reading and research as I could. My decision to vote against MMP was because I think it was a flawed plan.
Don't get me wrong, I am for some sort of change, just not the way it was presented. Maybe your generation will revive this down the road? We'll see.
The Greens did much better in the popular vote, hence they are now on the radar screen. But the party is young and will take some years to mature. My fear down the road is that if the greens do get to the point of being a party, they will split the vote with the NDP. What are your thoughts?
I knew Tory and the Tories would lose big-time since they were stupid enough to AGAIN bring up the funding issue for other religions. Political suicide in the first degree!
I have met Tory in the past and I must say I couldn't stand him. He made my skin crawl!
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