Apart from the masses of election posters that litter our streets, doesn't it feel like the election was called just a few days ago? For some reason this past month felt quite a bit tamer than previous ones. Is it because we're all slightly more apathetic than we were last time around, or is our political scene just that bland?
Maybe I'm being too harsh. A few interesting things have happened this election. For one, we're currently witnessing a startling rise in popularity for the NDP across the country, and notably here in Quebec. Their recent surge in popularity can largely be attributed to Jack Layton's strong performance on both the English and French language debates (as well as the colourful remarks he made regarding a "hashtag fail"). Will La Belle Province be seeing things in orange on May 2nd? I guess we will have to see.
What is striking about this rise in popularity for the NDP is that for the first time ever, Instead of being irelegated as some distant third party, the NDP looks as if they might overtake the Liberals in number of votes, as well as final seat count. As their own numbers spiral downwards, the Liberal party looks now finds itself on slippery ground. The Grits have looked this bad since... well, ever.
Speaking of party's whose support is slipping: the Greens are looking like they might once again face dismal end results. Last election, the Greens were the only party to see their overall vote count increase since the election before. Despite receiving just shy of a million votes the party still failed once again to net even a single seat, largely due to the even distribution of their support across the country.
Elsewhere it looks like Steven Harper and his Tories are set once again to form a government, though whether it will be a majority or not is anyone's guess at this point.
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