What Happened In Canada

CON	124	0	36.25%
LIB	103	0	30.22%
BQ	51	0	10.48%
NDP	29	0	17.49%
IND	1	0	.52%
OTH	0	0	5.05%

The Conservative Party gained strength, ending over a decade of rule by the Liberal Party.  The CBC explains what this means (HT Quirky Outtakes):

Hunger for change fed Tory vote: poll
Last Updated Tue, 24 Jan 2006 17:00:47 EST
CBC News

More than half the people who voted Conservative in Monday's election did so mainly because they thought it was time for a change, according to an Environics poll conducted for the CBC the weekend before the vote.

Only 41 per cent of them said they were voting for Stephen Harper's party because they wanted a Conservative government, compared to 54 per cent who said they were casting their ballots for the sake of change.

The remaining five per cent didn't know why they were voting Conservative or did not answer the question.

They discretely did not mention the effect of scandal on the attitudes of the voters.  If there is a lesson for US politicians, it is that sometimes people get fed up with scandal, and punish the party.  More broadly, sometimes voters get fed up with the status quo, and want a change.

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