Conservatives Won
// January 24th, 2006 // No Comments » // Neighbourhoods
The big news in Canada is that Stephen Harper, Conservative party, won the election last night, getting rid of the Liberals, specifically, Paul Martin. The details according to CTV News are as follows:
Stephen Harper wins Conservative minority
Phil Hahn, CTV.ca News
Canadians granted Conservative Leader Stephen Harper a minority government Monday, putting an end to more than 12 years of Liberal rule.
Results show Conservatives won 124 seats, versus 103 for Paul Martin’s Liberals.
“Tonight, friends, our great country has voted for change,” the prime minister-designate told a crowd of supporters at his home riding of Calgary Southwest.
“And Canadians have asked our party to take the lead in delivering that change. Tonight I am saying to all Canadians that we will respect the trust you have given us, we will keep our word, we will honour that trust, we will deliver on our commitments.”
Harper then reached out to the regions, repeating a campaign promise to solve the fiscal imbalance and promising to let the Atlantic provinces keep their offshore resource money.
The West, he said, will now have the voice in Ottawa it has long sought.
But Harper fell short of the 155 seats needed to lead a Tory majority, meaning he’ll have to wheel and deal and curry favour of at least one opposition party to support him in the 308-seat House of Commons.
The Bloc Quebecois won 51 seats, while the NDP took 29 — a double-digit gain from the 2004 election. All four major party leaders won their ridings.
By the end of the night, the Tories won roughly 36 per cent of the popular vote nationwide, compared with 30 per cent for the Liberals, 17 per cent for the NDP and 10 per cent for the Bloc.
Martin to step down
Addressing a roomful of cheering party faithful in his Montreal riding of LaSalle-Emard, Martin said: “There will be another chance, and there will be another time.”
But that next chance won’t come under his stewardship.
Martin said he will continue representing his riding, but he will be stepping down as Liberal Leader.
“My dedication to the Liberal family will never wane,” said Martin. “But I will not take our party into another election.”
Martin said he called Harper on the phone to congratulate him on his victory.
“The people of Canada have chosen him to lead a minority government. I wish him the best,” said Martin. “We differ on many things, but we all share a belief in the potential and the promise of Canada, the desire of our country, to succeed.”
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