Election day

The election results aren't finished coming in but they're calling it to be a Conservative majority. Boo! I don't like Stephen Harper or his government because of the number of ethical issues they had during their last time in office. I don't trust them to do the right things by the people of this country. Tax cuts for business and rich people (not to mention extra fighter jets and maximum prisons) aren't going to help the people who need it. And I'm so worried that they're going to start stripping women's rights by, say, removing funding to Planned Parenthood like the US is trying to do.

I'm sorry but I can't help but think that the Canadian people have been suckered by the Conservative party. My worst fears about this election have come to pass: a Harper majority. I don't understand what people see in these candidates or this party. How could they have responded to the smear campaign? I'm so disappointed. I don't even fully believe that it'll be the will of the people to have a Harper majority because I don't know that the number of seats they'll get will equal the percentage of people who voted for them. And I don't know if the people know what they're in for.

Honestly, I didn't like Michael Ignatieff (the Liberal leader) either, and I can understand why people didn't want to vote for him and his party. But to vote Conservative instead wasn't really a good choice, either, and I suspect that a lot of people just didn't vote (or everyone showed up and voted for the Conservatives). Oh, Canada, what have you done?

At least the Harper majority will be tempered by the NDP, who, in a very surprising upset, will likely form the Official Opposition. We in English-speaking Canada don't pay so much attention to Quebec because it's voted Bloc Quebecois for so long, but it looks like we should have at least remembered that they're there because Quebec has pretty well ousted the Bloc in favour of the NDP. Yes, the NDP! Think back to only a few years ago when they almost lost official party status, and now they're (likely) the Official Opposition.

As an aside, technology has played an "interesting" role in this election; apparently we were the highest or second-highest trending topic on twitter. We Canadians aren't allowed to give the election results to any area that hasn't yet finished voting, presumably because it could influence the votes there. But Elections Canada can't control the international interwebs and non-Canadian people were tweeting results for the world to see before polls closed across the country. I expect that Elections Canada will change the rules so that no results can be broadcast until polls are closed across the country... if it matters that people in BC, say, know the results from Ontario before the polls close in BC.

Update: it looks like over 60% of eligible voters came out to vote. If that's not a mandate for the Conservatives, I don't know what is.