Five Fun Facts About Canadian Politics: US Edition

For those in the US that didn’t know or, perhaps more accurately, really didn’t care – there was a federal election held in the country north of the US on Monday, May 2.

As luck would have it, having an election just three days after a Royal Wedding and one day after Bin Laden’s death didn’t exactly guarantee very much coverage in the American newspapers. Not that a Canadian election would ever gain much news traction in this country anyways.

Living just one mile from the state of New York, I grew up watching US political coverage on TV. Let’s face it - Canada has just one-tenth the population of the United States, and at times about one-tenth the level of news excitement and political intrigue. Nonetheless, let’s take a look at five fun facts about the current Canadian political climate and how similar (and different) it is compared to the politics south of the 49th parallel (the line of latitude that serves as the main border between Canada and the United States).

1.  Canada has its share of juicy politician stories, much like those that exist in US politics. As but one example, Pierre Trudeau – the 15th Prime Minister of Canada and perhaps the best known in this country – was at one time married to Margaret Trudeau. She was a 22 year-old hippie and flower child, and he was almost 30 years her senior. Maggie used to hang out at Studio 54 in New York, and was rumored to be involved in a tryst with Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones. But wait, there’s more – in her book "Beyond Reason"">"Beyond Reason"'>"Beyond Reason" she also claimed to have an affair with US Senator Ted Kennedy. Racy stuff, indeed – for Canadian politics.

2. Canadian political problems are similar. The Conservative Party’s government cabinet was found to be in contempt of parliament – something that is without precedent in Canada or any other Commonwealth country. Woohooo! That is definitely pretty spicy for Canadians. How did this happen? The Cabinet’s ongoing refusal to meet opposition requests for details of proposed bills and their cost estimates. Hold on a second – isn’t that business as usual in US government?

3. The Canadian people speak out – even when the irony is overwhelming. After the vote of non-confidence, what happened at election time? In an intriguing twist of irony, the Conservative party won the election – with a majority! They won 167 out of a total of 308 seats. They previously held 143 seats. That being the case, Stephen Harper remains the Prime Minister of Canada, even after a vote of non-confidence and his political party being in contempt of parliament.

Even at the peak of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, President Clinton’s popularity hovered between 64 and 68%. Impeachment? Yes, but Clinton remained popular with the people – scandal or otherwise. Apparently, the same is true of Harper and his Conservative Party.

4. In Canada, there are lots and lots of political parties – 19 made an appearance in Monday’s election. But there are three primary parties, and they operate on similar principles as the two party system in the US. But wait - the House of Commons (like the US House of Representatives) now has 5 parties represented – Conservative (167 seats), New Democrat (102), Liberal (34), Bloc Quebecois (4), and Green (1).  One thing that is consistent across the border – all the parties start to sound like each other after a thousand or two sound bites.

Having more parties in Canada simply gives you more opportunity to get upset with your party and jump ship for (hopefully) better days ahead supporting another party. And Canadians don’t tend to be quite so hard-wired to their political parties like Democrats and Republicans. Welcome to democracy, Canada-style.

5. Perhaps the best part of Canadian politics – at least the most intriguing aspect in recent years – is in having a political party (Bloc Quebecois) that is actively promoting the sovereignty of the province of Quebec. Or, in other words, “Vote for us, and we’ll split the country apart”. It would be like having a “We Are Texas” political party actively working towards Texas sovereignty (slow down there, Governor Perry).

Thankfully, there are enough Canadians that see the value in a united Canada that the Bloc Quebecois took a big hit this election, dropping from 49 seats to 4. Only in Canada would you have an official political party seeking to be a part of government that would, in effect, dismantle the country.

There are times when you have to wonder if the two parties in the US political system are effectively dismantling the country … just not as a stated intent.

Just remember – a federal election in Canada may represent just one-tenth the population total of the United States, but politics are, well, politics! They may not be the same, but they sure do echo – across that 49th parallel.

Photo credits: Wikipedia