Conservatives Win Majority in Canada

Globe and Mail reports:

Stephen Harper’s Conservatives surged to a majority government Monday, winning their third consecutive election, as voters dramatically redrew Canada’s political map.

The New Democratic Party staged a stunning surge, becoming the Official Opposition, as the Liberal vote collapsed and the Bloc Québécois was all but wiped out. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff and Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe were battling for their political lives in their own ridings.

As of 10:45 p.m. ET, the Conservatives had won or were leading in about 165 seats out of the 308 in the House of Commons, 10 more than needed for a majority, while the New Democrats had soared past 100 and the Liberals had tumbled to about 30.

The Conservative run started in Atlantic Canada, where the Tories overtook the Liberals in the popular vote and added three of the 12 additional seats needed to ensure solid control of Parliament.

The Liberals emerged from the Maritimes scarred but alive, having dropped two seats to the New Democrats and three to the Conservatives. The Tories picked up one seat by a razor-thin margin in Newfoundland and Labrador after being shut out in the last election.

As polls had suggested, the NDP trounced the Bloc in Quebec while the Harper Tories scored big gains in Ontario at the expense of the Liberals who once owned the province federally.

In Quebec, the NDP jumped out to a stunning lead, outstripping even the most optimistic predictions of its success in the province.

The party, which entered the campaign with just one MP from the 75-seat province, hit double figures and appeared to be heading to victory in dozens of more ridings.

So strong was the party's performance that even Mr. Duceppe's riding looked in danger of being swept by the NDP.

The party had about 40 per cent of the popular vote throughout the province, outstripping the Bloc, the Tories and the Liberals. It got only 12.2 per cent in the 2008 election.

“We are living through a historic day,” said Francoise Boivin, the New Democrat who won Gatineau in western Quebec.

Early returns from Ontario showed the Conservatives dominating with 45 per cent of the popular vote and 42 seats in the province. The NDP switched places with the Liberals, taking 11 seats with 29 per cent of the popular support compared to just one seat and 22 per cent for the Grits.