Canada Steps Right

Canadian voters shooed Liberal Paul Martin and his increasingly scandal-plagued party out of government for the first time in 13 years in favor of Stephen Harper and his Conservatives.

The Conservatives fell far short of a majority, and will need to ally themselves to the Bloc Quebecois to govern effectively. Fortunately for them, they were able to take 10 seats in Quebec, where they polled at an unprecedented 25%.

Canada's "Red-Blue" divide is much starker than America's. In the Prairie provinces, Liberals polled at a microscopic 19%, and in the previous election (which they won) the figure was merely 25%. If Canada had an electoral college system like ours, it is doubtful that any province could be contested in a reasonably close election.

Full details of the results are here.