Re:How the Harper Government Committed a Knowledge Massacre
by bcj on Saturday January 04, 2014 @11:23AM
(#7011554)
Something to keep in mind is that Canada doesn't have a two party system. In the election that the conservatives gained a Majority, they only got ~40% of the vote. The majority of voters voted for 'not the Conservatives', but often split the vote.
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Re:How the Harper Government Committed a Knowledge Massacre
by mjallday on Saturday January 04, 2014 @11:48AM
(#7011675)
Can the other parties who had the majority split between them form a coalition?
Re:How the Harper Government Committed a Knowledge Massacre
by bcj on Saturday January 04, 2014 @02:03PM
(#7012396)
Coalition governments are possible in Canada, and have occurred before. In the case of the last election, the votes were split such that the Conservatives won a majority of seats.
It seems though that it only may be possible at election time. A few years prior to the election in which the Conservatives gained a minority, the Liberals and the NDP attempted to form a coalition government and the Governor General (The queen's representative in Canada) ended up proroguing parliament on Stephen Harper's behest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prorogation_in_Canada#History