Prime Minister Stephen Harper Wins a Majority as He Steers Canada to the Right

     Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been reelected as he has won his Conservative Party a majority in Parliament for the first time since he came to power in a coalition in 2006. 

     Harper was rewarded for his fiscally conservative policies, including lowering taxes, that have helped Canada avoid recession despite the steep global economic downturn.  His policies reflect the global trend toward austerity and his election also represents the global rightward shift I have been posting about, as voters recognize the need for less government spending.  Harper was also able to convince his countrymen that the Canadian economy needed the stability of a majority government versus the instability of another coalition government, either between his Tories and others or between the opposition Liberals and the leftist New Democratic Party (NDP).

     The NDP will be the primary opposition party for the first time, which will also be the first time the Liberals will not be either in government or the main opposition.  The separtist Bloc Quebecois suffered a devestating loss of seats.

     Harper has increased Canada's military, which had been reduced to a meager force under Liberal government, and has maintained a Canadian force in Afghanistan in the War on Terrorism.  Canadians had been rejoicing within the last 24 hours over the killing by United States forces of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, who was responsible for the September 11 Terrorist Attacks in which 24 Canadians were among the nearly 3,000 people who were massacred. 

     Americans are grateful to have the Canadians as allies.  I congratulate Prime Minister Harper and the Canadian people and wish our neighbors to the North all the best.