An oddity. The Bloc and NPD will play along with the Liberals, taking it issue by issue, until one of them decides it is useful to have a new election.
I was once a proud Canadian. I'm not anymore. My country refuses to accept change. Even when change is needed. I see jokes referring to our military carrying hockey sticks. I am sickened, but also realize how true that is. It is a very sad day for me, and for my country. The east will never change, and I will forever remain paying for things I never see come to pass.
God Bless Canada, She's Going To Need It.
LilyBean
If Paul Martin has half a brain, he'd be governing from the center, not the left. He'd ask for Conservative support on things like defense and taxes, and NDP and Bloc support on matters like health and child care. Bloc "support" may come in the form of abstaining from votes or having designated "sick" MPs, if the Bloc feels overt support isn't possible. That way, the Bloc could say "non" but get what it wants passed.
This is Mr. Martin's moment to put up or shut up. Adversity makes good leaders or miserable failures. If Martin can govern effectively, he will call another election in a year or two to win an outright majority, and may be Prime Minister for the next 10 years. If he fails miserably, the opposition will call an election and the Liberals will likely lose seats. The Conservatives may have lost this battle, but the war against socialism continues.
By the way - this feels more like a Conservative loss than it really is because of expectations. The polls were spectacularly wrong, outside of Quebec. Only the oddsmakers at www.betwwts.com got it right. The election prediction project was close, but overestimated NDP support.