It's all Aboot Change

"Canada is but a few acres of snow"-Voltaire.

It seems that even the most notable philosophers in history did not think that highly of Canadian identity and culture. As a proud Canadian I would have to rephrase Voltaire's quote into one saying "Canada is anything but a few acres of snow." Identifying oneself as a Canadian goes much further than accepting the traditional stereotypes of being poutine lovers, Molson drinkers, and hockey players. History's events have shaped Canadian culture into one big melting pot of different  values and traditions. As we continue to marinate in this pot, new liberal movements are constantly challenging past ideas. The recent Canadian federal election has provided a great segue into showing the world that Canada is not just about hockey and maple syrup but is a nation built upon progressive change and reform.

While no one was really expecting it, Canada just had one of her most exciting elections in years and with a result of changing the political landscape for good. Stephen Harper, head of the minority conservative party, was recently forced into an election by the main opposition, the Liberals. At first this seemed to be a political ploy for Harper to gain a majority government, which in fact happened, but the election had many other notable implications on the future of Canadian political identity. The status quo changed significantly in this election as the past dominate opposition party (Liberal) lost sovereignty to the National Democratic Party. This marks a historic time in history as the NDP gained a minority opposition for the first time and  "Canada's natural governing party", the Liberals, marked their biggest political blunder in Canadian history gaining less than 20% of the national vote.  These results are not a coincidence but a clear message sent from Canadian voters demanding new implementation of domestic policies. It seems that most Liberals were simply tired of traditional party policies not being in line with modern day issues. The Liberal party also seemed doomed from the start as party leader Michael Ignatieff lacked the charisma and political keenness of past leaders Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chretien.

The fall of the Bloc-Quebecois was another important result following the federal conservative party triumph.  With no real productivity coming from the Bloc, Quebecers put their faith in the federal NDP. This was a very momentous and almost peculiar event to take place as both French and English voters seemed to strongly unite under a common party. It was finally time to put language differences aside and unite in order to create change within the existing political infrastructure. The new wave of "change" being sparked by the NDP seems to be having a dramatic effect on what Canadians value. The third party "little man" is now the big opposition and will now have a tremendous say concerning the future political growth in Canada.

In retrospect, the changing political mindset of many Canadian voters to favor a third party opposition has brought on a wave of fresh change concerning the future state of the Canadian government. Even though we love drinking Molson Beer and we tend to go a bit crazy with our maple syrup, Canadians are very serious about the future state of their country. With change and reform being the drivers for creating a new Canadian identity, Canada is at an exciting time in her history for new progressive policies to become a mainstay for future Canadian generations to come.

Image source: Flickr.