NDP will hold down the federalist fort in Quebec

It was an busy week around the country as MPs ramp up for another session of parliament in Ottawa that begins on September 17th. New Democrat MPs took several days to hammer out our fall strategy in Newfoundland, while the people of Quebec elected a new government in that province’s general election.
The New Democrat ‘pre-parliament’ strategy session for MPs began under the leadership of the late Jack Layton and I’m glad it will continue under our new leader Tom Mulcair. Before each fall sitting of parliament Jack would gather us in a Canadian town or city and have us go over everything from recent political developments, to discussing policy, and figuring out how to deal with the government and the other opposition parties. It’s also a chance for MP’s to compare notes on staffing, office budgets, and how to best serve their constituents’ interests in the riding.
This year the New Democrat strategy session moved to beautiful St. John’s Newfoundland. The hot topics this year are the need to provide for sustainable economic growth for Canadians without relying solely on our natural resource wealth which tends to fluctuate in boom and bust cycles, saving and improving healthcare in Canada following years of neglect by both Liberal and Conservative governments, and securing the retirement income of each and every Canadian – by finding ways to protect private pension plans to improving and expanding the CPP. Of course, the results of the Quebec election are also a hot topic of discussion.
Before sharing my thoughts about the Quebec election results I would first like to offer my heartfelt condolences to the people of Quebec on the shooting that marred their election night. The victim of the shooting was a man who worked for the lighting company that was hired to help with the event at Parti Quebecois headquarters. He was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. It is terribly sad and my heart out goes out to his friends and family and the people of Quebec who woke to learn of this tragedy the next day.
The Quebec election results must be seen as disappointing to those who love Canada and want it to remain intact, but is still far from the political disaster many are trying to make it out to be. Having to defend nine years in power is never easy and the Jean Charest Liberals were a tired government. Alleged (massive) corruption, policy backlashes among students and other organized groups, and general fatigue cost the Liberals the election more than anything else it would seem. The people of Quebec wanted change, and the quickest way to achieve it was to vote for another political party which in this case happened to be the second place Parti Québécois.
The dynamics of Quebec politics is very different than anywhere else in Canada, and possibly the world. Historically, there have traditionally been two strong political parties, with different policy priorities, but whose identities seem to be defined by how they feel about the issue of sovereignty for Quebec. Both ‘anti’ and ‘pro’ sovereignty parties are comprised of individuals who span the entire range of political ideologies – from social conservatives, to business liberals, social democrats and everything in between. In the short term I would expect very little to change in the day to day lives of Quebecers since a recent poll suggested only 28% of them support complete sovereignty, and the three pro-sovereigntist parties in the election, the large Parti Québécois and smaller Québec Solidaire and Option Nationale parties, received less than 40% of the vote combined.
Thankfully, there are many excellent New Democrat MPs to hold the federalist fort down in Quebec and I know that we will be making a strong case for a more socially progressive and fiscally responsible Canada as we move forward. This is what New Democrats are continuing to work on during our strategy sessions in Newfoundland, and I believe that a majority of both Quebecers and Canadians want to see to these values reflected in our next federal government.