A Quick Comment on Election 2011

As the votes continue to be counted, the seat count at this exact moment is 166 Conservatives, 103 NDP, 34 Liberals, 4 Bloc Quebecois and 1 Green Party MP. 

It is a truly amazing result. The Canadian electoral map has been completely redone. This election is a watershed moment in our political history.

I will have more analysis after the results are more solid. But let me signal one thing that I will be exploring in the days ahead -- the assumption that there is a left-wing split in this country between Liberals and the NDP. John Ibbitson wrote a response article about the election results, arguing this point. He wrote that now is the time to combine the parties, and merge Canada's two left-of-centre parties.

This is wrong. The Liberals are NOT a left-of-centre party. But if they want to be taken over by the NDP, they should feel free to propose it. 

Now is not the time for Jack Layton to even entertain such a proposal. Most progressives reject outright that the Liberals can be counted among their ranks. We will see what the Liberals do next, and how long Ignatieff will remain at the helm, but an NDP/Liberal merger can only happen on NDP terms at this point, which is exactly why the Liberals will never do it.

Let's give Layton and his team the next four years to strengthen themselves as a true government-in-waiting and then see what voters think. The people of Canada are sick of the pundits and the Liberals telling them what they should think.