Canadian Conservative leader Stephen Harper has won a majority of seats in Parliament for the first time, crushing the Liberal party in the process.
Conservative leader Stephen Harper completed the trifecta of his dreams: a majority government with seats in the city of Toronto, a crushed Liberal party and the decimation of the separatist Bloc Québécois.
“Whether or not you cast a vote for us today our government must and will stand on guard for all regions, and we will do so faithfully,” a triumphant Harper told a crowd that had swelled to more than 1,500.
“The business of government will resume tomorrow,” he declared, promising to hold at its core the values of Canada of the “true north strong and free.”
The crowd cheered wildly at Harper’s victory speech. His wife Laureen wiped away tears as Harper addressed his family directly to thank them for their love and support. “You’re the love of my life.”
He vowed to work with his new Opposition leader Jack Layton and expressed respect for both Michael Ignatieff as a formidable opponent, and Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe despite their different views of the country.
In the cavernous Telus Convention Centre of the evening, big cheers erupted at 10:40 p.m. when Global’s election broadcast declared Harper had finally won his coveted majority Conservative government.
As Ontario Liberals went down to defeat, the crowd of Conservatives who had been holding their breath for word of whether it would be a majority, then burst into applause again and again. Harper remained holed up in a Hyatt hotel suite watching the early nail-biter results roll in, surrounded by friends and family.
National campaign chair Guy Giorno said the majority only became clear as the lead “crystallized in Ontario.”
Giorno explained the Conservative formula for success: “Continued focus on the economy.”
“Look at the leaders. Who were the two leaders talking about the economy? Stephen Harper and Jack Layton,” Giorno told the Star.
“It’s a government for all Canadians. Stephen Harper is governing for everyone,” he said.
Former prime minister Brian Mulroney’s booming voice was projected on a big screen as he announced it was a “very exciting night, unexpectedly so.” He congratulated Harper for having won a majority and two minorities, Jack Layton for having “become the incarnation of change. He is a bon Jack, a good guy,” said Mulroney.
But the former Progressive Conservative prime minister summed up the “story of the night. What has happened to the famous Liberal brand.”
“I’m feeling good for the Conservatives but good for the country too,” said Preston Manning who first hired Stephen Harper to be the Reform Party’s policy director.
“The biggest change that central Canada’s gotta figure out is that the old Ontario-Quebec alliance which produced majorities regardless what Atlantic Canada and Western Canada thought, is over. The new alliance is Ontario and the west.”
Manning said it would take 10 years for the Liberals to rebuild “just like the old Conservatives.”
Meanwhile, here’s a reminder why I am fond of Stephen Harper.
