So the Globe has run an article featuring the Conservative who defeated Michael Ignatieff. It's an interesting read I suppose, but the person I'm really dying to hear about is Hélène Laverdière.
RE: Ignatieff. Maclean's covers it better than I can. His campaign was running out of steam that it never had to begin with. His loss was partly due to vote splitting which was a huge factor in Conservatives taking over Toronto. The news that he was losing his seat was shocking to me, but when CTV broke the news that Gilles Duceppe had been defeated in his own riding, my mind was completely blown.
I think it's safe to say that the NDP surge predicted by pollsters was met with hesitant enthusiasm/skepticism for more than a few reasons. First of all, the methodology of polling is imperfect. Moreover, learning of an NDP surge in Quebec could motivate voters in different directions (I do think it motivated Conservative voters for one thing). Not only that, but the NDP only held one seat in Quebec before this election, so I think it's safe to say they had a ways to go.
But boy, did they go there.
By the time I got down to watching election results, it was about 10:30 EST. So the first thing that flashed across my screen was the NDP declared as Official Opposition. This was one of my predicted election outcomes and I'm super excited to see what Jack Layton does from here.
Next up: Gilles Duceppe defeated.
Wait.
WHAT?!
It's one thing to say that Quebec is experiencing an orange surge. It's another thing entirely to bring down the once popular leader of the dominant party in Quebec for 20 years. Now my understanding is that Quebeckers voted, by and large, for the man and by extension the party, rather than the local candidate.
But in any case, I would really like us all to back off from Ruth Ellen Brosseau for a minute, and take a second look at Hélène Laverdière
Of all the seats in Quebec that could have been considered up for grabs in the 2011 election, arguably hers would not have been. However, the NDP found a damn good placeholder if they weren't expecting to win this seat.
A previously unknown name in politics, Laverdière has worked as a foreign service officer for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, working in various cities around the world.
She has a PhD in sociology from the University of Bath in England.
She speaks English, French, Spanish, and a little bit of Chinese.
Post election, she stated that, "I did not run against Gilles Duceppe, but for the NDP."
And best of all, she won by over 5,000 votes! Amazing. I already love and admire this woman. Her win, to me, proves that Canadians should feel proud to vote for whichever candidate or party they truly feel deserves to win. The underdog CAN come from behind!
Now if only Stephen Harper had been brought down in HIS riding, then we'd be laughing all the way to the bank.
ETA: The Globe and Mail did eventually run a feature on other new MPs including Helene Laverdiere - you can read it here.
No comments:
Post a Comment