“It would seem Conservative support in PG ridings is growing,” : UNBC Lecturer

UNBC political science lecturer Jason Morris believes a Liberal minority government means smaller policy proposals to maintain votes could be the on tap for the next few years.

The Liberals earned 157 of 338 seats, while the Conservatives remain the opposition with 121.

Morris told MyPGNow.com every party with the exception of one took a bit of a hit.

“It was a campaign, which resulted in all of the parties say for the Bloc Quebecois not doing as well as they would like, it is like a whole bunch of them lost.”

He adds Conservative support seems to be growing in the Cariboo-PG and PG-Peace River-Northern Rockies ridings where incumbents Todd Doherty and Bob Zimmer were re-elected by large margins.

Morris believes both politicians have earned the public’s trust over the years and that same loyalty is being paid back to them.

“It would appear in those two electoral districts, Conservative support is growing. They are considered safe seats and they are considered hard-working MPs who take care of their constituents.”

Despite the Liberal win, it was actually the Tories who won the popular of 34.4%.

If the circumstances were different surrounding our electoral system in Canada, the opposition would be in a much better spot.

“There is no doubt that some may be thinking that if the electoral system was changed, which was the election campaign promise last time, that the Conservatives would be smiling a little more but the fact of the matter is the Liberal party demonstrated a great campaigning skill of efficiency of votes  getting all the major seats they need to stay alive.”

He adds while most minority governments only last about two years, the outcome might be a little different this time around.

“This is still a strong minority in terms of seats with parties on the so-called left that being the NDP and the Greens that will certainly be wanting as much influence and power as possible, it’s likely this parliament is longer lasting.”