OTTAWA, 25 January 2006 — Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party won national elections Monday and ended 13 years of Liberal rule, a victory expected to move Canada rightward on social and economic issues and lead to improved ties with the United States.
The triumph for the Conservatives came with many Canadians weary of the broken promises and corruption scandals under the Liberal Party, making them willing to give Harper a chance to govern despite concerns that some of his social views are extreme.
“Tonight friends, our great country has voted for change, and Canadians have asked our party to take the lead in delivering that change,” Harper told some 2,000 cheering supporters at his campaign headquarters in Calgary. Relations with the Bush administration will likely improve under Harper as his ideology runs along the same lines of many US Republicans.
Canada’s second election in 18 months produced another hung parliament with right-wing Conservative party of Stephen Harper getting ready to form a weak minority government in Ottawa. The Conservatives won 124 out of 308 parliamentary seats ending the 12-year rule of Liberal party which could secure only 103 seats in Monday’s elections.
A jubilant Harper, the prime minister designate, said Canadians wanted a change. They wanted a new government in Ottawa and they did it. He told a cheering crowd late in the night that his priority would be to ensure a Conservative majority in next election. Harper said he is leading a party that wants to see Canada as an independent, united and strong country.
Earlier, Prime Minister Paul Martin conceded defeat and said he would soon step down as leader of his Liberal party. “I will not take our party into another election as leader,” Paul Martin announced. However, he said he would continue to serve as a member of parliament.
In last elections held in June 2004, Conservatives were contained to 99 seats with Martin’s party sending 135 MPs to the House of Commons.
The separatist party of Bloc Quebecois, which had claimed 54 seats in previous election, won in 51 ridings mostly in Quebec.The left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP) got ten more seats in Monday’s election at the cost of Liberal party. It had won 19 seats in 2004 polls. Among the winners in 29 ridings yesterday were Jack Layton, the NDP chief and his wife Olivia Chow. They both won from Toronto ridings.
Meanwhile, two Muslims — a Pakistani and an Arab, won Liberal’s ticket. Wajid Khan, a former Pakistani Airfroce pilot was re-elected from his Mississauga-Streetsville riding. Omar Alghabra, whose parents migrated from Middle East many years ago, also won from Mississaug city.
Alghabra, who was raised and bread in Canada, is a well-known voice of moderation in the Canadian Muslim community. He is a board member of the Canadian International Peace Project (CIPP), a multi-faith effort to promote peace and understanding in the Middle East. A former president of the Canadian Arab Federation, Alghabra was also a member of the Toronto Star’s community editorial board.
Expressing happiness over his grand victory he said: “I’m speechless ..... I’m delighted to win on Liberal ticket. I will serve my constituents and do my best to promote Canada’s high traditions and its multiculturalism.” “Representing the riding of Mississauga-Erindale is something I take seriously, and I will use all of my professional and educational experience to carry out this role responsibly, thoughtfully and effectively,” he told his supporters at Mississauga’s Payal Banquet Hall.
Omar graduated from Ryerson University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1994 and later he got a Masters degree in Business Administration from York University of Toronto. (Additional input by AP)
