And it's hard to believe that the opposition parties have finally found some backbone. Still, I'm skeptical they'll actually do it - the liberal party in particular is a complete mess at the moment. Harper is too wily to let this slip away from him. He'll come up with a compromise that's just enough to get the opposition to ease off. But we can hope...

I don't think we are going to get a coalition government, not now.

But I think there is a much larger issue at play.

In the last Parliament, also a CPC minority, the Tories governed as if they had a majority. They basically sneered and bullied and dared at the opposition, and rammed through the key platforms they had on their mandate from the last election.

The intent of calling the last election (against Harper's own call for fixed date elections... and conveniently just in advance of the US elections...) was to secure a Tory majority. Having failed in that, the agenda was to start governing "as if a majority" again.

This f-up has basically served notice to (a) the Canadian people that the Tories were prepared to govern with disregard to their minority status and (b) the Tories that the opposition is not going to play that game any more.

Again, my bet is that Harper and the Tories are still in power 8 days from now, but that this near-death experience, the legitimacy of a coalition government alternative, and the change of government in the US all contrive to mean that this Parliament is going to be much more, er, flexible than the last on a variety of issues.

If the Canadians can move in a new direction, so can we.  Let's impeach Bush and force Obama to take some non-lobbyist, progressives into his administration.

Il faut cultiver notre jardin.

In the last Parliament, also a CPC minority,
The Conservative Party abandoned the Progressive part of their name years ago both in letter and spirit.

I am hopeful for the prospect of a coalition government.