The liveblogging will be somewhat quiet, but please continue to post results, updates and opinions in the comments section. ÄThe blogging does in fact pick up below.Å

ÄWith Canada’s absolutely ridiculous laws, there really won’t be much to discuss until a few hours later, so I think I probably won’t post much, but later on there will no doubt be insightful comments at Captain’s Quarters and around the Canadian blogosphere. Enjoy the Maple Revolution!Å

• Will conservatives be upset if/when the CPC only brings home a powerless minority? So far the Atlantic provinces are voting pretty much according to expectations, perhaps a little on the Liberal side of expectations. The Maple Revolution is more about giving the boot to the mafia party than about bringing any particular party into power, although clearly the Conservative Party does play some important role (cf. Orange Revolution, Rose Revolution, etc.).
• CBC announces Conservative minority.
• CTV: Martin considering refusing to concede. LOL, like a junior Al Gore or John Kerry.

Well, they got enough seats to oust the Libranos (hopefully with prison terms to follow), but not enough to set agenda.

Pros:

• No more America-hating Prime Minister
• Democratic reform (elected senate?)
• Lower taxes (slightly)
• Not enough Conservative MPs to crack down on gay marriage, dope, etc.
• Funding the military again
• No more gun bans? No more CBC? (never mind…)
• No capital gains tax when re-investing sale proceeds
• …

Cons:

• Health care still on a par with Cuba and North Korea
• Weird concessions to retain power…
  • Continue the Kyoto madness?
  • Stay soft on Iran?
• Another election in a few months (or does this belong in the last grouping?)
• …

See the comments for all updates!

As of now the NDP are locked out. Who would have guessed? They made significant gains seats-wise and %-wise, but as I say, right now they’re locked out of anything of significance.

• Is it just me, or did Paul Martin just turn into a Quebecois Richard Nixon?
• On that note (this is Robert now, by the way), it occurs to me that the Conservatives probably shouldn’t misconstrue this as a complete endorsement of their agenda, especially the social one. Canada remains an ultimately liberal nation in that regard and many certainly take pride in that. This victory was handed to them in large degree because of corruption in the ruling party, so the Conservatives should definitely take the hint and clean up the government and implement other system reforms. Pushing a social agenda that very likely the majority of the country opposes will result in an election loss that will lead to promised reforms being lost.
• (Daniel again) Democracy! Whiskey! Sexy!

Layton’s giving a very triumphant speech — have his advisors not handed him the latest numbers yet? (Con. 125, NDP 28)

Hm, he even emphasized that Canadians “don’t want another election” any time soon…