Siggy Urbanite Gets To Vote

Well, an election night that is more interesting than most in recent memory. When the TV coverage hit the air waves in BC the first words out were still the news that the government had already been decided long before BC polls closed. Oh well... People out here whine about that to a ridiculous extent, but aside from realigning the country on a vertical axis, not much can be done. (If we're going to do that, I vote to put Ottawa up at the top where it is the coldest.)

We trudged out through the mist and fog to exercise our democratic franchise about 10 minutes after the polls open at 7 AM. It was a relatively painless procedure marking the X, and then we were off to work to wait the results at the end of the day.

Our riding is Vancouver East, probably the safest NDP riding in the country. True to form, our incumbent Libby Davies was returned with a huge landslide. And that's even without my vote. (Sorry Libby...)

NDP - 56%
Liberal - 24%
Conservative - 13%
Green - 6%
Canadian Action Party - 1%

This is where I live. The numbers will likely change a percentage here or there as the final polls come in, but that is a snap shot of my neighborhood.

Living on the edge of the poorest neighborhood in Canada, I understand the popularity of socialism in the riding of Vancouver East. But what I don't understand is why the rest of Vancouver insists on voting Liberal. I understand it, but I don't get it. I guess being born and raised on the prairies skews my brain and addles my thinking.

What strikes me most is the polarization of our Country - not the east / west split, but the rural / urban split. The Toronto, Vancouver, most of Montreal, and even some of Winnipeg went Liberal, with a smattering of NDP (or Bloc). The rest of the country (and the key word is 'country') west of Quebec went Conservative. (Edmonton and Calgary are the exception...but there are other key issues at play there.)

The issues in the urban centres are moral, especially abortion and to some extent, same sex marriage. I know that some of the elected Liberal MP's are outspoken pro-life advocates, but I believe that if Stephen Harper was pro-choice, or if there was some push in the Conservative Party to be softer on this issue, they would have appealed to more voters and probably won a majority government. But too many in our country are fearful of the social conservativism of the Conservative Party, especially on the key issue of abortion. Thankfully the new Prime Minister of our nation and many of his caucas are pro-life, but I'm deeply saddened that the government of our country hinges on this tragic issue.