Conservatives Win Majority

The NDP makes history as the official opposition; the Liberals fall to an unprecedented defeat.

The Conservative Party of Canada will form the next government with 166 seats in Parliament, making Stephen Harper's dream of a majority a reality. With an emboldened mandate, the Tories are now free to shape the government as they see fit without having to worry about the competing concerns of opposition parties.

But perhaps as large a story in this election was the rise of the NDP, which, with 104 seats, made history by becoming the official opposition for the first time. The NDP's ascent denied the Liberals -- for the first time since Confederation -- a role as either government or official opposition. The Liberals finished in third with 34 seats, an all-time low.

And the Bloc Quebecois, which entered the election campaign in a solid lead, has nearly evaporated to four seats, as the NDP rode a wave of popularity throughout Quebec.

Political observers are wondering whether the election marks the end of both the Bloc's two-decade dominance of Quebec politics, as well as the Liberals' dynasty stretching back to the early days of Confederation.

The Tories' first step will be to table a throne speech laying out their legislative agenda for the next Parliament, and then a budget, as the one introduced in March was never voted upon because the election was called. Harper promised to pass an omnibus crime bill within 100 days of taking office after the opposition denied him that opportunity in the last Parliament. New powers for police officers and harsher penalties for marijuana growers are just two of the more controversial policies the Tories are all but guaranteed to pass. In a similar vein, one can expect the per-vote subsidy to be discarded. Ditto for the gun registry. The looming debate on Canada's engagement in Libya once Parliament sits could lead to grandstanding from both sides of the chamber, but Harper probably won't propose any expansion or extension of Canada's role given the public's distaste for the ongoing Afghan mission.

A majority means the Tories can sculpt their own economic policy as they attempt to reduce the deficit. They're committed to doing so by cutting government spending until the country returns to surpluses, but in which departments those reductions are to come has not been made clear. Beyond that, the proposed merger of the Toronto Stock Exchange with the London Stock Exchange, and potentially opening the banking and telecom sectors to more competition are all areas in which the Tories can exert their supposed free-market tendencies. Industry Minister Tony Clement and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will continue to rank among Harper's most important cabinet ministers for this term.

How the party tackles a new health-care accord with the provinces will weigh heavily on Harper's legacy. He must reconcile the demands placed on the health-care system by an aging population with the provinces' varying levels of fiscal soundness. Whether the Tories do so with increased private delivery of services, by downloading more powers to the provinces, or by handing over increasing amounts of cash to the premiers will dominate the House of Commons for the duration of this Parliament.

The next cabinet will feature many familiar faces, with Tory heavyweights Tony Clement, John Baird, Jim Flaherty, Peter MacKay, and Jason Kenney all returning. The political careers of Michael Ignatieff and Gilles Duceppe are uncertain, while NDP Leader Jack Layton must steer his resurgent party through a period the likes of which it's never known. But the biggest unknown of the 41st Parliament will be whether the Tories' partisanship will be reined in due to less consternation from the opposition, or if the governance style that led to them being found in contempt of Parliament will continue for at least another four years.