The Telegram (St. John's)

Trudeau and Trump finally have something in common

- Brian Jones Brian Jones is a desk editor at The Telegram. He can be reached at brian.jones@thetelegra­m.com.

Uh oh. It’s looks like Monday’s federal election result has to be annulled, and the vote held again.

Canadians are fond of telling themselves and each other how superior we are to Americans. Well, Canucks, it’s time to live up to that boast.

Liberals, Ndpers and other assorted left-wingers will likely be the most vocal in demanding that Monday’s result be rescinded and a new election held.

Why? Because a Liberal minority government lacks legitimacy when, as happened Monday, the Conservati­ves won more of the popular vote.

That’s right — lefties’ arrogant and condescend­ing mockery of Americans has come back to bite them on the assumption that it could never happen in Canada. “It” being a leader elected to office while losing the popular vote.

What’s good for Trump is good for Trudeau. Leftists and liberals on both sides of the border were quick to claim Donald Trump is an illegitima­te president because in the 2016 U.S. election he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton, 48 per cent to 46 per cent.

Likewise, Justin Trudeau must be deemed an illegitima­te prime minister, because his Liberal party lost the popular vote to Andrew Scheer’s Conservati­ve party, 34.4 per cent to 33.1 per cent.

As of this writing (Tuesday afternoon), Elections Canada has not yet announced a date for the new vote.

•••

Before Canadians go back to the ballot box, the NDP and Greens will insist — as many of their supporters have for years — that the voting system be changed to proportion­al representa­tion (PR).

For those who lust after PR, Monday’s election result is further proof the so-called firstpast-the-post system is unfair and undemocrat­ic.

The NDP won 16 per cent of the popular vote nationally, but takes only seven per cent of the seats, i.e. 24 seats, instead of the 54 seats it would get under PR.

The Green Party received 6.5 per cent of the popular vote, but gets only one per cent of the seats — three seats, instead of the 22 seats it would get under PR.

The leftie carbon-tax huggers might pine for PR for the extra power it would give them, but, as always in politics, there would be a flipside, a downside and an underside.

Under PR, Canadians would welcome five MPS from the People’s Party of Canada. (Or, as Younger Boy dubbed them, the People-hating Party of Canada.)

With 1.6 per cent of the popular vote, the PPC/PHPC would gain the proverbial toehold in Parliament, giving nice Canada a blunt introducti­on to right-wing populism.

Also under PR, the Liberal minority government disappears. The Conservati­ves would have 116 seats, the Liberals 112.

“Hurray!” cheer the 34.4 per cent. “A Conservati­ve minority government.”

Not so fast, blue boy. Scheer and his supporters would get an instant lesson in Political Science 101. In a parliament­ary democracy, the party winning the most seats doesn’t automatica­lly get to form the government, despite what Scheer ignorantly claimed last week.

Under the PR scenario, the Liberals and NDP would likely form a coalition government, with a combined seat count of 166 vs. the Conservati­ves’ 116.

Scheer would be aghast. The things he could learn by reading a newspaper.

•••

Although everyone is reporting, cheering and/or lamenting the new Liberal minority government, it isn’t yet official. That won’t happen until the governor general asks Trudeau II to form a government.

In the meantime, Alberta and its oil barons could still get their wish for a Conservati­ve government, if the Tories were willing and able to form a coalition.

Scheer could go to Jagmeet Singh and say, “Jagmeet, if you and your NDP support me as prime minister, I will nationaliz­e the oil industry.”

Scheer could go to Yves-francois Blanchet and say, “Yves-francois, your dual first name is confusing, but if you and your Bloc Quebecois support me as prime minister, I will support your quest for Quebec independen­ce.”

Goodbye Liberal minority, hello Conservati­ve-ndp-bloc Quebecois coalition. You see why so many anti-royalists favour republican­ism.

•••

Albertans are angry. Albertans are livid. Trudeaus as prime ministers are about as popular as rats in the wild rose province.

Not only do mad Albertans have to suffer a Liberal government, they will have to send billions of their petro dollars to a Quebec that elected a wagonload of separatist­s.

If you thought the election campaign was ugly, it can only get worse.

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