Because it's all about US(A)

I know, I know, the local angle is a cornerstone of journalism everywhere. But it would be nice if the main story about Canada's federal election to grace the NYT wasn't all about you. And maybe Canadians don't want to repair US ties. It's not as though the US can stop trading with its friendly northern neighbour - what would they do for oil, lumber, and, of course, weed.

I'm not really sure why Clifford Krauss thinks Harper has run a ideology free campaign. He has done a great job of obfuscating his party's positions on choice, immigrant rights, equal marriage and joining the US missile defense program, but they're not invisible and they're out of step with Canada's traditional values (how'd you like them apples?!).

Andrew Coyne does a much better job:

... beneath Canada's placid surface, the tectonic plates are shifting.

Slowly, by stages, rather than suddenly and violently, the Western world's most enduring political dynasty is cracking up. The Liberal Party of Canada, it is often noted, held power for more years in the 20th century than the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It has governed Canada, with occasional Conservative interludes, more or less since the First World War. Not for nothing is the system sometimes called "one-and-a-half-party rule."

Since the election of 1993, especially, the Liberals have ruled all but unopposed, the opposition having fractured into several regionally based parties. But you know what they say about absolute power, and sure enough the Liberals were implicated in a series of scandals, including a huge kickback scheme in Quebec. At the same time, the party was beset by internal divisions, culminating in the sitting prime minister, Jean Chrétien, being forced from office by his own party.

The Conservatives are likely to win a minority government, simply b/c Canadians have a tradition of voting people out of office, so there will be a fledgling flock of MPs and cabinet ministers in Ottawa this spring, which should be fun for the entire family. I agree that the Liberals have been in power way too long and botched the campaign. My sense is that most Canadians are still undecided, so it should be an exciting evening. I'd love to see the NDP as the official opposition, but that's a tad optimistic.

Conservative Win in Canada Could Help Repair Ties with US [NYT]
In From the Cold [NYT]