With the Senate scandal plastered all over the media, it would be easy to think the Conservatives didn’t stand a chance in Monday’s byelections.
But there must be something in the drinking water in southern Manitoba, or perhaps the news doesn’t make it there.
How else to explain the byelection wins by the federal Conservative party.
Of the four ridings up for grabs in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba, the Conservatives won two, both in Manitoba, both of which had elected a Conservative MP in the 2011 vote.
Sure, the federal Liberal party made significant inroads in both ridings, improving their share of the popular vote from dismal to bridesmaid.
The question is why voters even considered casting their ballot for the Conservatives?
Since the last federal election, the Conservative government, headed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, has done very little to improve the lot of Canadians or Canada.
Rather, the Conservatives have muzzled scientists, tacked on two years to the working life of Canadians, that is if you can find a job because the taxpayer-funded employment action plan heralded by the Conservatives is more inaction than action.
Canada’s treatment of aboriginal people is still embarrassing and our reputation at climate change summits is laughable.
But the best the opposition parties can do is bemoan and criticize the Conservatives without really coming up with their own plan to deal with the issues in a fiscally responsible manner.
Perhaps the voters in southern Manitoba took the long view and opted for the one party with a clear vision.