Toronto, May 3 (IANS) Canada’s ruling Conservative Party led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper seemed set to get a comfortable majority in the parliamentary elections Monday night. The majority mark had eluded the ruling party in the previous two elections in 2006 and 2008.
Initial results and counting trends Monday night put the ruling party above the 154-mark in the 308-member House of Commons.
Canada’s first Sikh MP Ruby Dhalla and former Canada-India Business Council (CIBC) president Rana Sarkar were among those defeated in the initial results for the 41st parliamentary elections.
While Dhalla of the opposition Liberal Party lost to fellow Indo-Canadian Parm Gill of the ruling party in the Brampton-Springdale constituency on the outskirts of Toronto. She has been the sitting MP since 2004. Rana, a new entrant into politics, lost in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough Rouge.
The country also made history since the formation of its confederation in 1867, with Canadians rejecting the Liberal Party as their main party.
The party, which has either been the ruling or the main opposition party in Canada’s history, was relegated to the third place. In fact, Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff was trailing in his constituency in the Toronto area.
The left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) became the official opposition party for first the time. Harper also becomes the first Canadian prime minister in 50 years to retain power for three consecutive terms.
Importantly, separatist Bloc Quebecois party in French-speaking Quebec was rejected for the first time by voters who opted for the nationalist NDP in droves.
(Gurmukh Singh can be contacted at gurmukh.s@ians.in)
