From the NDP website...

Election by the numbers:

NDP
Vote change in 2004 from
2000 election:
+1,024,092
Percentage difference:
+94%

Liberal Party
Vote change in 2004 from
2000 election:
-296,981
Percentage difference:
-5.6%

Conservative Party
Vote change in 2004 from
2000 election
(combined PC & Canadian Alliance):
- 847,092
Percentage difference:
-17.4%

Patriotism

This column in today's Globe & Mail actually brought tears to my eyes. I love my country, I really really do, and John Ibbitson found a great way to describe that feeling.

When people talk about hor horrible Canada is, or was, or will become, I get a little angry. Canada is so unbelieveably wonderful, so safe and beautiful and free, that it's almost indescribeable.

I think I may end up in politics, mostly because I can't stand to see people trying to break this country, whether it's break it up through secession (Quebec, Alberta), or break it up through Americanization (private health care, heavy religious interference).

Anyway, just thought I'd blather on for a minute. I really ought to find some work to do. :-)

Proportional Representation

Interested in learning more about proportional representation in elections? Here's some fun (read: scary) information.

Great website for raw data: http://www.sfu.ca/~aheard/elections/1867-2000.html
And one for the recent election: http://www.sfu.ca/~aheard/elections/2004-results.html

Examples of Problem that PR could help solve: (all for NDP as an example)

Year	Percentage of vote	# of seats	% of seats
2004	15.6%	19	6.2% of 308 ridings
2000	8.5%	13	4.3% of 301 ridings
1997	11%	21	7% of 301 ridings
1993	6.9%	9	3.1% of 295 ridings
1988	20.4%	43	14.6% of 295 ridings

How to ensure regional representation? Either have a half-PR and half "first past the post" system, or fully PR but by province.

Comments? Would you vote differently if you didn't know exactly who you were voting for, just that you were voting for somebody off a published list?