The numbers . . .

I was disappointed, but not surprised, that the Conservatives won the federal election. My discontent was mitigated somewhat, though, by the final seat count, subject to recounts in a few close-to-call ridings:

Conservative	124
Liberal	103
BQ	51
NDP	29
Independent	1
Total	308

As widely predicted, the Conservatives got a minority. But the NDP got 10 more seats than last time, the Liberals didn’t lose as many as a lot of people expected, and the Bloc lost a few. There are significant numbers of progressive forces that might be able to keep the most right-wing policies of the government from getting too far. We’ll have to wait and see how this minority 39th Parliament plays out in the months ahead.