Both Canadians and Americans are used to thinking of Canada as the more left-wing country. With good cause. Canada almost always has a Liberal government. Since World War Two the Conservatives have run the place for only 17 out of 62 years. The preeminence of the Liberals has conditioned Canadians' sense of nationality so much so that they now equate it with all kinds of leftist policy; socialized medicine, not least. When Pat Buchanan called us Soviet Canuckistan, most Canadians wore it happily.
Only three times since WWII have the tables been turned, with America to the left of Canada: Jan. 20, 1961 to April 22, 1963 (Diefenbaker/Kennedy); June 4, 1979 to March 3, 1980 (Carter/Clark); and January 20 to November 3, 1993 (Mulroney/Clinton/Campbell). Three years and ten months in total.
We may be coming up to another interlude. Bush is outta there January 19, 2009. In the meantime he can be expected to do everything imaginable to hamstring the next Republican candidate. A Democratic president could then find Harper still in in Ottawa. That would be interesting, because the President will be pushing long overdue Canadian values on America while our Conservatives are busy pushing what they figure are long-overdue American values on Canada. It'll make for some curious cross purposes.
Douglas
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