Canada's elections: looking like a change is coming

Things are also looking up in Canada.

The governing Conservative party has extended its lead in Canada, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies. 38 per cent of respondents would support the Tories in next month’s election to the House of Commons, up two points since late August.

The Liberal party is second with 24 per cent, followed by the New Democratic Party (NDP) with 21 per cent, the Bloc Québécois with nine per cent, and the Green party with seven per cent. Support for the Grits fell by four points, while backing for the NDP increased by three points. . . .

The conservatives currently have a minority government and if this lead in the polls keeps up, they will have a majority one.

Just as interesting, the NDP may replace the Liberals as the largest opposition party. If the two opposition parties are fairly similar in size it could increase the Conservative's dominance in parliament.

From The Economist magazine: "The mainstream left seems to be in trouble all over Europe. We look at the French Socialists and Germany’s Social Democrats."