Minority Report: Lessons from Canada's Minority Parliaments

Charles Dickens opens his classic, A Tale of Two Cities, by observing: [i]t was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness. Read in a modern context, one could be forgiven for assuming he was talking about minority government. Since 2004, a series of minority governments were elected in Westminster systems. Canada initiated the trend electing a minority parliament for the first time in 25 years. Australia and the United Kingdom quickly followed, electing their own minority parliaments in 2010. Minority governments are not particularly novel outside of the Westminster systems. Indeed, most legislative assemblies operate on some power-sharing agreement between coalition partners. Yet, when they occur in a Westminster systemCanada or Australiathey are news. This is due, in part, to the novelty of the occurrence, since it happens so rarely. In the analysis that follows, I attempt to draw some lessons from the years 2004 to 2011 when Canada elected three successive minority governments. I begin with a discussion of the election campaigns and major events of the 38th, 39th and 40th Canadian Parliaments. I then turn my attention to potential lessons that can be drawn from this seven-year span paying special attention to: political parties, managing parliament, and the importance of the marginal seats. I argue that there are lessons to be learned from other Westminster parliaments when dealing with minority government