When you lead with ego, you lose out. When selfishness guides your intentions, you sacrifice connections. You become irrelevant.
On May 2, 2011, Canadians will vote federally for the fourth time in seven years. Elections have been held in Canada in 2004, 2006, 2008 and now, 2011. Unlike in the United States where a President is elected once every 4-years, in Canada, the rules aren’t as cut and dry.
Since 2006, the Conservatives led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper have held a minority government. It means that if they want legislation to pass in the House of Commons, they have to make deals with the other parties in order to have enough votes.
As you can imagine, this creates insecurity because at any moment, the government can fall. Which is what happened March 25, 2011. The Conservatives tried to pass a federal budget. It did not pass and as a result, the opposition parties grouped together and with their majority, voted that they no longer held any confidence in the Conservative Party.
But here’s where selfishness rears its ugly head – Canadians didn’t want an election. Our economy has remained stable despite the ruckus happening south of border and in other countries around the world.
An election costs millions of dollars. According to CBC, the 2006 federal election cost Canadians $270-million dollars and did little to shake up the number of seats each party had (and resulted in Stephen Harper leading another minority government).
While having a minority government isn’t great, most Canadians liked the fact that the Liberals, the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Bloc Quebecois kept the Conservatives in check.
However, ego spoke. Despite what Canadian did or did not want, the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois were too selfish to listen. Their selfishness will be rewarded with a majority government for the Conservatives on May 2, 2011 for the first time since they were elected to power in 2004.
I also predict that the Liberals – once a dominant party in Canada – will be decimated in the 2011 election. They will lose many seats. The NDP will pick up what the Liberals and Bloc Quebecois will lose.
The only thing the opposition parties needed to do is listen. Find out what Canadians wanted. Listen to the very people who voted them into office in 2008. If they had, Canadians would’ve rewarded them in 2013 with votes. Instead, the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois will be licking their wounds with ego as their only companion.
Update: Harper is still Canada’s Prime Minister, this time claiming the majority of seats in the House. The NDP under Jack Layton is now the official opposition for the first time in its history. The Liberals, a once formidable party in power, has won its fewest seats since Confederation and there are suggestions that it will merge with the NDP. The Bloc Quebecois has been decimated (retaining 4 of its 47 seats in Quebec), with Quebeckers throwing their support behind the NDP. The Green Party won its first seat and I suspect that the Green will become what the NDP once was – a fringe third party fighting for attention in a 2 party system.
