The collapse of the Coalition after its rejection by Liberal leader Ignatieff has left many Canadians disappointed and dismayed. Does its success in forcing the government to revise its attitude towards deficit budgeting plus the substantial grassroots support that erupted on Facebook groups and the Internet mean that there is a future for coalition politics in Canada?

Their vote this week to support Harper’s ‘stimulus’ budget puts Michael Ignatieff’s Liberals firmly in bed with Canada’s very own Blue Meanies, and raises questions as to whether there is any real difference between Ignatieff’s Liberals and Harper’s newly-centralist Conservatives. It’s just a question of competing élites who both believe in their superiority.

Today’s announcement by Ignatieff that his caucus has decided to support the Conservative budget came as no surprise. But by merely rapping the government on the knuckles with an amendment that only requires it to report on its progress three times this year, Ignatieff has in effect formed a tacit coalition with Stephen Harper’s Conservatives.

After an exhaustive consultation process that drew heavily on the advice of the business élite, Harper and Flaherty may have put together a stimulus package that covers all the bases. It even recognises the need for deficits. That gives Iggy his first dilemma, and the future of the Coalition depends on his decision on whether his party should support the budget.

A powerful coalition of environmental groups, big unions, scientists, business people and citizens is challenging Stephen Harper to invest up to $41 billion in green energy funding and infrastructure energy efficiency updates in this month’s budget. But behind the scenes, Stephen Harper may be secretly planning to gut Canada’s Environmental Protection Act.

In comparison to what’s happening to our neighbour to the south, Canadian parliamentary politics and its political leaders seems pompous, dull, boring, pale and uninteresting. Obama mania has thousands of Canadians swooning in its wake, and he implications for Canadian politics and even the Harper government’s policies, could be profound.

A letter sent by Stephen Harper in September, 2004 to Governor General Adrienne Clarkson and recently circulated by Canadian nationalist Mel Hurtig, reveals that prime minister Stephen Harper is being hypocritical in his condemnation of a coalition government for Canada.

Only a co-ordinated 2009 election campaign can defeat Stephen Harper and replace his neo-conservative government with one that reflects the more progressive views of the majority of Canadians. To act as though any one party can succeed on its own would simply repeat the failure of the last two federal elections.

About 3,000 pro-coalition supporters rallied in downtown Toronto on Saturday, December 6, 2008. The event was hosted by Mary Walsh and featured speeches from Jack Layton and Stephane Dion.

Winnipeg commentator John Ryan explains why there is enough common ground for the Liberal, NDP and Green parties to form a visionary political partnership that can defeat Stephen Harper, form a coalition government, and lead Canada towards a progressive and independent future.