Conservative Party Wins Canadian Election

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

onservative party leader Stephen Harper won Canada’s national elections Monday, ending 13 years of rule by the country’s Liberal party, a victory expected to move Canada to the right on economic issues and lead to improved ties with the United States, news services reported.

But the Conservatives’ winning margin was narrow and the party will rule with a minority government, which could make it difficult to get legislation through a divided House of Commons, the Associated Press reported.

Relations with the Bush administration are likely to improve under Harper as his ideology runs similar to many U.S. Republicans, AP said.

Harper has said he wants to move beyond a global-warming debate by establishing different environmental controls, spend more on the military and tighten security along the country’s border with the United States, AP reported.

Harper pledged in his campaign to lower the national sales to 5% tax from 7% and to grant more autonomy and federal funding to Canada’s 13 provinces and territories, AP said.