I spent watching election night at my local conservative candidate’s (Ghislain Lavoie) headquarters in my hometown of Roberval QC (Roberval-Lac-Saint-Jean riding). As you know, he didn’t win but he still managed to come within only 3000 votes of tieing well-known Bloc Québécois’ angry hound, Michel Gauthier. For those who’ll say that a 3000-vote margin is not an achievement, consider this: In 2004, Gauthier had a 13000-vote gap over the LIBERAL candidate. The Conservative was behind the NDP at the time. He finished second this time around. And the Liberal finished third. With 7% of the vote.

I swear, I don’t know how to feel about this election’s results. Sure, part of me wants to celebrate now that Paul Martin is gone (gosh, how I hated the guy) and that Prime Minister Stephen Harper (feels great to say, try it!) will take over in just a few days.

But part of me is also extremely disappointed in the slim minority Ontario (Toronto & surroundings, especially) left us with. And British Columbia which sent packing two Conservatives instead of electing more. And Atlantic Canada which voted in exactly the same way as it did in 2004. Though I’m not surprised in the latter.

We could have gotten a majority. We’d really have given him a shot. And it’s way too slim a minority for Harper to try anything even the slightest bit unconventional and controversial. I guess some parts of Canada still haven’t understood it was time for a change. I was really expecting more than 55 Conservative MPs in Ontario, folks. For those in Newmarket-Aurora, you really angered me when you reelected the most inconsiderate political bimbo of our time, Belinda Stronach. And I really though John Capobianco would win in Etobicoke-Lakeshore. And BC, you could have done much better.

But while I’m mostly turned off by the results in those provinces, I definitely can’t say the same about my home province of Québec. WOW! Ten Conservatives elected to Parliament! In the most left-leaning province in Canada! The most optimistic of political analysts and pundits were predicting nine, at most. And I’m very pleasantly surprised about the results in Jonquière-Alma, the riding neighboring mine to the east. I thought it’d be a lot closer for Jean-Pierre Blackburn. He pulled it off easily with almost a 7000-vote majority. That’s nothing short of astonishing. In a traditionally Bloc stronghold. In Québec. I’m not making this up. (Man, I still get a kick out of those!)

And while I knew that at least one Conservative was going to be elected in Québec City surroundings, I never thought there’d be 8 of them! That’s wonderful.

So, all things considered, it’s not that bad, but it could have been a lot better. Needless to say that I was way off with my prediction of a Conservative majority.

Oh well, AT LEAST (like I wrote earlier) the Liberals are gone now. That’s probably the only thing that counts now.

But 21 seats is, like I said, a rather slim minority. That means it COULD have been the other way around. Paul Martin COULD still be Prime Minister. I, for, one, never thought that the Liberals would get more than 85-90 seats. And they did. With all they’ve done. In our cities. In Canada.

Sadly, I’m not making this up.

But I wish I were.