It’s a win for Canadian democracy

Opinion

America was on the ballot last Monday and Canada won.

We beat the United States. Not in hockey (did that already). And not on tariffs (heavy sledding still ahead on that).

No, we beat American democracy with Canadian democracy. Right where it counted — through the ballot box.

More Canadians turned out to vote in Monday’s election than any time since 1993, 30 years ago. Our turnout went up in 2025. Theirs went down in last year’s presidential election.

Our election was violence-free. America had an assassination attempt, ballot box arson attempts in at least two states, and numerous threats against election workers around the country.

Our election went smoothly, overseen by one national independent elections authority, not 50 different, politically-appointed election administrators.

In the U.S., no two states administer the federal election exactly the same way. In Canada, provinces have no role in counting votes and every voter can expect the same experience, no matter where they live.

Most importantly, all our political leaders publicly accepted the results on election night. There was no talk of “stealing” or “rigging” a free and fair election. Democracy requires both good winners and good losers if it is to serve the country. We had that on Monday night.

None of this is by chance. Canada’s political culture is a manifestation of who we are as a society. It is not a distinction without a difference from the unruly democracy next door. It is a vast chasm of difference that makes Canada different from the United States. It is the best expression yet for our sovereignty in the face of American political aggrandizement.

Peace, order, and good government (the original “Canada Clause” in our Constitution) remains the signpost for how most Canadians act as citizens and democrats. And we did so with two distinct, competing, and argumentative choices for parties, policies, and prime minister.

Democracy is about choices. Having a robust democratic argument about those choices is always in order. That is not to say voters always opt for a clear choice. As Yogi Berra once said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

Canada did. After five weeks of democratic argument, Canadians chose a middling course. Despite the starkness of leadership styles and the nationalist fervour underpinning the whole campaign, we were unwilling to reward the Liberals with a majority, fourth-term government and unwilling to opt for disruptive change offered by the Conservatives.

Unconvinced fully of either choice, unsurprisingly Canadians held back from voting convincingly for either. For everyone except the NDP, whose dismal fate was pre-ordained, this made for a dramatic night of election counting

By its close, though, this election turned out to be historic in its moment and historical in its results. As Canadians sorted through their democratic preferences for dealing with America, our country took on one distinct aspect of our neighbour’s democracy: a two-party election dynamic.

Together, the Conservative and Liberal parties amassed 85 per cent of the popular vote, the first time since 1958 that occurred. This was a regular outcome of Canadian elections until 1935 when Social Credit appeared, and after 1945 with the emergence of the CCF, the forerunner of today’s NDP.

Since then, we have lived in a multiparty democracy, splintered now and then by regional parties such as Reform, the Canadian Alliance, and the persistent Bloc Quebecois.

Is American-style political polarization in Canada leading to an American-style two-party system in Canada? Parliamentary political systems like ours typically generate multiple party representation of diverse opinions in society. Not this time. The big question ahead is whether this is a one-off bug of unique 2025 circumstances — Trump in, Trudeau out, and tariffs coming — or a brand-new feature of Canadian democracy?

The question arises from two very different and new voting coalitions the winning and losing parties forged.

Boomers and seniors voted Liberal instead of Conservative. Male voters mostly voted Conservative unless you were older. Younger Canadians tipped towards the Conservatives, away from progressive parties. Women went Liberal. Working-class voters (“boots not suits”) gave much of their support to the Conservatives. And, of course, the traditional regional divide of much of the West voting blue and the East voting red.

Just how durable these two coalitions remain will determine whether Monday’s new two-party system remains.

Any way you look at it, Canada’s 45^th general election was extraordinary. Extra in outcome, yet ordinary in process.

Peace, order, and good government, indeed.

David McLaughlin is a former clerk of the executive council and cabinet secretary in the Manitoba government.