Stephen Harper: Savior of a Nation?

Well it's probably a little bit early to start building the statues and rewriting the history books, but one of the interesting results from the election of a Conservative leader from Alberta seems to be a rather nasty little setback for the sovereigntist movement in Quebec.

A poll released today shows that support for independence has dropped from 43% the day before the election to 34% once the votes were counted.

It's a rather remarkable turnaround, considering that the folks in the Bloc Quebecois had claimed that independence was on an unstoppable march and that it was only a matter of time. Another interesting bounce goes towards the Liberal government of Jean Charest, who seem to have benefited from the feel good aspect of federalism all of a sudden. Charest's Liberals who were in a rather dark place of late, see some sunshine now as they find their support has gone up to 27% from a deep deep low of 17%.

Most of that support came at the expense of the Parti Quebecois, which has seen their popularity slip from 44% to 38%, giving Jean Charest hope for an election victory when the province next goes to the polls. Charest now trails the PQ by 11% still a sizeable number, not one that can't be overcome should the current federalist breeze continue to drift across the Province.

Of even more importance for the rest of Canada is the ever popular referendum vote, before the January election only 49% of the population said they would vote to keep Quebec in Confederation, after the election that number jumped to 58%. That's a rather important endorsement of a federal system that seems to have been treated rather poorly by the major political players in the province of late.

Of course, this is all built on blind trust and wishful thinking at the moment, but there seems to be an important change of direction in Quebec, one that bodes well for a Canada from sea to sea to sea. It will be up to the Harper government to deliver on the high expectations, but should he and his party be able to put forward policies that appeal to the middle of Quebec politics, they may find that there's a part of Canadian history waiting for them.

It must be a rather severe reality check to both the Liberals and the Bloc to realize that they no longer have the people of Quebec as hostages to their agendas. The rebirth of the Conservatives in Quebec, small as it is, may be a major shift in the often divisive debates of the Liberals and the Bloc in that province. Instead with the Conservatives no longer bit players on the scene, the people of the province may finally have a say as well, which in the long run may make for a healthier democracy and better situation for Quebec within Canada.

One poll does not reflect a long term resolution to lingering problems, but it at least holds out the hope that progress can be made. The opportunity for the Conservatives to build on the crack of the independence vote, is one that should not be allowed to fall through any political cracks.