Deep within the media pages of the last few days lies a story about what people are calling “Fox News North.”  It has to do with the launch of a new cable channel in Canada that would have a conservative slant to it, critics might say like the Fox News Channel in the United States.   That surely will be an interesting watch; I’ll look forward to it.  I just hope it doesn’t demonize being a conservative in Canada.

You might remember my column from a few weeks ago about how everybody might be a conservative deep down.  Needless to say I doesn’t get a lot of face time in Canada.  The conventional wisdom is that we are a “liberal” country embracing almost everything on the left side of the political spectrum.  Look at our social safety nets, our culture and even our tax system compared to the United States and it’s hard to argue that.

So it is with great consternation that, I’m sure, some “lefties” in Canada find it very difficult to see a real conservative in the Prime Minister’s chair.   With the NDP, Liberals and Greens on the left side of the political spectrum the opposition to the conservatives is splintered, somewhat like it was on the right side of the political spectrum during Jean Chretien’s time as Prime Minister.  Former Reform party leader Preston Manning once mused about developing a split on the last to help Canadian conservative parties.  In 2010, with the Canadian left splintered, it looks like he got his way.

Keep in mind the idea of uniting the left against the Conservatives has one major flaw in the argument.  That flaw is the left-leaning Bloc Quebecois who represent the majority of Québec and a disproportionate amount of federal seats.  Even though they are left leaning, their separatist ideals trump anything regarding political affiliation.  So as much of the Canadian media talks about a merger between the NDP and Liberals, it really doesn’t wash in Quebec.  That reality also resonates in much of the rest of Canada.

Still, it is very tempting for Canadian lefties to dream of the day when the Liberals and NDP combine their vote to defeat the hated neo-cons led by former Reform party stalwart Stephen Harper.  It’s interesting to me because I don’t think there’s much difference between all three parties.  They are all power-hungry and when it comes to the Liberals and Conservatives would probably do almost anything to get and keep power.  The NDP have a soul and many of them would rather get that warm feeling on Election Day then join the Liberals.  However, everybody can count seats on the left side of the political spectrum and imagine the possible demise of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

I don’t think it’s going to happen but I understand those who would like it to happen.  On a clear day if you were an American standing on the border peering into Canada I’m sure you would look at all our politicians as “lefties” versus almost anybody in the United States.   In fact I have always categorized the two main parties, our Liberals and Conservatives is almost being interchangeable.  The Liberals when elected usually act like Conservatives and the Conservatives usually govern like Liberals to keep power.  It’s done that way because most Canadians find themselves in the mushy middle of the political spectrum and even though that is further left than our American friends; it’s the high ground of Canadian political turf.  It’s worth fighting for and who ever win it usually wins the big prize in Ottawa.

This is not rocket science.  However, remember the great Canadian political game of posturing.  Liberals and Conservatives fall over themselves trying to separate their character but the electorate always seems to get it.  When you add this new “Conservative” cable channel into the mix, they might actually start broadcasting as if there is a difference.  That surely will be bad news for conservatives and Stephen Harper.

The answer of course is to get a great charismatic leader at the head of one of these parties.  Indeed NDP leader Jack Layton is loved, especially in 2010 as he fights against cancer but so far he has fallen short at the polls.  Michael Ignatieff has yet to catch fire and Stephen Harper is Prime Minister in spite of his lack of charisma.  Some of my female readers told me put Justin Trudeau in as the leader of the Liberal party of Canada and the talk of a NDP Liberal merger to defeat the Conservatives wouldn’t be needed.  Something tells me there might be something to that.