The British Columbia election is a great lens into the Canadian vs American voter mindset. Longer post, for my few American mutuals who are interested: In America, politics is like wrestling: no off-season. House elections every 2 years mean constant campaigning. It is the American system But in Canada, elections come every 4 years (it used to be 5). Same with the provinces The point is: Canadians don’t like constant elections. It isn’t the Canadian way. Unless it’s a minority government, they want it over with so they can move on. Only the political smart marks talk politics in between. No “they stole the election” nonsense. The only screwjob Canadians still complain about is Montreal ‘97 Having 3 or 4 parties paradoxically means less tribalism. People switch all the time (Liberal to NDP, Liberal to Conservative), so it isn’t “us vs them.” The now defeated socialist BC premier (Canada’s version of a governor, sort of) ordered a snap election two years early, when he didn’t have to. The Conservatives were in disarray, virtually leaderless, factions brawling in the parking lot. On paper, it looked like a squash match But Canadians don’t like constant elections. They threw him and his socialist party out and went Conservative, in a province so left wing (basically Canada’s California) that Conservatives haven’t been in power for almost 100 years. Even left wing voters punished their party for making them vote again and again Old school pro wrestling promoters had a rule: run the same town too often and you burn out the crowd. BC had city elections one Saturday, and he booked his show for the next. His own fans turned on him and the underdog went over. BC’s message to the defeated NDP premier, paraphrasing Canada’s own Kenny Omega: I must bid you adieu. Goodbye and good night. BANG! #cdnpoli