the power of one

Tonight is crisp and clear. One of those true Autumn nights for sweaters, scarves and gloves; for walking through leaves and the wafting smell of woodsmoke. There is something in the air. More than the vibrancy of Fall. There is a buzz.
It has taken over social media, coffee shops, offices, grocery store line-ups.
It is the topic on the lips of many citizens.

It is election night in Canada.

The road to this night has been long- the longest in Canadian election history. It was a battle. We are tired and bloody. But we didn't sit in apathetic trenches, my friends. Oh no. We fucking fought back.
Somewhere, somehow, some time ago, Canadians had become apathetic to the democratic process. Some said it was the youth vote that was missing. Voter turn-outs have been dried to a mere trickle.
And we had a man in power that left us feeling powerless.
But the cry went out, and we didn't turn our heads back to the Blue Jays game. We stood and we voted.

I have never been so proud to be a Canadian.
I have never been so proud of us


For 10 years we had a Prime Minister who did great damage to our country.
Steven Harper brought out the worst in us. He played on our fears and turned us against ourselves. We became suspicious. We placed blame. But sadly, it didn't take much.

We lived the fairytale that had gone wrong.
As in all fairytales there is a smiling villain. And as all good-hearted villagers, we succumbed to the curse that turned us into mindless sleepwalkers. Of course we knew that things were wrong but the villain just turned his mouth up at the corners and ignored our protests. But as all villains, his downfall was his arrogance and he underestimated us.

And we stood up at the voting booths. And we are being heard.

Steve didn't count on the people he discounted, banding together. Each group he overlooked, deemed no threat, unimportant.. Aboriginals, women, Muslims, artists, students, the poor.. all united with a common goal.
A feeling emerged: Don't get mad, get Stephen.

And we did.

As I sit here watching election results there is a red surge- The Liberal Party is sweeping across the country. It's greater than any of us could imagine. A majority government.

Honestly, I would have preferred to see a minority government with an NDP opposition, but I'll take what we can get. One thing at a time.


There's a huge mess to clean up and I hope that Justin Trudeau can reverse some of the damage, from environmental to economic. But for now we can all just breathe in relief. The oppressive regime is dead. We the people have spoken.

We may be polite, we may be peaceful, but don't ever underestimate us.
Don't ever disregard The Power Of One.