Most American citizens are acutely aware that we will be voting for a new president 13 months from now. Our ubiquitous news/entertainment complex won’t let us escape Hillary Clinton’s e-mail scandal or Donald Trump’s latest insult for even a moment. Many say 2016 will be the most important American election in a generation. Some say the biggest ever.

But almost nobody in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave knows that Canada’s election took place today, and the stakes are every bit as high for them as ours will be next year.

Our neighbors to the north elected Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party in 2006, and rewarded them with re-election twice. But this election is predicted to be perhaps the closest ever, and voter turnout will be high. The latest polls showed Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau as a slim favorite.

Harper’s Canada enjoyed relative calm and prosperity during the oil boom years, but with the oil price dropping to $29 Canadian per barrel, economic worries are mounting. This time around, Harper’s administration is relying on its conservative positions on national security and curbs on immigration to win votes. Canadian liberals are all-in subscribers to the global warming hoax.

President Obama played a role in the Canadian election, sending his campaign operatives to assist the Canadian Liberal Party. Obama’s disdain for Harper and the conservatives is transparent, largely due to Harper’s ongoing support for Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu, who also found himself fending off Obama apparatchiks and funding in his own recent election. Should Harper fall in today’s election, Israel may have lost its last loyal friend in world politics.

We don’t get much news about our northern neighbors, and that’s a shame. A strong and prosperous Canada is certainly in the USA’s best interests, and we naturally wish them success and prosperity. Plus, the Canadian election may be a leading indicator of the political winds that could shape our own campaign season next year.

Here’s hoping Harper and the Canadian Conservative Party pull through.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

No, his mind is not for rent
To any God or government
Always hopeful yet discontent
He knows changes aren’t permanent

Tom Sawyer – Rush

Rush – Canada’s Best!  And for the critics – tell me again that a three-piece band is just not “full” enough . . .