Only in Canada could we have an election that no one wanted, that nearly no one paid attention to, and yet wind up with a result that left everyone disappointed.

There was just no good news for anyone last night.

• The Tories increase their seats in a minority government, but so what? This was probably their best opportunity to win. It was an election that opposition parties lost because they couldn’t make the public believe in an issue and the Tories failed to capitalize, falling apart in the last two weeks thanks to a poor campaign and bone-headed policy decisions. They didn’t break through in Quebec and without a majority, they still can’t implement the agenda they really want. Harper gets to hang on for another year, maybe two, depending on what happens to the economy.
• The Liberals fall to historic lows, unable to defend Ontario, unable to get people on board with a Green Shift Plan that should have been easy to sell. They are now a party in disarray, doomed to at least a year of in-fighting. Dion is a decent guy, his heart is definitely in the right place, but Canada’s Natural Ruling Party can’t abide loses.
• The NDP gambles big, spending more than they’ve ever spent before, in an effort to perhaps become Canada’s option to Stephen Harper. Despite the gains the party made, they failed to really break through anywhere. A good campaign, but a moral victory is not enough.
• The Greens get walloped. Despite their leader being in the debates and higher profile coverage of their party than ever, they fail to win a single seat and their vote fails to materialize on election day.
• The Bloc wins, sort of, by not losing. At the beginning of the election they looked doomed, but they managed to hold onto Quebec yet again. That’s a victory of sorts, but they too are facing leadership issues and could easily descend further into irrelevance.

Ho-hum. Everyone back to first positions. Let’s do this thing again. How’s eight months sound?