The mathematics of a four-party House make the prospect of a majority daunting for either of the two parties of government, the Liberals and the Conservatives. The last three elections have returned minority parliaments, and while a fourth one this fall might see a change from a Conservative to a Liberal minority, a majority seems out of reach. So why, if a minority House is the new normal, is it so dysfunctional? Contributing Writer Robin Sears laments “the absence of working relationships across party lines” that characterized successful minority governments in the 1960s and 1970s. He also blames “the race to the bottom in tactics and personal attacks.”

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