As we write this, Stephen Harper is still prime minister. It’s hard to tell if that will still be the case by the time you read it.

Either way, the most recent major piece of legislation his government tabled — the November 28 mini-budget — demonstrated that he is unworthy of continuing to hold the job.

Faced with a global economic crisis — the worst in five generations — Harper and his finance minister Jim Flaherty presented a financial document that is nakedly political and patently unresponsive to the needs of the country. Rather than provide economic stimulus, the Harper government attempted to kneecap their opponents for elections to come by rejigging election finance rules in the Conservatives’ favour. Rather than address the rising unemployment rate, they attempted to remove the right of workers to strike. Rather than doing anything productive, they attempted to sell off government assets. (See: Harper’s seven deadly sins.)

In short, Harper, leading a party that received the votes of only 37.6 per cent of Canadian voters and holding a minority of the seats in parliament, openly put the interests of his party ahead of the interests of Canadians and displayed contempt for parliament and for Canadian democracy.

He saw what he thought was a divided opposition, with the largest party sorting through leadership questions, and tried to capitalize. What he got was a dose of democratic reality.
The members of the three opposition parties, who make up a majority in parliament and represent the votes of 54.41 per cent of Canadian voters, decided that they could and would form a government, and alerted the Governor General to that fact.

The Conservatives, of course, went apeshit: calling the move a coup d’état and an attempt to reverse the results of the election. Here Harper and his minions further display their misunderstanding or complete disregard for the functioning of parliamentary democracy. Our system is not some game of Texas Hold ’Em in which the one with the best hand takes all the chips. Ours is a system in which we elect members to parliament and they represent our interests by forming and supporting or opposing governments from among their members. What the proposed coalition of the Liberals and the NDP (with the declared support of the Bloc Quebecois) is trying to do is enforce the results of the last election, not subvert them.

Because here is the result of the last election: Stephen Harper lost. He has only a minority of seats in parliament and an overwhelming majority of Canadians voted against him. He has only formed a government this long because the members of parliament who represent the majority opposed to him were unable to provide a credible alternative. Now, rallied by the incompetence and contempt of the sitting government, they are able to step in. The Governor General must allow them to.

And if the Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc are able to function as a government (as suddenly, unexpectedly appears to be the case), it will be reason for Canadians to celebrate. For finally we’ll have a government that represents the declared interests of the majority of voters, one that will need to negotiate on the stickier points that divide us but who will have an agreed-upon agenda representing the voting intentions of a broad swath of Canadians. This type of government is what proponents of proportional representation have been begging for. It is one that could represent the progressive majority of Canadian society — a majority that has, by mere fluke of political alignment, been consigned to opposition for the past few years.

It’s been more than 25 years since a Canadian government enjoyed the support of more than 50 per cent of Canadians. The forming of such a government would represent a triumph of parliamentary democracy. And as much as we’re worried and thrilled by the instability of the current situation as we write, a functioning government that would be responsive to Canada’s interests is something we’re looking forward to.

(Further reading: "A case for coalition," Part One, Part Two and Part Three)