Excitement and dread in Victoria

It's October 19th--a date that we've had our sights on here for most of the last four years--election day in Canada. The interminable and increasingly nasty election has wound down and today is voting day. There has never before been an election like this. If we can't defeat Harper's government our country will never be the same.

Polls are showing shifting among voters and still many undecided voters. There have been attack ads and lies and gaffes by candidates. And the Green Party, which I thought I liked (but can't vote for in this election) has stooped to twisting the truth to try to defeat their opponent here in Victoria. There have been calls for strategic voting and discussion about whether it's effective or not. Only the results tonight will tell. There were huge lineups for the advance polls on the weekend--and we're hoping this is a good sign that change will be coming to Canada.

We came home to the final build-up towards the election. Everyone I meet can talk of nothing else. Everyone is exhausted from thinking about it and discussing the shifts in the polls. I saw a cartoon where a woman is visiting the doctor, and the doc says: Let's see if this nausea and anxiety goes away after the election. Everyone I know is feeling nausea and anxiety today.

Harry I voted before we left on our trip so we don't have to go to the polls today . But most people are heading out to vote sometime before the polls close at 7:00.  It's possible that the results will come down to the votes on Vancouver Island, even though Eastern Canada holds most of the seats because of their population. Today things things appear to go on as usual here but there's a palpable sense of excitement and dread--in about equal measure.

Tonight we'll know if the reign of the evil king is over--and if it is, the very first item on the agenda should be to fix our unfair electoral system so this will never happen again.