Report Card Gives Poor Grades to Canadian Political Parties

The results of Canada’s national elections are in and while trucking industry officials are hopeful that transportation policies will be given a prominent place on the government’s agenda, a pre-election report card distributed by the Canadian Trucking Alliance suggests that will not necessarily be the case.

Canada held its national elections for a prime minister and 301 members of Parlaiment Nov. 27. The Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Jean Chretien and in power since 1993, won its third straight victory by a wide margin. The party also cemented its hold on the House of Commons, increasing the number of seats in its possession to 173, for a gain of 12 representatives.

By comparison, the Canadian Alliance party took 66 seats; the Bloc Quebecois party 37; the New Democratic Party 13; and the Conservatives 12.

Massimo Bergamini, vice president for public and government affairs at the Canadian Trucking Alliance, said the election results indicated a very strong mandate and left him “hopeful that we are going to see some change” in transportation policies.

For the full story, see the Dec. 11 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.