Canada still liberal

Day care, health on Canadian premier's agenda

Martin's new minority Liberal government was the product of a last-minute surge of support, with surveys of voters leaving the polls showing that more than one in five made up their minds on Election Day. Many said they had turned away from Stephen Harper, the Conservative Party leader, because they feared he would overturn government policies supporting bilingualism, civil liberties and abortion rights.

The Liberals won only 36.7 percent of the popular vote. That translated to 135 seats in the House of Commons, a sharp decrease from the number the Liberals won in three landslide victories since 1993, but far more than the 99 seats won by the Conservative Party. The separatist Bloc Quebecois will have 54 seats and the Labor-aligned New Democratic Party 19 seats. There will be one independent in the House of Commons.

Martin told reporters yesterday that he had no intention of including members of other parties in his Cabinet. But he said he was confident he would be able to find ample votes to increase federal aid to health care and expand a nationwide day care system like the one that is presently administered by the Quebec provincial government.

Leaders of both the New Democratic Party and Bloc Quebecois wasted no time in positioning themselves to maximize their influence on the next government. Both parties said they would try to increase federal spending on health care and housing and work to block any Canadian involvement in an American continental missile defense system.