And the winner is...

So the polls have closed, the results are in and the winner of the 2011 Canadian Federal election, to no ones surprise is.....Apathy. I would like to take a brief moment to congratulate Apathy, who performed well across the country but did some fantastic work in Newfoundland and Labrador.

On the national scale the Conservatives made a good run at it but with only 5.8 million votes, translating to 24% of the eligible vote, they couldn't overtake the incredible power of Apathy. The powerhouse of Apathy managed to get 9.5 million votes and a staggering 39.6% of all eligible voters. On the Canadian scene this is a significant result, but yet is not a significant change from historical patterns.

On the provincial scale, Apathy has to be a little disappointed with PEI where they barely scraped by with 26% of eligible voters choosing their "easy way out" approach. They should be happy with most other provinces where Apathy claimed between 35% to 45% of the votes. One province where Apathy has been working very hard and gleaning incredible results is here in Newfoundland and Labrador. While their share of the popular vote has dropped by about 4% down to 47.2%, they still had a very strong showing. Apathy has had a strong hold on the voters in Newfoundland and Labrador for many years and it certainly doesn't seem to but giving up any time soon.

Some pundits claim that Apathy has done so well because voters choose it as a protest to the other options on the ballot. While there is no doubt this has an affect on the results, it is much more likely that voters simply like the style of Apathy. With popular slogans like "You only get one vote, why bother?" and "They're all the same anyway" Apathy seems to hold significant ground no matter what the hot topic of the election is.

Despite it's popularity, some voters cared enough to even organize rallies against Apathy. These voters were once a stronghold for Apathy, but this time around the young student voters held "Vote Mobs" in an attempt to wipe out Apathy. While they certainly had success, there are so many other people who blindly support Apathy, that the result of the election could have even been predicted by most weather men. Most.

While it is usually my inclination to avoid making political statements, I find that in this case I have no choice but to stand up against a very serious, and, dare I say evil, political power in Canada. We now have 4 years to work tirelessly to rid Newfoundland and Labrador, and hopefully Canada of the largest threat our democracy has ever faced: Apathy. For the sake of those who fought for democracy, please join me in putting an end to Apathy. Your children will thank you for it!