Canadians voted for a new government on October 21st. In the end, the results can be considered fairly inconclusive. Incumbent Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, despite various controversies, held onto his position.

However, he doesn't exactly have the mandate he once did. His Liberal Party lost several seats in Parliament, reducing it to a minority governing party. And then, there's also the actual vote total.

Conservative Party wins the popular vote

For the fourth time out of five elections, the Conservative Party of Canada captured the highest vote total.

But unlike the other three times, the party isn't taking power. For Canada, it marks the fifth time in that the popular vote and the distribution of seats didn't match.

The Conservatives received roughly a quarter-million more votes than the Liberals. Despite this, they trail their main rivals by more than 30 seats. Similarly, the Bloc Quebecois got about 1.5 million votes less than the New Democratic Party. But the Bloc Quebecois got approximately 10 more seats than the NDP.

There can be legitimate reasons for this. Individual candidates matter. Sizes of constituencies matter, and so on. Matters such as these often come into play in U.S. Congressional elections. The United States also has a highly-controversial electoral college which also has legitimate pros and cons.

But electoral reform has long been a hot topic in Canada. Justin Trudeau had campaigned on federal election reform in 2015. But as The Independent indicates, he reneged on this. And it has apparently benefited him quite well. Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has described his party as being the 'government in waiting.'

'Wexit' talks on the rise

The recent election results were not welcomed by many in Western Canada.

Liberals did not fare well in the western provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, and British Columbia. With the exception of some success in the Vancouver and Winnipeg areas, the Liberals were shut out in those provinces.

Resentment among Canadians in the western regions has been building. Many residents feel their concerns and issues have been ignored by powerful politicians from the east.

The unhappiness runs so deep that serious conversations have happened regarding Alberta seceding. And that might not be all. According to Pipeline News, similar talks could begin in Saskatchewan.

Historically, the question of Quebec separatism loomed large. More recently, that hasn't been a big issue. Should Canada lose Alberta and Saskatchewan, it would lose the metropolitan hubs of Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Regina. Both provinces are also centers of agriculture and energy.
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