Canadians have elected there 2nd minority government less than 2 years. This time, the party with the most seats is a newly formed right wing party called the Conservatives made up of 2 right of centre parties. It is a mix of social and fiscal conservatives with the social conservatives making up the bulk of the party.

I'm not happy with the change, since the previous government had balanced the budget for approximately 10 years (the only in the G7) and still managed to spend on social programs. They bascially had managed to lean left, but kept the right from power by being fiscally responsible.

Stephen Harper (the new Prime Minister) has said the following about Canada
"Canada is a Northern European welfare state in the worst sense of the term, and very proud of it."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/international/americas/24canada.html?_r=1