Winner: Vancouver Kingsway, who finally has a real representative in Don Davies (NDP). After suffering through two and a half years of misrepresentation by David Emerson, the honest election of a member of parliament to represent the residents of our riding has brought closure to a sorry chapter in Canada's history. Congratulations Mr. Davies.

Winner: Stephen Harper, for increasing his vote, his seat count, and his "apparent" mandate. Loser for blowing Quebec and fomenting the ABC movement, a fatal combination of flaws which took away his prize. Loser for spending hundreds of millions on an election which in calling Harper has broken his own law. Loser for gaining only 1 percentage point in the popular vote overall, winner for gaining more ground in B.C. Loser for not gaining a single seat in Vancouver and for having appointed Emerson during the last parliament against the will of the people in the first place.

Loser: Stéphane Dion, obviously, for being a decent person with the right idea, perhaps at the wrong time, saddled with a party who on balance had no intention of supporting him. Dion rightly wears the failure, a failure of timing and packaging not of ideas, as a carbon tax is the right policy for a world facing climate change. Loser: Michael Ignatieff, for the Bob Rae/Power Corp/Chrétien juggernaut is already moving. Unless the future takes a radical sidestep, Rae (or someone of the Chrétien team's choosing) will be crowned king with the full backing of the Jean Chrétien camp there to help him. Martin's old team will be purged, savagely.

Loser and Winner: Premier Danny Williams? He's a winner for having helped stop a Harper majority, but at what cost at home? Our thanks must go to Danny, a real Progressive Conservative. Thanking Gilles Duceppe is too difficult for me but I will acknowledge his role in stopping Harper from further gains, which is a positive.

Loser: Jack Layton, having run the most expensive NDP campaign ever, has only picked up a paltry 8 additional seats. He won't get to keep all this gains in the next go round, and he won't at the next election be able to rely on a weakened Liberal party to prop himself up. The national gain is offset by a net loss of one seat in BC, a traditional stronghold. If the NDP wishes to continue to gain ground it will have to convince Canadians that it can govern, yet despite trying very hard to do so, Jack Layton has failed now through three elections to meet that objective.

Loser: Elisabeth May and the Green Party. May and Carr should have picked more winnable ridings to run in, or done a better job in bringing credible candidates with profile into ridings that could be won, such as Saanch-Gulf Islands.

Loser: The fight against climate change. Loser: The planet.

Loser: Canadian Federalism, being slowly whittled away. The long term trend will result in a much weaker federation where separatist movements, not just in Quebec, can exert their influence with greater authority. Through the use of the power of the purse, which has already been radically savaged under the first Harper government, fundamental changes to the very meaning of federalism can be accomplished without a single first minister's meeting or constitutional discussion. Few Canadians, and relatively few Conservatives, are even alert to this. Big Loser: Inextricably tied to federalism, Canadian unity and Canadian sovereignty. Biggest Loser: Canadians, including politicos, most of whom are blithely unaware of such big picture issues.

Loser: Democracy, the Harper record is clear. What about going forward? How long before the next series of votes are declared votes of confidence when they should not be? How long before Harper breaks his own laws again? How long before the next episode of contempt of parliament occurs? The Harper government record in this regard is far worse than that of the Jean Chrétien Liberals. Yesterday's election saw a lower voter turnout than even 2006's dismal result and is indicative of the disdain Canadians have for politicians.

Loser: Canada.