Colby Cosh is working on explaining Canadian politics to Americans (part 1 part 2). So far so good: there was a lot of good background in the Martin piece, and the political parties piece neatly distilled what I've learned in the last two and a half years here.
But there are a few things that strike me about Canadian politics which he doesn't mention. One is the total nonpresence of religion in politics. I get the feeling that half of the MP's would die on the spot if the prime minister ever ended a speech the way Bush ended the 2003 State of the Union:
We [Canadians] have faith in ourselves, but not in ourselves alone. We do not know -- we do not claim to know all the ways of Providence, yet we can trust in them, placing our confidence in the loving God behind all of life, and all of history.(substitutions for effect)May He guide us now. And may God continue to bless [Canada].
This religiophobia contributed to Ontarians' fears of Reform/Canadian Alliance -- the fear (perhaps a legitimate one) that Reform people are all religious nuts.
There's also the strange case of Joe Clark -- "the Dan Quayle of Canada". Head of the Progressive Conservatives in 1979 when freak electoral conditions allowed a PC-NDP coalition, he was PM for maybe six months before the left-right coalition went down in flames, returning Trudeau to power.
After that he retired from politics, but returned to be a figurehead for the reborn RINO PC's. During that time, he served as Grand Marshall of the Calgary Gay Pride Parade. He retired again before the PC/CA merger.
You Americans, think about that for a second. Imagine Newt Gingrich leading a Gay Pride parade in in Indianapolis or in Lincoln, Nebraska.
See? Weird.