I think there is, Carol, but in Canada the issues are not so clearly defined for the most part. There is a profound sense of disillusionment here with ALL the old political parties...a sense that no matter who you elect, the same basic things end up happening.

Older people are still clinging to their longtime party loyalties, while young people are looking for something different. If the high school students had the government they favored, according to national polls, the Green Party would have won the last election! This did not translate into the Green Party winning any seats in the real election.

There is also the peculiar situation here where the conservatives have only about 40% of public support, but they win elections...because their opposition is split into 4 different parties. Imagine what would happen if the Democratic Party were to fracture into 3 or 4 different parties in the USA, and you get the picture.

Given that situation, the conservatives still failed to secure a majority of seats in parliament in the last 3 elections....but they did secure a plurality (more seats than any other single party). That makes them the government.

A bit bizarre, isn't it? ;-) The only part of the country where they have a definite majority of popular support is in Alberta and Saskatchewan (which correspond roughly to your western states in the central part of the USA...and those usually vote Republican).

In a 2 party system here, the Conservatives would have lost the last 3 elections by a very significant margin.