It was supposed to be our “Obama moment.”  January 26, one week after George Bush’s last day in office, the progressive coalition would topple the federal Conservatives and manifest the “62 per cent majority” government that Canadian voters had elected three months earlier.

Of course, the moment never came.  But something interesting happened during the election and during the short life of the progressive coalition.  People were getting involved. For a moment, the social taboos were lifted and political discourse was cool.  People had strong opinions and expressed them loudly.