The polarization process in politics and government in the modern era began some time ago with the strengthening of party politics and is certainly not exclusive to one country over another.  However, in Canada the talk of something called a coalition government has been a hot topic in the last five or six years.  Coalition governments are generally seen in parliamentary systems and are formed by an agreement between 2 or more political parties to form the next government.  A coalition government can only be formed when no one party receives a majority of seats in Parliament and one of two things is possible, first is the party with the most seats forms the new government and its leader is named Prime Minister, or two or more parties can forge an agreement to form the new government and the party leader with the most seats (generally) would be named Prime Minister.

The history of Canada is incredibly sparse with examples of coalition governments, although European countries have numerous examples of governments who rely on consensus politicking on a regular basis.  In Canada the only national coalition government, post Confederation, was Sir Robert Borden's 1917 Union Government which formed during the unrest of World War I.  The reason these kinds of governments are so rare are precisely because of the strength of party politics and politicians are reluctant to go down this route for fear of weakening their party's chances of a future majority government. 

From the perspective of a voter however, I would like to think that the most important influencing factor for our representatives are the concerns of the people who voted them into office in the first place.  Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your point of view, legislators have to be concerned about re-election and that means promoting your party so you have a better chance to legislate for your agenda.

My question is, what's wrong with a coalition government?  Canada has had a minority government since 2004 during which time 3 elections have occurred and the country almost saw its first national coalition government between the Liberals, NDP, and the Bloc Quebecois led by former Liberal leader Stephan Dion.  Obviously the current conservative government looks unfavourably on the idea of a coalition government as I'm sure any other minority government would, but the attacks which have been made on the idea of a coalition government are something I find irrational. 

Stephen Harper, Canada's current Prime Minister said in response to the threat of losing power in 2008, "The Opposition is attempting to impose this deal without your say, without your consent, and without your vote.  This is no time for back room deals with the separatists; it is the time for Canada's government to focus on the economy and specifically on measures for the upcoming budget. This is a pivotal moment in our history. We Canadians are the inheritors of a great legacy, and it is our duty to strengthen and protect it for the generations still to come. Tonight, I pledge to you that Canada's Government will use every legal means at our disposal to protect our democracy, to protect our economy, and to protect Canada."

While I don't like the rhetoric, the real problem I have is the implication that the formation of a coalition government would be illegal or something more sinister like the toppling of democracy in Canada.  In a word, it's absurd, especially when you look at how polarizing modern politics has become.  Parliament has been Prorogued twice in the last 2 years so that the governing party could avoid damaging debates on a number of issues facing Canada and polls suggest that party loyalty is essentially unchanged from 6 years ago.  This normally wouldn't be a problem, but with Parliament being shut down twice in two years scrapping all legislation, I have to wonder if anyone is willing to cooperate on the legislative process. 

Harper's conservatives have made it abundantly clear that they are tired of their minority status and plan on governing as if they had a majority from now on, all while the other parties struggle to stay relevant and find their national voice.  Common wisdom suggests that North Americans tend to like a strong leader, but the voting pattern over the past 6 years in Canada tends to say otherwise.  The message Canadian voters seem to have sent time and again is one of "shut up, cooperate, and get to work," but that doesn't seem to have sunk in to our politicians and their leaders.  After Stephan Dion lost the confidence of the Liberal party and Michael Ignatief took over, his first move was to scrap the coalition deal with the NDP and the Bloc, immediately talking about forcing yet another election in the middle of an economic crisis.  It's truly mind boggling to think of the thought processes that led to such a bold and irrational conclusion from someone who had virtually no national exposure, but I digress.

I suppose the long and the short of it is, what your point of view is.  Do you want your elected representatives to form minority governments that will cooperate with each other and compromise, or would you like your representatives to form minority governments that act like majorities so that they pass whatever they want?