25 Days

25 days ago, Stephen Harper decided that he didn't want to have to face the people's representatives in the House of Commons till after the Olympics. He didn't want to have to answer the questions about his government's conduct on any number of issues. He wanted Canada to sit back, have a beer, watch the Olympics, and notice how Prime Ministerial he looked standing next to all those gold medallists.

25 days ago, while most of Canada was watching the announcement of who would play for Canada in Men's hockey, Stephen Harper called the Governor General up on the phone, and demanded that she prorogue parliament.

25 days ago, while most Canadians were thinking about their New Years Eve festivities the following day, Stephen Harper announced the suspension of Parliament in Canada so quietly that it took several hours for the media to confirm that it wasn't just a rumour.

25 days ago, Stephen Harper completely misjudged Canadians.

I keep mentioning that it was 25 days ago because that is an incredibly short period of time to organize anything, much less a national movement. A national movement that has over 210,000 people support a Facebook group, a movement that spawned 60 rallies across Canada. A movement that brought more that 25,000 people on to Canada's frigid streets in the middle of January.

And how many more were there in spirit? Those who couldn't make the protest rally because they were sick, or working, or lived too far away? How many more had to look after their kids, or were out of the country, or had something come up at the last minute? How many more got nervous at the last minute, and couldn't bring themselves to actually wave a sign in public?

25,000 people in 25 days.

The Conservatives are hard at work trying to claim that 25,000 people attending these rallies is somehow a failure. They are saying that these rallies were planned and implemented by the opposition parties, and do not reflect average Canadians. They are pointing to individual locations, and claiming those specific numbers as too small.

They are attacking because they are scared. Because they know that 25,000 people in 25 days is huge. Because they need to minimize this achievement, to make Canadians doubt it. Because they are desperate for Canadians to return to the apathetic slumbers that allowed Harper to win in the first place.

Tomorrow, many of us will be returning to our partisan pursuits, aimed at ensuring one party or another will succeed the Conservatives as the Government of Canada. And this is how it should be. We are speaking with one voice against Stephen Harper, but we speak in a legion of voices in support of our different ideologies. The newly awoken giant must be provided with a multitude of choice for democracy to work properly.

But for today, we stand together against Stephen Harper. And for that to happen in 25 days is an accomplishment we should be proud of. I know I am.