The Canadian federal election on Monday (2 May) is likely to put Stephen Harper’s Conservatives back into Government on a clear minority of the vote.

The pollsters tell us the left leaning NDP is hoovering up votes largely at the expense of the Bloc Quebecois and the Liberals who are now routinely branded as losers.

A splintering of the anti Conservative vote will let the bad guys in again. That’s first-past-the-post for you.

Attempts are being made to mobilise the anti Harper majority. Catch 22 has identified 57 swing constituencies (out of 308) where tactical voting will make a difference. 15 of these are on a knife-edge.

“Pair votes” encourages swapping non Conservative votes in swing constituencies where the Conservative candidate may win.

They also want to get a Green into Parliament. An ambition shared by a million Canadians.

They claim that at the last General Election in 2008, Pair Votes influenced the result in two constituencies.

Well done them. But it all seems terribly cumbersome. Seems to me it would be a lot more convenient to allow voters to express their preferences on the ballot paper.

Simple as one, two, three.

As always, in the so-called “safe” constituencies, the election cavalcade passes by without stopping.