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While irate conservatives enjoy lambasting the NDP as “socialists” or “Marxists,” Tom Mulcair’s party are actually social democrats; essentially socialists who have made peace with capitalism. Europe is full of these parties, most notably the U.K.’s Labour Party and Germany’s SPD. Here in the Americas, Mexico has never been far away from a president who professed some form of social democracy (usually as part of a party with the word “revolution” in its name). But Canada’s never done a full NDP federal government, and no U.S. president in his right mind would even utter the words “social democracy.”

First coalition government since 1925: Conservative minority

Minority governments are usually allowed at least a few months to run things. But Tom Mulcair and Justin Trudeau have spent years promising the unequivocal destruction of Stephen Harper at all costs. “There are no circumstances in which I would support Stephen Harper to continue,” said the Liberal leader in September. Thus, some form of coalition would seem likely. This is entirely legal, but it’s only happened once before. In 1925, Liberal leader Mackenzie King overthrew a Conservative minority by cobbling together a coalition with the since-defunct Progressive Party.

First bearded prime minister in 119 years: NDP plurality

After the gloriously bearded Mackenzie Bowell resigned in 1896, Canada spent the entire 20th century with nude chins on its prime ministers. Beards, said the fashion of the time, were for Bolsheviks, hippies and Civil War generals. But Mulcair is different: He grew a beard in law school, and damned if he was going to shave it just because he became Opposition Leader. Canada would actually be quite unique in elevating a whiskered politician to its head of government. Of the world’s dozen or so national leaders, most are consigned to Africa or the Islamic world, where beards still carry cachet with powerful men.