OTTAWA — A year that opened on Parliament Hill with the kind of political instability rarely seen in Canada's history closes with a remarkable degree of stability absent in the last four years.

Ever since the government of former prime minister Paul Martin lost a confidence vote in the House of Commons late in 2005, the main narrative in Ottawa has focused on seizing or holding power. A year ago, that story's climax was the creation of a historic coalition between Liberals and New Democrats, supported by the Bloc Quebecois, to take over the reins of government from Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives after Harper badly misplayed a gambit to cut off public subsidies to all federal political parties.

But the coalition crumbled and Harper, perhaps wiser for being so chastened, not only survived but his government seems to have prospered politically in 2009. The Conservatives were surprise winners in a byelection in Quebec; the government's economic stimulus package appears to be having the intended effect; and, in a few weeks, Harper's party will finally have a plurality of seats in the Senate.

"Though it's Christmas, it's more of an Easter theme for the government — resurrection," said Tim Powers, an Ottawa lobbyist who is often tapped by the Conservatives to articulate the government's or party's positions on political talk shows. "Harper's firmly in control of the government and in control of his party. This time last year, people were writing the prime minister's political obituary. Now, they're seemingly writing (Liberal Leader) Michael Ignatieff's."

Indeed, the Liberals end 2009 still searching for answers to lift their political fortunes. Many thought the answer was Ignatieff, a hurry-up replacement after the party dumped Stephane Dion in the wake of the botched coalition effort.

Greg MacEachern, a former aide to Liberal politicians when Martin was prime minister, remembers that when Dion resigned, Liberals acknowledged that Canadians expected that party to "work harder."

"A year later, unfortunately, the message is still true," MacEachern said.

"A certain direction wasn't working and now we're doing to try a different direction."

But MacEachern, like many other Liberal insiders and politicians, is hopeful 2010 will be a better year for the red team than 2009.

"Absolutely. I've seen the signs already in terms of a concentrated focus."

Ignatieff, by his own admission, has not yet lived up to the hopes many had for him. In a year-end interview with Canwest News Service, he conceded that Canadians did not share his ardour earlier this year for a general election and he senses no change in that condition.

"I felt and I still feel that an Opposition's got (to) get up and oppose, and so we did," Ignatieff said. "We got beat up a bit for it. Canadians said very quickly, . . . 'we don't want an election.' And that's the message we're still getting."

With the Liberals unlikely to oppose the government in a confidence vote in the near future, observers on all sides say they believe it's quite likely that, unlike any year since Harper came to power in 2006, there will be no call in 2010 to get the election buses ready or rev up a campaign airplane.