Few people pay attention to Canadian politics at the best of times, so it should be no surprise that the U.S. Obama-McCain dustup has utterly overshadowed the October 14 Canadian federal election.

As a Canadian living abroad, this is the first election I've observed from afar, and my interest in it is, oddly, considerably greater than when the election results have more directly affected me. But perhaps it's because there are some interesting things that are worth pointing out, democracy-wise, in the USA's neighbour to the north.

This is the third election in four years, an oddity for a wealthy, (relatively) politically stable country. The last two governments have been minorities, the first caused by a scandal that appeared in the midst of the long-ruling Liberal Party's campaign and wiped out their comfortable majority. The second continued the trend, ousting them in favour of the Conservative Party, who are now seeking a majority that polls suggest may be slipping away.

At this point, fairly boring stuff, minorities aside. But then technology enters into the picture. The mass-mobilization potential and lack of geographical limitations that define the internet have coupled with many Canadians' intense dislike of the Conservatives (and their leader, Prime Minister Stephen Harper), has led to the creation of a Facebook group dedicated to vote-swapping.

Vote-swapping is built around common displeasure with one party and is designed to unify votes against them.

Say Helen hates Party A, loves Party B and feels neutral about Party C but lives in a riding where Party A is going to win handily, while Jeff, who also hates Party A, feels neutral about Party B and loves Party C, but lives in a riding where Party B could defeat Party A.

They swap. Helen votes for Party C, making Jeff happy that his party got his vote - somewhere - and Jeff votes for Party B, helping them prevent Party C from taking a seat.

After some protest from various players, Elections Canada has declared this practice legal. It's not going to be the deciding factor in the vote (the financial crisis has changed the stakes considerably), but it's a powerful tool nonetheless, and could help establish a sense of relevance and power among those disenchanted with the current system.

And if enough people get upset about it, maybe a few more people will pay attention.

Photo of PM Harper by Flickr user Bruce MacRrae.