Well... that was a close one, wasn't it?

While we weren't looking, we almost had another federal election last week.

It would have been the fourth one in five years, and if the polls were right, there was a good chance the results would have been the same as the those of the previous three: Another minority parliament.

When Paul Martin's Liberals lost their majority on election night in 2004, it was the first time that Canada had seen a minority parliament in 25 years. We've seen nothing but minority politics ever since.

The last time we had a stretch of minority parliaments lasting this long, the Beatles were still recording together and Stephen Harper was attending elementary school.

Some say minority parliaments are good for democracy, that they "keep citizens engaged and parties on their toes". Others think they are a "helluva way to run the country". We'll hear both those opinions (and both of those Globe and Mail columnists) on tonight's show.

We'd like to hear your opinion on the matter in the space below.

As a web-exclusive extra, have a look at the attached timeline, prepared by TVO's web Kontent King  David Erwin and myself, with help from Yasmina Sekkat. It's a look at the history of minority parliaments in this country.