The Canadian Election: What the Heck Happened?

Conservatives gain clear majority for the first time, the Liberals destroyed, the NDP triples its share of seats, and the Quebec nationalist party also destroyed.  And apparently no one knew it was coming!   So, dear readers, what happened?  (For U.S. readers, bear in mind that the "conservatives" in Canada would mostly be moderate or liberal Democrats in the U.S.--Canadian "conservatives" were not, last time I looked, reactionaries or crypto-fascists, unlike in the U.S.)