Canada elections: Trudeau’s Liberals win Canada vote
Tue 22 October 2019:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party held onto power in a nail-biter of a Canadian general election on Monday, but as a weakened minority government.
Television projections as of 2 am Tuesday (0600 GMT) declared the Liberals winners or leading in 156 of the nation’s 338 electoral districts, versus 122 for his main rival Andrew Scheer and the Conservatives, after polling stations across six time zones closed.
As early as Tuesday, Trudeau will have to form an alliance with one or more smaller parties in order to govern a fractured nation.
The first test of his future government will follow in the coming weeks with a speech to parliament outlining his legislative priorities and a confidence vote.
“From coast to coast to coast, tonight Canadians rejected division and negativity,” Trudeau said. “And they rejected cuts and austerity and voted in favour of a progressive agenda and strong action on climate change.”
He reassured Quebec that his Liberal government, despite an electoral setback in the French-speaking province, “will be there for you.”
He also spoke directly to a growing sense of Western Canada’s alienation within the federation, telling those in Saskatchewan and Alberta provinces: “I’ve heard your frustration.”
The 47-year-old former school teacher dominated Canadian politics over the four years of his first term, but faced a grilling during the 40-day election campaign, which he described as one of the “dirtiest and nastiest” in Canadian history.
Trudeau and Scheer exchanged barbs as attack ads and misinformation multiplied.
Some 27.4 million Canadians were eligible to vote in the election, and the turnout was reported to have been large, at almost 65 percent.
A record 97 women were elected to parliament, including Canada’s first indigenous attorney general, Jody Wilson-Raybould, who ran as an independent candidate after Trudeau kicked her out of his caucus.
The night also saw Conservative deputy leader Lisa Raitt turfed and Liberal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale lose the seat he held for 26 years.
Scheer, only two years after winning the leadership of his party, struggled to win over Canadians with his bland minivan-driving dad persona and a throwback to the thrifty policies of past Tory administrations.
Social democrats and resuscitated Quebec separatists also chipped away at Liberal support.
The Bloc Quebecois came back from a ruinous 2015 election result, tapping into lingering Quebec nationalism to take 32 seats, while the New Democratic Party (NDP) won 24 seats, according to projections.
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