Trudeau poised to form govt
Canadian Prime Minister will be in power, but Liberals lose majority
Montreal, Oct. 22: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will remain in power but with a minority government that will require the support of a smaller leftleaning party after a hard-fought election in which he was dogged by scandals.
The Liberals had won or were leading in 156 out of 338 seats in Monday’s vote, according to Elections Canada. That put the Liberals far short of the 170 seats needed for a second straight majority government.
“You did it, my friends Congratulations,” Trudeau told supporters in Montreal early on Tuesday. Trudeau, who took power in 2015 as a charismatic figure promising “sunny ways,” saw his popularity drop over old photos of him in blackface and his handling of a corporate corruption case.
“I think a Liberal government supported by the NDP is likely going to lean farther left,” said John Manley, a former Liberal finance minister who now works in the private sector. “It raises a series of issues about what are the demands that an NDP party would make. What’s the price of governing going to be? And I think businesses are going to be reluctant to make any moves until they get some satisfaction around that.”
Ahead of the vote, polls showed a tight race between Trudeau and his main rival, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer.
The Conservatives, who trailed on Monday with 121 seats, actually won the national popular vote, according to preliminary results. Trudeau, 47, who has championed diversity as prime minister, was endorsed by former US President Barack Obama.