CANADA ELECTION: JUSTIN TRUDEAU SET FOR A WEAKENED MANDATE
TORONTO: Canadians streamed out to vote on Monday as the country held its 43rd general election, with surveys predicting a minority government as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party risks losing its majority or even losing office.
The Liberals and the Conservatives, led by Andrew Scheer, could be set for a near dead heat with pundits calling it one Canada’s closest elections ever.
The first ballots were cast in the provinces of Atlantic Canada at 7:30 am (eastern time) and are scheduled to close 14-and-a-half hours later, with the last votes cast in Western Canada. Counting will begin once polls close.
Hours before Canadians headed for the polling booths, Trudeau focused on what could prove the deciding factor in the federal elections - turnout. “It’s always important that people get out and vote,” he said during a campaign event in British Columbia. The call to voters to make the difference in the closest of races underscored the critical nature of “the ground game”, University of Toronto – Scarborough political scientist Andrew McDougall told HT.
Overall Trudeau’s party is tied with the rival Conservatives in voter preference. However, when it comes to winning actual seats, National broadcaster CBC's Poll Tracker forecast 137 for the ruling party and 124 for the opposition Conservatives. Nanos Research showed the Conservatives leading by just half a per cent over the Liberals in overall voting preference on election eve.
Neither of the two major parties appear to have a clear path to a majority, which is 170 of the 338 seats. Nearly 60 of the contests could be decided by slim margins, making turnout crucial.
Although, Trudeau is the frontrunner and is expected to return as PM to Ottawa, his image has been tainted by ethics lapses, while his campaign was rocked by the emergence of old photographs of him in blackface make-up.