Trudeau’s Liberals win Canada polls
Party to form a minority govt with only 156 wins
OTTAWA: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party held onto power in a nail-biter of a Canadian general election, but as a weakened minority government.
Television projections 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 yesterday, 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 Frenchspeaking 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.
Trudeau evoked the bogeymen of past and current Tory parties fostering “politics of fear and division” while Scheer called the prime minister a “compulsive liar”, “a phony and a fraud”.
Going into the election Trudeau’s golden boy image had already been damaged by ethics lapses in the handling of the bribery prosecution of engineering giant SNC-Lavalin.
Outside polling stations, Canadians said they had wished for a more positive campaign focused on issues.
“I deplored the cheap shots during the campaign. I think we’re better than that,” said Andree Legault in Montreal.
In his concession speech, Scheer said, “Canadians have passed judgement on (Trudeau’s) Liberal government,” noting that the Liberals shed more than 20 seats as well as “support in every region of the country”.
“Canada is a country that is further divided,” he said, warning that its oil sector, the fourth largest in the world but struggling with low prices and a lack of pipeline capacity, is “under attack”.
“We have put him on notice, his leadership is damaged and his government will end soon and when that time comes, the Conservatives will be ready and we will win!”