Following a close election versus conservative challenger Erin O’Toole, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party will form Canada’s next government.
Trudeau, on the other hand, fell short of his objective of 170 seats needed to establish a majority government.
With almost 95 percent of polls throughout the nation reporting as of 2 a.m. ET, Elections Canada projected the Liberals gaining 157 seats to the Conservatives’ 122 seats.
The left-leaning New Democratic Group and the Quebec-based separatist party Bloc Quebecois will compete for the remaining seats in the next Parliament.
“You’re sending us back to work with a clear mission: to bring Canada through this pandemic and into the future. That, my friends, is exactly what we are prepared to accomplish “Early Tuesday, Trudeau addressed supporters in Montreal.
“Millions of Canadians have chosen a progressive agenda, as we’ve seen tonight. Some have mentioned division, but I don’t believe that is the case. That’s not what I’ve observed around the country in recent weeks.”
Trudeau called the election in mid-August, just two years into his minority administration, hoping to gain a majority by exploiting his management of the pandemic.
But, according to national tracking surveys conducted over the past few days, once-favorable polling for Trudeau and his Liberals suddenly reversed direction, with O’Toole of the Conservative Party battling his way into a statistical tie.
Covid-19, climate change, housing affordability, and gun control have all been mentioned by voters as important problems, but Trudeau has a problem in that few Canadians felt the necessity for this election. According to press reports, calling a sudden election in the summer during a worldwide epidemic has enraged many voters who can’t think of a convincing “ballot box” topic to justify the move.
O’Toole attempted to capitalize on the notion that Trudeau, the son of a previous Canadian prime minister, is a traditional liberal political elite more concerned with his own political ambitions than with leading the country.
Early Tuesday, O’Toole told his followers that the emergency election was a “quick power grab.”
“Mr Trudeau requested a majority five weeks ago, claiming that the minority parliament was “unworkable.” However, Canadians did not give Mr Trudeau the majority mandate he sought tonight “According to O’Toole. “In reality, Canadians sent him back with another minority at a cost of $600 million and more divides in our wonderful country.”
During the campaign, O’Toole had a unique approach to attacking Trudeau in Canadian politics.
“Every Canadian has encountered a Justin Trudeau at some point in their lives: affluent, entitled, and constantly looking out for himself. When he called this expensive and needless election in the thick of a pandemic, he was looking out for number one. That isn’t leadership; it is self-interested behavior. And it’s all Justin Trudeau, all the way “At a recent campaign rally, O’Toole remarked.
Trudeau retorted in a same forceful manner, saying: “I’m OK with allowing him and his proxies, as well as the anti-vaxxer movement, the gun lobby, and the anti-choice rabble, to continue to attack me. I’m going to keep my attention on Canadians.”
Despite politicians’ best efforts to engage voters meaningfully on issues, a wave of division is rising among voters, one that appears to mimic the US experience, particularly on cultural or “wedge” issues such as abortion rights, gun regulation, and climate change.
The epidemic has enraged a tiny but vocal group of people who reject some Covid-19 policies, including vaccination and mask mandates. After being hounded by protestors unhappy with Trudeau’s pandemic policies, a protester hurled stones at him during a campaign rally in Ontario earlier this month.