Canada election result: Trudeau wins third term
after early vote gamble
Justin Trudeau says voters have given him ‘clear
mandate’, but his Liberal party is expected to remain as a minority government
Canada's prime minister Justin Trudeau greets
supporters in Montreal early on Tuesday after winning a third term.
Leyland
Cecco in Toronto
Tue 21 Sep
2021 06.42 BST
Justin
Trudeau has won a third term as Canada’s prime minister, with his Liberal party
set to capture the most votes in the snap election, a result he called a “clear
mandate” to get the country through the pandemic.
With
results still trickling in late Monday night, Trudeau was on track for another
minority government, meaning he will once again need to work with other parties
to pass legislation.
“I hear you
when you say you want to get back to the things you love, not to worry about
the pandemic or the election,” Trudeau said from Montreal early on Tuesday
morning, acknowledging the decision to hold an early election was deeply
unpopular. “You have given this government and this parliament clear
direction.”
Preliminary
results indicated his Liberals had won or were leading in 156 seats – short of
the 170 needed for a parliamentary majority. Erin O’Toole’s opposition
Conservatives had 121. The result largely mirrored the outcome of the 2019
election.
Elections
Canada, which oversees the vote, had previously warned that some results would
take days to be finalised as mail-in ballots are counted.
But rival
parties quickly called foul, accusing the prime minister of conducting a
“vanity project” during a fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Opposition
leader O’Toole calling the election a “quick power grab” after conceding defeat
early on Tuesday.
“Five weeks
ago, Mr Trudeau asked for a majority. Tonight, Canadians did not give Mr
Trudeau the majority mandate he wanted. In fact, Canadians sent him back with
another minority at the cost of $600m dollars,” he said.
While the
opposition Conservatives led in the national popular vote, Monday’s result
nonetheless marked a defeat for O’Toole. His centrist campaign failed to
persuade enough voters to toss out the Liberal party after six years in power.
The last time the Conservative party won an election federally was in 2011.
“Our
support has grown, it’s grown across the country, but clearly there is more
work for us to do to earn the trust of Canadians,” O’Toole told supporters,
while suggesting that he planned to stay on as leader. “My family and I are
resolutely committed to continuing this journey for Canada.”
The
progressive New Democratic party, led by Jagmeet Singh, was expected to pick up
electoral seats, but fall short of its hope for “kingmaker” status.
“Our fight
will always continue,” said Singh, congratulating Trudeau on his win. While
Singh spent much of the election attacking Trudeau, he and his party are likely
to support many of the Liberals’ policies – and will try to push the government
to the left.
Heading
into the race, Trudeau’s Liberals held 155 seats in parliament, the
Conservatives held 119 seats, the Bloc Quebecois held 32 seats and the NDP held
24 seats. The Green party had only two seats and there were five Independent
MPs.
Despite the
lack of a parliamentary majority, the prime minister is likely to find strong
support in parliament for the Liberal party’s marquee policy – C$10 per day
child care across the country.
However,
the Liberals lost two cabinet ministers: Maryam Monsef, who most recently held
the title of minister for women and gender equality, and Bernadette Jordan, the
fisheries minister.
Green party
leader Annamie Paul, who has faced numerous challenges to her leadership in
recent months, was set for a bitter loss in her race in downtown Toronto.
Maxime
Bernier, the leader of the People’s party of Canada, which has run on on a
platform against public health measures like vaccines and masks, and which
critics have called xenophobic and racist, failed to win his race, as did all his
other candidates.
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