Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party has retained power in a narrow Canadian election win and now be prime minister of a minority government.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will remain in power but with a minority government that will require the support of a smaller left-leaning party, official results showed on Monday after a hard-fought battle in which he was dogged by scandals.
The Liberals had won or were leading in 156 out of 338 seats as of midnight EDT (0400 GMT on Tuesday), according to Elections Canada. That put the Liberals far short of the 170 seats needed for a second straight majority government.
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. He will now have to rely on the New Democratic Party (NDP) to push through key legislation.
Although the NDP had a disappointing night, as the number of seats it was projected to win was down sharply from the 2015 election, the party could exercise significant influence over Trudeau’s next government.
Thank you, Canada, for putting your trust in our team and for having faith in us to move this country in the right direction. Regardless of how you cast your vote, our team will work hard for all Canadians.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) October 22, 2019
“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.”
Minority governments in Canada rarely last more than 2-1/2 years.
Trudeau, 47, who has championed diversity as prime minister, was endorsed by former US President Barack Obama in the final stretch of the campaign and is viewed as one of the last remaining progressive leaders among the world’s major democracies.
But the son of the late Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau also had to overcome a sense of fatigue with his government, but Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party retain power, albeit narrowingly.
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