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TORONTO (AP) – Canadians gave Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party a victory in Monday’s legislative election, but their bet to win a majority of seats fell through and the outcome was remarkably similar to that of the election there. is two years old.
The Liberals won the most seats of any party. Trudeau, 49, channeled the star power of his father, liberal icon and late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, when he first won the election in 2015 and led his party to the top in two elections since .
Trudeau’s Liberals were either leading or elected in 157 seats – exactly the same number they won in 2019, 13 fewer than the 170 needed for a majority in the House of Commons.
The Conservatives were either in the lead or elected in 121 seats, the same number they won in 2019. The left-wing New Democrats were in the lead or elected in 29 seats, a gain of five seats, while the Bloc Québécois lost three seats at 28 and the Greens. stayed at two seats. Trudeau entered the election as the head of a stable minority government that was not in danger of being toppled.
The opposition has repeatedly accused Trudeau of calling for an unnecessary early vote – two years before the deadline – for his own personal ambition.
“Trudeau lost his bet to get the majority, so I would say it’s a bittersweet victory for him” said Daniel Béland, professor of political science at McGill University in Montreal.
“Basically we are back to square one, because the new minority parliament will look like the previous one. Trudeau and the Liberals saved their skin and will stay in power, but many Canadians who did not want a pandemic election at the end of the summer are probably not amused by the whole situation, ” he said.
Trudeau bet Canadians didn’t want a Conservative government during a pandemic. Canada is now one of the most vaccinated countries in the world and the Trudeau government has spent hundreds of billions of dollars to support the economy amid the lockdowns. Trudeau argued that the Conservatives’ approach, which has been skeptical of lockdowns and vaccination mandates, would be dangerous and said Canadians need a government that follows science.
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole did not demand that his party’s candidates be vaccinated and did not specify how many were unvaccinated. O’Toole described vaccination as a personal health decision, but a growing number of vaccinated Canadians are unhappy with those who refuse the vaccine.
Trudeau is in favor of making vaccines mandatory for Canadians traveling by plane or train, which the Conservatives are opposed to. And Trudeau pointed out that Alberta, led by a Conservative provincial government, is in crisis.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said the province could run out of intensive care unit beds and staff within days. Kenney has apologized for the dire situation and now reluctantly introduces a vaccination passport and imposes a mandatory work-from-home order.
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