While not locking up the party majority he had sought in an early election, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was reelected Monday. The video above shows clips from his victory speech.
“What we’ve seen tonight is that millions of Canadians have chosen a progressive plan,” Prime Minister Trudeau said Monday night. “I see Canadians standing together, together in your determination to end this pandemic, together for real climate action, for ten-dollar-a-day child care, for homes that are in reach for middle class families.”
The goal of the early Canada election, seen as a gamble by many, was to lock up 170 seats for Trudeau’s Liberal Party. As of early Tuesday morning, the party was leading or elected in 156 seats. That’s one fewer than the party held in 2019.
The Conservative party was leading or elected in 121 seats. That’s the same number they won in 2019.
The leftist New Democrat Party was leading or elected in 27, a gain of three seats. The Bloc Québécois remained unchanged with 32 seats, and the Green Party was down to two.
“Trudeau lost his gamble to get a majority so I would say this is a bittersweet victory for him,” political science professor Daniel Béland said. “Basically we are back to square one, as the new minority parliament will look like the previous one.”
While the gamble did not pay off for Trudeau, he did avoid the worst case scenario of losing his spot as the prime minister of Canada.
Erin O’Toole, leader of the Conservative Party in Canada and Trudeau’s biggest challenger, said he was more determined than ever to continue to challenge Trudeau. However, he is now on the hot seat. His party might dump him as it did Maxime Bernier, who failed to beat Trudeau in 2019.
Hurting the Conservative cause in the election was the COVID-19 crisis ongoing in the Conservative province of Alberta. Premier Jason Kenney said the province might run out of beds and staff for intensive care units within days.
“I hear you when you say that you just want to get back to the things you love, not worry about this pandemic or about an election, that you just want to know that your members of parliament of all stripes will have your back through this crisis and beyond,” Trudeau said. “The moment we face demands real important change, and you have given this parliament and this government clear direction.”
