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After a tight election contest, the Liberal Party of Canada, led by Justin Trudeau, was declared the winner of the federal election, according to preliminary results of Monday’s vote.
With 91% of the vote counted, the current Canadian Prime Minister addressed supporters gathered outside a Montreal hotel, declaring that voters have chosen “a progressive plan” and that he is ready to form a government.
Shortly before that, the leader of the Conservative Party, Erin O’Toole, had recognized his defeat.
But Trudeau’s party failed to gain an absolute majority waiting in the House of Commons.
the count places it with 158 deputies and 31.8% of the votes castwhich will force him to form a minority government.
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More than a million Canadians voted by mail and those votes won’t be counted until Tuesday.
In this way, the panorama remains similar to that of the previous federal election, when the Liberals won with 157 deputies and IThe Conservatives became the main opposition party with 121 seats.
Trudeau called snap elections in August – two years ahead of schedule – when? Canada entered its fourth wave of pandemicwith the aim of obtaining an absolute majority in parliament for his party.
O’Toole, Trudeau’s rival in the election, made it clear that he wants to stay as… Opposition leader.
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O’Toole has had a more moderate discourse than his predecessors.
The Conservative Party leader, who first led them in a general election, has pushed the PC to the center of the political scene.
Trudeau was looking for a “quick takeover,” he said Monday evening.
“But the Canadians they didn’t give Trudeau the majority mandate he wanted.”†
O’Toole tried to turn his electoral defeat into a victory: he and his party denied Trudeau the majority he sought by calling snap elections†
Since the last federal election, in 2019, Trudeau has had to seek support from opposition parties to advance his agenda.
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Now, if it fails to get the necessary seats, at least 170, to form an absolute majority, The prime minister is expected to face questions as to whether his call for early elections was worth it.
The Liberal leader will have to renegotiate with other parties, mainly the NPD and the BQ, to carry out his legislative initiatives.
Trudeau thanked Canadians Monday for voting “to lead Canada out of the pandemic and into better days.”
He also mentioned the important issues for his party’s platform: climate action, affordable housing and childcare, and promised to keep working on it.
“They have given this government and this parliament a clear direction,” he said.
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