Canada election results: Trudeau expected to maintain grip on power in minority government after fraught election against Scheer
Latest updates from a night of relief and political redemption for Justin Trudeau
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Your support makes all the difference.Justin Trudeau is projected to retain power in the Canada's parliamentary elections, with a likely minority government forming after his Liberal Party shed seats in the country's parliament.
After a vicious campaign season known more for its scandals and vicious attacks than policy, the Liberals walked away from Monday's election with 157 seats — just 13 shiy of a majority.
New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh said he had congratulated Mr Trudeau on winning the most seats and said his party would be a constructive participant in the new parliament.
While it is clearly good news for Mr Trudeau — who has been politically redeemed to some extent after repeated scandal throughout the past year — the sharing of power with the New Democrats will undoubtedly make it difficult to pass legislation in the years ahead.
Conservatives walked away with 121 seats, while Bloc Québécois got 32 seats, and the Green Party got three. The New Democratic Party secured 24 seats.
Mr Trudeau's victory also shows a marked drop in support for the progressive leader, who was swept into power in 2015 promising "real change" in the form of several progressive pledges.
In addition to his scandals, Mr Trudeau has faced criticism for his ability to follow through on those pledges including on the environment, a record that was undercut because he came out in support of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project.
He also abandoned a federal electoral reform plan, which was a favourite of left-leaning voters.
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A brief recap of what is at stake today in Canada:
The election has been dubbed by many to be the "Seinfeld election", which is a clever way of saying it's not actually about a whole lot. That's to say that the candidates haven't really offered up much in terms of broad visions for the future of Canada — so, instead, many see this election as a referendum on Mr Trudeau.
Those accomplishments have included enacting a national carbon tax, overseeing a relatively strong economy, and successfully managing to coordinate trade negotiations with the United States.
But, perhaps because of the "Seinfeld-esque" nature of this election, much of the press coverage has focused on those scandals that have plagued Mr Trudeau and others.
This election is seeing the highest number of female candidates running in Canada's history, with 651 female candidates across all parties. That's a 9% increase from 2015, according to Equal Voice Canada.
In such a tight election, certain high-population areas will play a big part. Quebec, the Greater Toronto Area, and Lower Mainland British Columbia are three of the key areas with high numbers of riders.
One of the hot topics in this election is of course climate change. So what do the two leading parties have to say on the subject?
Liberals have said they hope to completely phase out coal power by 2030 and have pledged net-zero emissions by 2050. Trudeau's party also want to end "inefficient" fossil fuel subsidies, and plan to increase their carbon tax $10 a year to $50 by 2022. Conservatives have pledged to meet Paris agreement targets, but would get rid of the carbon tax.
Canadian pollster Nik Nanos has called this election "a coin toss" between Liberals and Conservatives.
According to his research, a sample survey on Sunday found support for the Conservatives at 32.5% and Liberals at 31.7%. "Popular support remains a coin toss between the Conservatives and the Liberals," Nanos said in a news release. "Now it's about the ground game and delivering votes."
Here's New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh with a supporter at the NDP election office in Burnaby, British Columbia. Currently Singh is polling in third position.
Credit: Reuters / Lindsey Wasson
And here's Conservative leader Andrew Scheer out canvassing on election day in Regina, Saskatchewan, where he is an MP.
Credit: Geoff Robins / AFP
Voting results are expected to come in first from Atlantic Canada at approximately 6pmEST (11pm in the UK), but more indicative results likely won't emerge until after polls close in Ontario and Quebec at around 9.30 pmEST.
Final polls will close at 10pmEST in British Columbia.
Here's a reminder of the candidates:
Justin Trudeau - The Liberal Party
Andrew Scheer - The Conservatives
Jagmeet Singh - New Democratic Party
Elizabeth May - Green Party
Maxime Bernier - People's Party of Canada
Yves-François Blanchet - The Bloc Québécois
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