Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won a third term in Canada’s snap election but fell short of regaining the majority he was seeking, faced with relying on smaller parties in another fragmented parliament.
Trudeau’s Liberal Party was elected or leading in 156 of the 338 seats in the House of Commons as of 1:40 a.m. Tuesday in Ottawa, little changed from the last vote in 2019. The main opposition Conservatives, under Erin O’Toole, were ahead in 122 seats, one more than they won last time.
While Trudeau is likely to be able to pursue his left-leaning agenda with the backing of other parties in parliament, he lacks the broad-based support from voters needed to govern alone.
For a second straight election, his party lost the popular vote to the Conservatives and won only because of a strong showing in Toronto, Montreal and other cities.
With more than 90% of polls reporting, the Liberals had just 31.8% of the national vote. That would be the lowest share for any governing party in the nation’s history. The Conservatives stood at 34.1%.
The results reflect a nation that’s unsure about its immediate future amid a fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Canadians are dealing with growing debt levels and concerned about a future transition from an oil-producing nation to a low-carbon economy. Party leaders struggled to find a coherent message with which to unite the electorate, pollsters said.
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