Canadians have re-elected a Liberal minority government
Final seat tally may not look very different from composition of the House of Commons when it was dissolved
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has won enough seats in this 44th general election to form another minority government with voters signallingMondaythey trust the incumbent to lead Canada through the next phase of the pandemicfight by handing him a third mandate with a strong plurality.
After a 36-day campaign and a $600-million election, the finalseat tallydoesn't look very different from the composition of theHouse of Commons when it was dissolvedin early August prompting even more questions about why a vote wascalled during a fourth wave of the pandemicin the first place.
As of 4 p.m.ET, Liberal candidates were leading or elected in 158ridings, a pick up of just one seat compared withthe2019 contest.
It's a reversal of fortunes for Trudeau. Helaunched this campaignwith a sizeable lead in the polls only to see his support crater days later as many voters expressedanger with his decision to call an election during this health crisis. Two middling debate performances by Trudeauand renewedquestions about past scandals also put a Liberal victory in question.
Butin the end, voters decided the Liberal team should continue to govern a country that, while battered and bruised by a health crisis,has also fared well on key pandemic metrics like death rates and vaccine coverage.
Trudeau called this election on Aug. 15, saying he wanted Canadians to weigh in on who should finish the fight against the pandemicand lead the country into a post-pandemic recovery. He promised a plan for childcare, more aggressiveclimate action and a fix for Canada's housing shortage.
In his victory speech in Montreal in the early hours of Tuesday morning, Trudeau said the result suggests Canadians are "sending us back to work with a clear mandate to get Canada through this pandemic and to brighter days ahead.
"The moment we face demands real, important change, and you have given this Parliament and this government clear direction."
After a divisive campaign that sawa great deal ofpartisan sniping, Trudeau struck a more conciliatory tone on election night when he spoke directly toopposition leaders and thosewho didn't vote for a Liberal candidate.
"I hear you when you say you just want to get back to the things you love and not worry about this pandemic or about an election," he said. "Your members of Parliament of all stripes will have your back in this crisis and beyond.Canadians are able to get around any obstacle and that is exactly what we will continue to do."
O'Toole's moderate conservatism falls short at the polls
Conservative Leader Erin O'Toolehas missed his chance to unseat a prime minister who has faced his fair share of challenges during six years in office. O'Toole ran on a plan to boost health care spending, shrink the deficit over 10 years and tighten ethics rules for politicians a more moderate take on conservatism that ultimately fell short.
The Conservatives are on track to win in 119ridings two fewer seatsthan theparty won underformer Conservative leader Andrew Scheer.
Speaking to supporters in Oshawa, Ont., O'Toole said he had no plans to resign even though his party saw little if any growth in its vote share and seat count.He vowed to stay at the helmto take another swing at defeating Trudeau in the next election, which could come as soon as 2023.
"My family and I are resolute in continuing this journey for Canada," O'Toole said. "If Justin Trudeau thinks he can threaten Canadians with another election in 18 months,the Conservative Party will be ready. Whenever that day comes, I will be ready to lead Canada's Conservatives.
"We worked hard, we made progress, but the job is not done yet."
WATCH:O'Toole suggests Trudeau will call another election
O'Toole reaffirmedhis commitment to take the party to the centre of the politicalspectrum even as it faces challenges on its right flank from the People's Party of Canada (PPC).
"We must continuethis journey of welcoming more Canadians to take another look at this party," he said.
With Trudeau and the Liberalscommitted to progressive policies such as child careand new housing supports, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh ran even further to the left, promising a dramatic expansion of the federal government through $200 billion in new spending commitments for promises such as national pharmacare.
Singh vows to continue fight to make 'super wealthy' pay fair share
But Singh was criticizedfor putting out a platform with few details on how any of this transformative change would be implemented.
When all the ballots arecounted, it could prove to be a disappointing night for Singh, with theNDPexpectedto pick up only one more seatthan it won in 2019.Singh may have morecloutin Parliament to look forward to, however a minority Liberal government will have to depend on at least one opposition party to helpitpass its legislation.
Like O'Toole, Singh signalled he has no intentionof stepping down as leader despite an underwhelming performance.
WATCH:'You can count on New Democrats to continue fighting for you,' says Singh
"Friends, I want you to know that our fight will continue.I also want you to know that we are going to keep on fighting to make sure that the super wealthy pay their fair share," Singh said in his concession speech, referring tohis signature election promise tomake the "ultra rich"pay much more in taxes to help cover the cost of new social programs.
"To all of your struggling, we see you, we hear you," Singh said.
Greens' Paul loses but May poised for re-election
The Green vote collapsed and the party's leader, Annamie Paul,finished a disappointing fourth in her Toronto Centre riding.For months, the partyhas been beset with internal squabbling and thathampered its electoral efforts.
But in the southwestern Ontario riding of Kitchener Centre, where the Liberal candidate dropped out amid allegations of harassment, Green candidate Mike Morrice was elected. The party's former leader, Elizabeth May, was alsore-electedin her B.C. riding ofSaanichGulf Islands.
Speaking to reporters in Toronto, Paul said she was disappointed to finish so poorly.
"It is hard to lose. No one likes to lose but I'm so proud of the effort," shesaid.
WATCH:'No one likes to lose,' Green Party Leader Annamie Paul says
With nearly 16 million votes counted so far, theConservatives have about 34per cent of the ballots cast, the Liberals have 32per cent and the NDPnearly 18per cent. The Green Party captured 2.3per cent of the ballots cast,while the PPChas more than fiveper cent a much better result than the 1.6 per cent of the national vote it fetched in the 2019 election.
PPC Leader Maxime Bernier a libertarian who has long railed against government overreach became a champion of the "no more lockdowns" crowd during the pandemic, routinely appearing at well-attended protests against public health measures.
He is also vehemently opposed to vaccine passports a position that appears to have given the PPC a boost among unvaccinated voters. But the improved showing failed to produce any seats in Canada's first-past-the-post electoral system. Bernier finished a distant second in his riding of Beauce, which was easily won by the Conservative incumbent, Richard Lehoux.
"This is not just a political party. This is a movement. It is an ideological revolution that we are starting now," Bernier told supporters in Saskatoon.
The Liberals owe their re-election to strong performances in the country's two most populous provinces, Ontario and Quebec.
Toronto and its surrounding suburbs colloquially known as "the 905" after its area code proved to be a resilient Liberal fortress; the Conservatives failed to make any significant gains among GTA voters.Only one of the area's many seats, Thornhill, elected aConservative MP. However, with votes still left to be counted,Liberal cabinet ministerDeb Schulteis also inatough fightin her riding of King-Vaughan.
Bloc looks to pick up two seats inQuebec
In Quebec, where the separatist Bloc Qubcois is poised to pick up two more than the32 seats it held in the last Parliament, the Liberal brand also performed well although the Liberals were hoping for more gains there to vault it into majority government territory.
Trudeau cruised to victory in his ownriding of Papineau. Other cabinet ministers, includingFranois-Philippe Champagnein Quebec's Saint-Maurice-Champlainand Mona Fortier in Ontario's Ottawa-Vanier,also posted lopsided victories and were easily re-elected.
But at least one Liberalcabinet minister from Ontario,MaryamMonsef, went down to defeat. Monsef was easily bested by Conservative candidate MichelleFerreriin the eastern Ontario riding ofPeterborough-Kawartha a seat that, until tonight, had a40-year record as an election bellwether.
Liberal cabinet minister Bernadette Jordan loses her N.S. seat
While voters have returned a Liberal government to Ottawa, results from Atlantic Canada's 32 seatssuggest O'Toole's more centrist brand of conservatism resonated in the region.
Newfoundland and Labrador and the Maritimes havebeen a Liberal stronghold for the last two election cycles the party swept every seat there in 2015 and dropped only five in 2019.
O'Toole, who has appointed a number of Maritimers to senior roles in the party, performed better than his recent predecessorsin this region.
Former prime minister Stephen Harper was shut out of Atlantic Canada in 2015 while Scheer picked up only four seats in the 2019 contest.
Conservative candidateshavebeen declared elected in seven of the region's ridings. Conservative Rick Perkinshas unseated Liberal incumbentBernadette Jordan in the Nova Scotia riding ofSouth Shore-St Margarets.Jordanserved as fisheries minister in Trudeau's cabinet.
The Conservative candidate in Cumberland-Colchester,Stephen Ellis, easily picked offLiberal incumbent LenoreZann.
As Alberta grapples with another public health emergency under the leadership of Premier Jason Kenney, the Conservative brand took a hit in that province. Liberal candidate George Chahalbeat the Conservative incumbent inCalgary SkyviewandEdmonton Centrewas also on track to go red, but the margin is so thin that the race isstill too close to call.
PHOTOS | Voters queue to cast their vote:
_(720p).jpg)
 OFFICIAL HD MUSIC VIDEO.jpg)
.jpg)
