Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau has retained his baton as the nation’s leader after being re-elected but failed to secure a majority government after calling an election intended to capitalise on his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a victory speech, Trudeau said “The moment we face demands real, important change and you have given this parliament and this government clear direction . . . so that we can put an end to this pandemic once and for all”.
Reportedly, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation projected that Trudeau’s Liberal party would win 156 seats, up from 155 after the last election in 2019. The Conservatives were projected to win in 122 ridings, up from 119. A party needs 170 seats to win a majority and final election results are expected later this week after mail-in ballots are counted.
It would be recalled that that the PM called the snap election last month after ruling for two years as head of a minority government. His early lead in the polls dwindled in the face of a competitive Conservative campaign led by party leader Erin O’Toole. Analysts had expected the Liberals to win an outright majority or expand their minority, but many critics questioned holding an election during the pandemic.
In his concession speech, O’Toole said “Five weeks ago, Mr Trudeau asked for a majority. Tonight, Canadians did not give Mr Trudeau the majority mandate he wanted.”
It’s believed that support for Trudeau withered as the election wore on but the Liberal party’s performance in the battleground province of Ontario, particularly in the Toronto metropolitan area, sealed its victory.
Speaking with CBC, Chantal Hébert, a political commentator said “This was an election nobody wanted, and an election where nobody got what they wanted.”
Also, political commentator Andrew Coyne took to Twitter to say, “In case the prime minister gets too enthusiastic about the mandate he has just received: at 31.8 per cent of the vote, it is the smallest for any winning party in the history of the country”.
Meanwhile, the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Justin Trudeau on his re-emergence as the PM after the hard fought snap election.
In a statement by Garba Shehu, Buhari said: “On behalf of my family, the government and people of Nigeria, I congratulate a true friend of Nigeria and Africa following his well-deserved re-election as Prime Minister. I look forward to working together to further strengthen the existing cordial bilateral relations.”
