Early results in Canada elections showed that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will continue as prime minister but with a reduced majority. Trudeau's Liberal Party is expected to win 156 seats, which is 14 short of a clear majority. "Thank you for having faith in us to move our country in the right direction," Trudeau told Canadians after scraping through in the federal election, which was seen as a referendum on him.
Meanwhile, in a remarkable feat, the centre-right Conservative party is moving to win at least 122 seats, which is a big jump from the 95 they had in the previous parliament. However, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer will be disappointed with the verdict as the early count showed that his party would likely win the majority of popular votes but fail to gain a parliamentary majority.
Scheer will have to take stock of the verdict and see why his party could not capitalise on the strong anti-Trudeau sentiment in the elections following the prime minister's dismal performance in the last four years. Though the young leader swept to power promising big changes his reign lacked the spark and was tainted by scandals.
Early analyses of poll results showed that though Trudeau and his party made big strides in the Atlantic region, the Opposition pushed them back in the east. Ralph Goodale, one of the key ministers in the Trudeau cabinet, lost his seat after being in parliament for 26 years.
It's not clear yet whether Trudeau will form a minority government or a coalition government. Canada hasn't had great success with the coalition government. The last time the coalition was formed was in 2008. But Canada has seen quite a few minority governments, however.
Donald Trump congratulates Trudeau
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump congratulated Trudeau on his election win. "Congratulations to Justin Trudeau on a wonderful and hard fought victory. Canada is well served ... I look forward to working with you toward the betterment of both of our countries," the president tweeted.
Trudeau, 48, is the son of former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau. Former US president Barack Obama once termed the liberal flag bearer as his successor in global diplomacy. When he took power in 2015, he promised that he would be in the forefront of the fight against climate change. He also promised to accept as many as 25,000 Syrian refugees. Another campaign promise was legalizing marijuana.
