Justin Trudeau has won a second term as Canada’s prime minister after the country’s federal election, but his narrow victory means he will lead a minority government that will be forced to depend on other parties to govern.
The Liberals were victorious in 146 out of 304 electoral districts that had reported results by about 10:30pm Toronto time on Monday, according to the national broadcaster CBC. Trudeau needed to win 170 seats to secure a second majority government.
In his victory speech, Justin Trudeau told Canadians that even if they didn’t vote for him, the Liberal Party works for all people of Canada
US President, Donald Trump has also congratulated Trudeau for a wonderful and hard fought victory with a Tweet that reads, ‘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!’.
Trudeau, 47, was endorsed by Barack Obama in the last days of the campaign, but his standing as one of the few remaining progressive leaders in a major democracy was undermined by the emergence of blackface images, and lingering criticism of his handling of a major corruption inquiry.
Ahead of the vote, polls showed him neck-and-neck with the Conservative leader Andrew Scheer. But with neither of the main parties reaching the number of seats needed for a parliamentary majority, Canada is headed towards a minority government, and Trudeau will be forced to co-operate with smaller left-of-centre parties to govern.
