Justin Trudeau’s election for nothing – archyworldys

A victory on the wire, but a victory which allows him to save the essential: the outgoing Liberal Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, won the federal election which he himself had unleashed – on August 15 – with a short head in front of his main opponent, the leader of the Conservative Party, Erin O’Toole.

On the night of Monday, September 20 to Tuesday, September 21, the results of the vote of some 27 million Canadians registered on the electoral lists granted 157 seats to Mr. Trudeau’s Liberal Party, 121 to the Conservative Party, thirty-one to the Bloc Quebecois, twenty-six for the New Democratic Party and two for the Greens.

Some results in rare constituencies which are the subject of very close duels remain to be confirmed; also, the postal vote, which reached a record this year with 1.2 million ballots, was not to be counted until September 21. But they will not be such as to tip the vote. With an absolute majority of 170 seats, however, the Liberals are not in a position to lead a majority government.

Back to square one

It was nevertheless a huge sigh of relief that ran through the ranks of the Liberal Party, in the hotel in Montreal where Justin Trudeau had chosen to hold his election night on Monday evening. Until the last few days, the polls still gave him neck and neck with his Conservative opponent.

Because the bet made by Justin Trudeau by triggering these early elections, almost turned into personal disavowal: it was he who bore the responsibility for this early poll, which ended with a return to square one. Candidate Trudeau has never publicly stated that his intention is to find himself at the head of a majority government, after losing his majority in 2019, but no one was fooled by his real intentions. “We want to have both hands on the wheel”, let go, the day before the election, his co-campaign manager, Minister Mélanie Joly.

Alas, prime minister of a minority government before the elections, Justin Trudeau finds himself in the same situation after, with almost the same number of deputies. An election for nothing in a way, which will have cost more than 600 million Canadian dollars (400 million euros).

When he went to ask the Governor General of Canada to dissolve the House of Commons in the midst of summer torpor, Justin Trudeau intended to make the ballot a referendum on his satisfactory management of the Covid-19 pandemic. “An election is necessary to choose how to end the crisis and ensure a post-pandemic recovery, you have your say”, he called out to his fellow citizens.

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