Trudeau’s Liberals projected to win Canada vote, networks say
OTTAWA, Canada – Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party is set to take power in Canada for the first time in almost a decade, tapping into voter fatigue with Prime Minister Stephen Harper by pledging more spending to stimulate a sluggish economy.
Canada’s three major broadcasters – CTV, CBC and Global News – projected a Liberal win, while saying it was too early to predict whether the party would have enough seats for a majority government. The Liberals won or were leading in 75 of the 338 House of Commons seats, with the Conservatives ahead in 39 and the New Democratic Party with 10, as of Monday night in Ottawa, according to preliminary results from Elections Canada. A party needs 170 seats for a majority.
The result is a vindication of Trudeau’s campaign to reject Harper’s budget restraint agenda, claiming the nation needs a return to deficit spending to combat economic woes triggered by an oil-price collapse. Trudeau, 43, also used his youthful optimism to exploit a thirst for change, as almost three-quarters of voters said they were ready to oust Harper’s Conservatives after more than nine years in power.
Every opinion poll in recent days had indicated the Liberals held a firm lead in the race, and were on course for at least a minority victory. While the Conservative vote held relatively stable during the campaign at about 30 percent, Liberal gains came mostly at the expense of Tom Mulcair’s NDP, which held a slim but persistent lead in the first weeks. In the end, it was Trudeau, the son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau who rose to power with the first wave of “Trudeaumania” in 1968, who was seen by voters as having the best chance of defeating Harper. Trudeau becomes the second-youngest prime minister in Canadian history.
Trudeau will now seek to pursue his platform including higher infrastructure spending and middle-class tax cuts. Those will be financed by budget deficits of about $19 billion over three years and tax hikes on workers earning more than $153,000. He has also pledged to legalize marijuana, cancel the purchase of F-35 fighters, be more assertive on climate change and abandon the country’s bombing campaign in Syria and Iraq against the Islamic State.
His challenges include reviving an economy buffeted by plunging prices for oil and other commodities. Canada’s economy is forecast to expand just 1.1 percent this year, among the weakest in the Group of Seven, forcing the Bank of Canada to cut interest rates twice this year.
Trudeau also needs to find ways to build new pipeline capacity in the face of opposition from environmentalists, and determine whether the Bank of Canada should target higher inflation. He also needs to manage some of the world’s most expensive real-estate markets that threaten the financial system.