Trudeau’s Liberals in Canada: Election won, target missed

In order to rule in Canada with an absolute majority, Prime Minister Trudeau had called new elections – in the middle of the pandemic. According to the first results, his liberals are ahead, but they have probably missed their goal.

A long election day, a tough race: minutes after the last polling stations on Canada’s west coast closed, the public broadcaster CBC dared to predict: “Canada’s Prime Minister will continue to be called Justin Trudeau.”

This was also announced by Eric Sorensen, political observer for the broadcaster Global News – and added: “The liberals lead. I have no idea what that means for the government.” They say: Trudeau won the election, but this result will probably not be enough to become a game changer.

It will be some time before it is clear whether the prime minister will continue to head a minority government or whether he could actually win the absolute majority of the seats that he was aiming for. His Liberal Party would need 170 of the 338 seats for that. At first she stayed away from that. According to CBS forecasts, they won around 156 mandates.

Majority of Canadians consider the choice unnecessary

The prime minister sounded optimistic when he cast his vote with his family that morning. This is a good day to vote, everyone should do it today, he said.

And the Canadians followed his call – even if more than two thirds thought this early vote in the midst of the corona pandemic was senseless. Long after the official closure of the polling stations in Toronto, they stood in line in the dark with the assurance: Anyone who wants to can still cast their vote after the polls closed.

The elections are decided in the province of Ontario with the metropolis of Toronto and in the populated province of Quebec. More Canadians than ever before had also made use of the opportunity to vote in advance – and despite the dwindling popularity ratings, apparently again for Trudeau, said Gerald Butts from CBC. The prime minister has been given a new mandate, “regardless of the circumstances. And that means: another four years – unless the government has to resign for some reason.”

For some time now, the criticism of Trudeau has been growing

A game of poker had turned into a tremendous game for Trudeau. The politician, once celebrated as a pop star, has ruled Canada since 2015, albeit with a minority government for the past two years. When he called new elections in mid-August – allegedly to get a clear mandate for his Corona policy – the signs were favorable for him. Most Canadians were happy with how he had guided them through the Corona crisis. But then the criticism grew. The lead over his rival Erin O’Toole melted. The moderate conservative accused the 49-year-old of having scheduled the elections out of self-interest.

If there is little change in the result, then Trudeau will only have a good face at the losing game, said political expert Butt: “This is the opportunity for all parties to say: We have a mandate to govern together and must now make the best of it for the next four years do.”

For Canadians, it is important how the next government wants to overcome the economic consequences of the Corona crisis and get their rising cost of living under control. The state is sitting on a growing mountain of debt: In the fight against the pandemic, the Liberals accumulated debts equivalent to 672 billion euros. The budget deficit is at the level last seen in World War II.