Canadians reelect Trudeau without majority

Oct. 22, 2019
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was reelected Oct. 21 as his Liberal Party lost its majority in the House of Commons. The Liberals won no seats in Alberta or Saskatchewan.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was reelected Oct. 21 as his Liberal Party lost its majority in the House of Commons.

The Liberals won no seats in Alberta or Saskatchewan, where Trudeau’s aggressive polices on climate change and resistance to pipeline construction are blamed for slumping investment in oil and natural gas.

According to CBC, the Liberals won 157 seats, one of which remained uncertain at this writing. To win a majority required 170 seats.

The Conservative Party, led by Andrew Scheer, was runner-up with 121 seats. The Conservatives won more votes than the Liberals: 6,150,177 (34.4% of total votes) vs. 5,911,588 (33.1%), CBC reported.

The Bloc Quebecois won 32 seats, New Democrats 24, Greens 3, and Independents, 1.

Conservatives won 33 of Alberta’s 34 seats and all of Saskatchewan’s 14 seats. The sole non-Conservative seat in Alberta was won by a New Democrat.

Because Liberals lost their majority, Trudeau will have to govern in some form of cooperation with at least one of the non-Conservative parties, all of which oppose pipeline construction.