Narrow Victory for Trudeau in Canadian Election

Parliament Hill in Ottawa where the Canadian Parliament is seated. (Flickr)

Justin Trudeau maintained his position as Canadian prime minister in a recent election on October 21. However, Trudeau’s Liberal Party lost its majority in the House of Commons, while still keeping enough seats to form a minority government, according to the Guardian. The results of this election, as well as the delicate new balance they create, are sure to cause tension and change in Canada in the years to come. 

According to the Canadian election results, the Liberal Party won only 157 seats, losing 20 seats. The Conservative Party, which forms the main opposition against the Liberals, gained 26 seats, ending up with 121 seats. As for smaller parties, the Bloc Québécois gained 22 new seats, regaining its official party status with 32 seats. The New Democratic Party, a leftist Canadian party and formerly the third-largest party, lost 15 seats, falling to 24. 

Altogether, the Liberal Party did have enough seats to create a minority government, even though it lost the popular vote. Canada’s Conservative Party took home a plurality of the vote, 34.4 percent, with the Liberal Party at 33 percent.

Trudeau faced several controversies going into the election. A photo published by Time magazine pictured the prime minister, a teacher at the time, dressed in a turban, robe, and brownface for an Arabian Nights-themed party in 2001. 

This resulted in Trudeau publicly apologizing and admitting that it was not the only time he had donned brownface or blackface. He revealed that at one point he wore blackface to sing “Day-O,” a traditional Jamaican folk song popularly known as the “Banana Boat Song,” reported the Toronto Star.

This controversy added to the SNC-Lavalin scandal, which alleged that Trudeau broke Canadian law in order to prevent a corruption trial from taking place, according to  the Guardian.

The combination of these events was seen as damaging Trudeau’s image as a progressive intent on fighting racism and injustice. The Conservative party took advantage of these scandals, even using the slogan “Not as Advertised.”

Trudeau’s emphasis on fighting climate change might have helped him win the race in the face of so much adversity. Over and over, Trudeau pushed that he was an advocate for “strong action on climate change,” and the Liberal Party supports a carbon tax. Although this would incur a tax on citizens, polls show that citizens supported the tax and Trudeau’s views, the Atlantic said.

Thus, Trudeau remains prime minister, but he must work with the other, smaller parties in the Canadian political system. It is likely that Trudeau will attempt to broker a deal with the small, left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP), according to the Washington Post. In return, the NDP might desire a greater say in policy, which would consequently move the Liberal party further left. 

This potential shift left, especially on environmental policy, could further alienate voters who increasingly turn to the Conservative Party, potentially resulting in greater political polarization. The Liberal Party failed to win any seats in the oil-producing western provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, long Conservative Party strongholds, the Washington Post reports.