Justin Trudeau Will Remain Prime Minister While Losing His Liberal Majority in Canadian Elections

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will remain in power as head of government despite his centrist Liberal Party losing a majority of House of Commons seats in national parliamentary elections held on Monday, October 20. The Liberals, led by Trudeau won 157 seats in parliament despite receiving more than 5 million votes and the center-right Conservatives, led by Andrew Scheer, won 121 seats in parliament even though they received more than 6 million votes.

The center-left Bloc Québécois, led by Yves-François Blanchet, became the largest third party in the national parliament by gaining 32 seats. The left-wing New Democratic Party, led by Jagmeet Singh, won 24 seats and the environmentalist Green Party, led by Elizabeth May, won 3 seats. The right-wing People’s Party, led by former Conservative Party member Maxime Bernier, won no seats.

Since it requires a 170 seat majority to form an official government in parliament, Trudeau and leaders within his Liberal Party will most likely to be in negotiations with smaller parties such as the Bloc Québécois, Green Party, and the New Democratic Party. Despite his lack of campaign promises from his 2015 victory, a scandal involving his former attorney general’s investigation into business fraud, and controversial blackface imagery, Trudeau is likely to remain in power until the next federal election in 2023.