Justin Trudeau rallies supporters ahead of October 21st 2019 election
Justin Trudeau rallies supporters ahead of October 21st 2019 electionREUTERS

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is projected to retain the premiership following Monday’s federal election, despite losses for the Liberal Party and gains by the Conservatives.

Canada’s CBC News and CTV News have both projected that Trudeau’s Liberal Party will win a plurality of seats in the 338-member House of Commons, enabling him to retain power – albeit with a minority government, having lost the majority won in 2015, when the Liberals won 184 seats.

Trudeau’s Liberals appear to have lost the popular vote, however, to the Conservatives, despite leading the Conservatives in terms of seats won.

With roughly 98% of the votes counted, the Conservative Party currently leads the Liberal Party in the popular vote, with 34.4%, or just over 6,103,000 votes, compared to 33.0% for the Liberals, or just over 5,855,000 votes.

According to CBC News, the Liberal Party has won 155 seats out of the 338-member House of Commons, and is currently leading in an additional two races for a total of 157 projected seats, compared to 121 for the Conservatives (121 won, 0 leading), 32 seats won for the French-Canadian separatist Bloc Québécois (BQ), 24 seats won for the New Democratic Party (NDP), and three for the Green Party. In addition, the former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould, who had been a member of the Liberal Party until April of this year, won a seat as an independent. The People's Party, received 1.6% of the vote, and failed to win any seats.

The Liberals suffered losses across the country, including heavy losses to the BQ in Quebec. While the Conservatives made inroads, gaining more than 20 seats over their dismal 2015 showing of 99 seats, it appears unlikely they will overcome the Liberals in the seat count, denying them a path to either a majority or minority government.

While Trudeau has managed to hold onto the premiership, deprived of the majority his Liberal Party enjoyed after the 2015 election, the new Trudeau government will be forced to govern as a minority government, vulnerable to votes of no confidence. In the past, minority governments in Canada have lasted on average less than two years.