On Monday, Canada voted In Justin Trudeau as its prime minister. Trudeau had called for the elections during the pandemic almost two years in advance. He was hoping for a clear majority by calling snap elections, but it seems as if he is only one seat ahead when compared with his earlier tally, in 2019. A disappointed right-leaning conservative leader Erin O’Toole, who was hoping to unseat the liberals, has conceded defeat.

As 98 percent of the seats have been counted, the following results have emerged:

Liberal Party: 158 (+1)

Conservative Party: 119 (-2)

Bloc Québécois: 34 (+2)

New Democratic Party: 25 (+1)

Green Party:2 (-1).

Gerry Butts, who was a former close adviser to Trudeau said that Canadians were sending a loud and clear message saying that they liked the direction the government was taking but they were not sure if they were willing to give any party “carte blanche,” (complete freedom to act as per a person’s wishes).

Trudeau said that the victory signaled that his party had performed well on several issues including reining in COVID-19, affordable homes, childcare, and climate change. He also told the Canadians that they had given him permission to go back to work with a “clear mandate” to get the country through the pandemic and to “brighter days ahead.” He also added that they had given “this government and this parliament clear direction.”

Although Justin Trudeau’s government was at a minority, it was a stable government. There was absolutely no chance that the conservatives could topple it, despite some backlash from Canadians about harsh measures taken by the government to control the spread of COVID-19.

Trudeau called for early elections in the hope that he would get a clear majority of 170 seats in the House of Commons. However, as the election results are almost finalized, it looks like he has once again fallen short of a clear majority, with 158 seats, just one seat more than what his party obtained in the 2019 elections.

In 1849, French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr had written in French : plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose. Translated into English it means – the more things change, the more they stay the same. This centuries old phrase could also describe Justin Trudeau’s bitter-sweet victory in the September 2021 Canadian elections.  

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