SEPTEMBER 21, 2021
New Delhi: Justin Trudeau is set to hold on to the prime minister’s post as the Liberals secured a third term in Canada. Trudeau has now won three general elections in less than six years.
Though the Liberals would form the government, it would be a minority one. Trudeau had called for a snap election last month in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic assuming that his handling of the pandemic would help his government win a majority.
Elections Canada showed the Liberals leading in 156 electoral districts nationally, one more than they held before the election.
Trudeau, 49, is the 23rd prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party since 2013. He is the second-youngest prime minister in Canadian history.
He has been prime minister since November 2015 after he became the first leader to take a party from third place to an election win.
Damaged by allegations that his government improperly intervened in a criminal case against a Quebec-based construction company and by revelations that he had worn blackface as a younger man, Trudeau lost his parliamentary majority in 2019 and now heads a minority government.
Trudeau, the son of the late Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, has championed gender equality, toughened environmental laws, and spent heavily on economic and social supports amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trudeau’s legacy includes embracing immigration at a time when the US and other countries closed their doors.
He also legalized cannabis nationwide and brought in a carbon tax to fight climate change. And he preserved free trade deal with the US and Mexico amid threats by former US President Donald Trump to scrap the agreement.
His party also launched a national daycare program, signing deals with a majority of provinces before the election was called. He has twice been found in breach of federal ethics rules.
Trudeau has faced crowds of angry protesters during the current campaign, most of them opposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Nevertheless, he managed to win the elections and is undoubtedly, the man of the hour.
