Canadians vote in a tight national election that Justin Trudeau may lose


Canadians elect a new Parliament in national elections Monday, and polls suggest that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could become the first Canadian leader in 84 years to be ousted after one four-year term with a parliamentary majority. Trudeau's Liberal Party is neck-and-neck with the Conservative Party and its leader, Andrew Scheer, though it seems likely neither party will win an outright majority of Parliament's 338 seats.
If the election results in Canada's first coalition government since 1972, the likely combinations would be Trudeau being joined by the New Democratic Party (NDP) or the Conservatives pairing up with the separatist Bloc Quebecois. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has suggested he is open to a governing coalition with the Liberals, though Trudeau has not made similar public overtures.
The campaign has been "nasty," especially by Canadian standards, says CNN's Paula Newton. Trudeau's once-high popularity has been eroded by unmet expectations and a series of controversies and scandals, most recently his admission he has worn blackface on multiple occasions. The blackface controversy doesn't seem to have shifted public opinion much, and Scheer, a career politician who only recently disclosed that he holds dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship, has been unable to gain traction with his attacks on Trudeau.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The net result of the dirt-slinging has been a disenchanted electorate and "a desert from a public policy point of view," veteran Canadian pollster Nik Nanos tells CNN. "If people were to describe the election, it would be 'Indecision 2019.'" Preliminary results for Canada's 338 ridings, or parliamentary districts, are expected to be announced Monday night.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
A tall ship adventure in the Mediterranean
The Week Recommends Sailing aboard this schooner and exploring Portugal, Spain and Monaco is a 'magical' experience
-
How drone warfare works
The Explainer From Ukraine to Iran, it has become clear that unmanned aircraft are rapidly revolutionising modern warfare
-
The tourist flood in the Mediterranean: can it be stemmed?
Talking Point Finger-pointing at Airbnb or hotel owners obscures the root cause of overtourism in holiday hotspots: unmanageable demand
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from