Canada's Justin Trudeau projected to win re-election but without a majority of seats

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party celebrated Monday night as the CBC, Canada's national broadcaster, projected that Trudeau won a second term in Monday's national elections. While the Liberals are expected to win a plurality of seats in Parliament, they are seen falling short of the 170 needed for an outright majority in the 338-seat legislature. Polls had suggested Andrew Scheer and his Conservative Party were within striking distance of unseating Trudeau, but the Liberals had a stronger-than-expected showing.

Trudeau, Scheer, Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-François Blanchet, New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh, and Green Party leader Elizabeth May all won or are projected to win their respective seats, but Maxime Bernier, leader of the right-wing People's Party of Canada (PPC) lost his Quebec district to a Conservative challenger, Richard Lehoux. Bernier, who had represented the riding, or district, since 2006, founded the PPC in 2018 after losing the race to be Conservative leader.

If Trudeau heads a minority government, it means his Liberals will need support from other parties to pass legislation; the NDP is the most likely governing partner. The two prime ministers before Trudeau, Liberal Paul Martin and Conservative Stephen Harper, led three successive minority governments between 2004 and 2011, and "both got significant business through the House during their minority tenures," CBC News notes.

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Still, the political landscape has changed since Trudeau, 47, won his landslide victory in 2015, University of Toronto history and international relations professor Robert Bothwell tells The Associated Press. "Trudeau is going to have to command a caucus that will not be as grateful than it was in 2015," he said, and as for Scheer, 40, "he's gone," Bothwell predicted. "He ran a really dirty campaign. There is nothing to be proud of on his side. He had the opportunity and blew it."