Global News has declared a Liberal majority government as most of the country’s ridings are expected to be painted red.
The Liberals swept nearly all of Atlantic Canada by the time polls closed in Ontario, Quebec, the Prairies and Alberta. In Ontario, the Liberals picked up more than 20 seats held by the Conservatives, ousting Immigration Minister Chris Alexander among other high-profile Tories. Finance Minister Joe Oliver was also trailing Liberal rival Mark Mendocino.
And the Liberals picked up a number of ridings from the NDP, including University-Rosedale, where Chrystia Freeland beat Jennifer Hollett, and Scarborough Southwest, where former Toronto police chief Bill Blair beat NDP incumbent Dan Harris. Liberal candidate Arif Virani beat the NDP’s industry critic, Peggy Nash.
LIVE: Global News has live coverage and real-time results after the polls close.
Trudeau has made a number of spending promises –including doubled infrastructure spending – that will make up what he says will be an annual $10 billion deficit for three years.
His other promises? Legalizing marijuana, amending Bill C-51, launching an inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women and hiking taxes on people with an income of more than $200,000 a year.
The Conservatives, but without Stephen Harper as leader
The Conservative party will form the Official Opposition and Stephen Harper will step down as leader of the party, according to a party statement. He did not, however, say in his speech he’d step down.
“Friends our country is one of the most enduring democracies in the world today and today, for the 42nd time in 148 years,… while tonight’s result is certainly not the one we had hoped for, the people are never wrong,” he said.
“The disappointment you also feel is my responsibility and mine alone.”
Harper’s decision sends the party into its second leadership race since the Progressive Conservatives amalgamated with the Canadian Alliance.
WATCH: Conservative Leader Stephen Harper says that the Conservatives “gave all they have” in this election and that they “regret nothing” this campaign.
It’ll be the second time Trudeau has lived at 24 Sussex Dr.: He spent more than a decade of his life there while his father, Pierre, was prime minister.
Polls have closed across the country and the Liberals are leading or elected in 187 polls. The conservatives are leading or elected in 104 ridings, and the NDP is leading or elected in 32. The Bloc Quebecois is leading or elected in 10 ridings.
From Orange Crush to Orange Crash
The NDP started the election in the lead, with polls and seat projections suggesting Tom Mulcair would be the next prime minister. But as the campaign dragged on to historic lengths, Mulcair’s NDP staggered. They’re expected to return to third-party status.
But Mulcair was optimistic in his speech to a crowded room full of supporters in Outrement, Quebec and said “tonight Canadians have turned the page on ten long years” of a Harper government.
He went on to tell the throng of NDPers that “we will continue.”
“Canadians have asked the NDP to continue bearing hope and optimism that characterize our party,” he said.
He added: “We ran in this election with the most women and the most indigenous candidates, not just in the history of our party, but in the history of Canada. This is something that makes me immensely proud.”
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