On Monday night, the nine-year reign of Prime Minister Stephen Harper ended with the victory of 43-year old Justin Trudeau, Canada’s incoming prime minister. It was a huge success for the Liberal Party where Trudeau belongs. He will be the second-youngest prime minister of Canada.
Majority vote
The Liberal Party first started seeing success in Canada’s Atlantic provinces and they rode on the sentiments of the people about what they perceived as the heavy handed and divisive style of Stephen Harper, and managed to secure 184 House of Commons seats out of the 338 available.
A surprise
Despite the numbers, it still came as a surprise to many. Justin Trudeau was still someone who was untested despite his party emerging on top, so before the rousing victory, many thought that the early poll results were not that conclusive. It only started to gel when they got the results on Monday, when all traces of ambiguity were gone. The New Democratic Party, the major opposition only held on to 44 seats after they had great losses to the Liberals in Quebec.
First to follow a parent
Former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was the father of Justin Trudeau, and it is the first time that a prime minister’s son will follow his parent in seeking the top office. When the Liberals rose from third place to take the top spot on voting day, Trudeau promised that Canadians would have “sunny ways” soon. During his victory speech at the Liberals’ headquarters at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, he said that better is always possible in Canada.
He said that everything came together because they have a team and a platform that has a hopeful and positive vision; that theirs is positive politics and that Canadian voters across the country were ready for change.
He gave his victory speech in Canada’s two official languages, French and English, and said that although he might have said some derogatory remarks during the campaign period, the Conservatives, led by Stephen Harper, are their neighbors and not their enemies.
Incumbent leader for the Conservatives
The poll results showed that the Conservatives suffered a major defeat. When Harper spoke to an audience in Calgary, he did not mention anything about resigning as head of his party but concentrated on thanking his loyal supporters and adding that he was solely responsible for the disappointment his supporters felt. However, the party made an announcement that they are looking at finding an interim leader soon.
Before Trudeau entered politics, he was active in youth advocacy and was a teacher of math, French and drama.
Image Credit:The Telegraph
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