Canada Election: Liberal Party Wins Majority, Justin Trudeau Becomes New Prime

Justin Trudeau, a former school teacher and member of Parliament since 2008, becomes the second youngest prime minister in Canadian history.

Liberal Leader and incoming prime minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire wave to the crowd following his victory speech at Liberal party headquarters in Montreal on October 19, 2015.

Fagerheim cited the national energy program introduced in 1980 by the Liberal leader’s late father, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, as a point of concern for Canada’s oilpatch.

Trudeau was jubilant on learning of his party’s win, and said his majority Liberal government was proof that “positive, optimistic” politics were effective, saying that Canadians have chosen “real change”. We beat cynicism with hard work.

For many Canadians, the election was a referendum on Harper’s stiff management style, as well as who would be best placed to put the country’s struggling economy back on track. Trudeau, 43, also used his youthful optimism to exploit a thirst for change, as almost three-quarters of voters said they were ready to oust Harper’s Conservatives after more than nine years in power.

The defeat is particularly bitter for Harper, as he spent his career fighting the Liberal hold on Canadian politics ushered in by Trudeau.

The Liberals dominated the country’s east coast, and Elections Canada results showed them surging in Quebec and Ontario, well above what polls had projected, in large part because of a collapse of the country’s other main opposition party, the New Democrats.

She noted, however, that the prime minister-designate has committed to having an equal number of men and women in his cabinet.

“I want to get him out, it’s about time we have a new leader”. But, BBC business reporter Rob Plummer says, if the money is spent on the wrong kind of infrastructure, it may not do any good, while saddling the government with unnecessary debt.

Whatever happens, richer Canadians can expect to face a higher tax bill, handing over more than half their income in combined federal and provincial taxes, while ordinary people can look forward to tax breaks. Because Canada does not have term limits, Harper has held the position since 2006.

“I have spoken to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and he has instructed me to reach out to the newly elected parliamentary caucus to appoint an interim leader”, Conservative Party president John Walsh said in a statement.

The 43-year-old Trudeau – who ran a combative campaign and offered up what he called a “new vision” for the nation – would form a majority government with more than 180 of the 338 seats in the House of Commons, according to Elections Canada. Canada’s electoral system follows “first-past-the-post” system for determining the victor in a constituency. Mr Trudeau is expected to be sworn in in a few weeks’ times.