PRIME Minister Mark Carney lead the Liberals to victory in Monday’s federal election even as NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre lost their ridings.
Carney will form a minority government with 169 seats in the House of Commons and will have to look for support from either the NDP that won 7 seats or the Bloc Quebecois that garnered 22 seats. The Conservatives bagged 144 seats. As many as 19.58 million Canadians cast their ballot.
RESULTS AT 4:25 P.M. ON TUESDAY:
Jagmeet Singh announced on Monday night that he will be stepping down as NDP Leader after losing his Burnaby Central riding in B.C.
Poilievre said he would not step down as the party leader after losing the election and his own riding of Carleton in Ontario, but it remains to be seen if he will be able to hang on to his position.
In a thank you message to his supporters, Carney said: “This has been one of the most consequential elections in our generation – and I am deeply grateful for Canadians like you who’ve put their trust in our Liberal team.
“Thank you to those who put their name on the ballot last night, our thousands of volunteers who shared our positive message, and to Canadians across our country who have given us this government.
“I chose to enter politics, because I felt we needed big changes – big changes guided by strong Canadian values.
“Including three values that I want to highlight: humility, ambition, and unity.
“Values that I will do my best to uphold each day over the next four years as your Prime Minister.
“So today and every day forward, my message to every Canadian is this:
“No matter where you live, no matter what language you speak, no matter how you voted, I will always do my best to represent everyone who calls Canada home.
“[U.S.] President [Donald] Trump is trying to break us, so America can own us. We will never let this happen.
“Now is the time for ambition, to be bold, to meet this crisis with the overwhelming, positive force of a united Canada.
“We will fight back with everything we have to get the best deal for Canada.
“We will protect our workers and businesses.
“Above all, we will build an independent future for our country.
“A future that makes the best country on earth even better.
“It’s time to build twice as many homes every year, introduce new trade and energy corridors, create hundreds of thousands of good careers in the skilled trades, make Canada into an energy superpower in both clean and conventional energy, and build one Canadian economy, not thirteen.
“It’s time to build. But it’ll only be possible with the help of supporters like you, friend.”
THE 45TH GENERAL ELECTION:
- To serve Canadians, Elections Canada opened 492 offices, hired some 230,000 people and offered around 7,200 advance and 65,000 election day voting desks in 343 electoral districts.
- Elections Canada’s preliminary estimates indicate that 19,583,016 Canadians cast a ballot. This translates into a voter turnout rate of about 68.65%.
- Approximately:
- 11,062,539 voted at their polling station on election day or in their long-term care facility
- 7,280,975 voted at advance polls between Friday, April 18, and Monday, April 21
- 928,311 voted by special ballot from within their electoral district
- 215,057 voted by special ballot from outside their electoral district (includes deployed military personnel, inmates and electors who were in Canada but outside their electoral district)
- 57,440 electors living outside Canada voted by special ballot
- In the coming months, Elections Canada will finalize many of these estimated numbers and publish the Official Voting Results, along with other official reports.
- 16 registered parties were represented and 1,959 candidates were confirmed.
“I want to thank the some 230,000 people who helped deliver the election. Whether electors voted on election day or earlier at advance polls or by special ballot, election workers were there to serve them and to ensure that the integrity and secrecy of the vote was upheld,” said Stéphane Perrault, Chief Electoral Officer of Canada.
