Trudeau’s election bet fails, but Tory rival might lose job

By ROB GILLIES

TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau secured triumph successful parliamentary elections but failed to get the bulk helium wanted, an result that threatened his Conservative rival with nonaccomplishment of his occupation aft moving his enactment to the halfway and alienating its base.

Trudeau stake Canadians didn’t privation a Conservative authorities during a pandemic and voiced the concerns of Canadians who are progressively upset with those who garbage to get vaccinated.

That statement helped propel Trudeau to triumph successful the predetermination Monday, and portion the gamble to triumph a bulk of seats successful Parliament didn’t wage off, Trudeau leads a beardown number authorities that won’t beryllium toppled by the absorption anytime soon.

The results astir mirrored those of 2 years ago. The Liberal Party secured oregon was starring in158 seats — 1 much than it won successful 2019, and 12 abbreviated of the 170 needed for a bulk successful the House of Commons.

The Conservatives were starring oregon elected successful 119 seats, 2 little than successful 2019. The leftist New Democrats were starring oregon elected successful 25, portion the Bloc Québécois were poised to triumph 34 and the Greens were down to two.

Hours aft the results came in, Trudeau greeted commuters and posed for photos Tuesday greeting astatine a subway halt successful his territory successful Montreal — a post-election contented for the premier minister.

“I perceive you erstwhile you accidental you conscionable privation to get backmost to the things you emotion and not interest astir this pandemic oregon an election,” Trudeau said successful his post-victory code hours earlier.

Conservative person Erin O’Toole was scheduled to springiness a quality league aboriginal Tuesday, wherever helium was expected to look questions astir whether helium volition beryllium capable to support his job.

“The results are disappointing for the Conservatives and O’Toole’s determination towards the halfway is simply a root of contention wrong the party,” said Daniel Béland, a governmental subject prof astatine McGill University successful Montreal.

Conservative run co-chair Walied Soliman said earlier the votes were counted Monday that holding Trudeau to a number authorities would beryllium a win. But Jenni Byrne, run manager and lawman main of unit to erstwhile Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, told The Associated Press she was “stunned” by Soliman’s comments and aboriginal said O’Toole gave a tone-deaf concession code successful which helium acted arsenic if he’d won.

O’Toole said helium was much determined than ever to continue, but his enactment mightiness dump him arsenic it did his predecessor who failed to bushed Trudeau successful 2019. Whether helium remains Conservative person has large implications for the blimpish question successful Canada. If he’s removed the enactment could plaything backmost right.

A person who narrowly mislaid the enactment of the Conservative Party successful 2017 and who present leads a far-right enactment that opposes vaccines and lockdowns bled enactment from O’Toole’s Conservatives and helped the Liberals clasp power. Maxime Bernier and the People’s Party of Canada didn’t triumph immoderate seats successful Parliament but enactment for his enactment led to immoderate Conservative enactment losses.

Nelson Wiseman, a governmental subject prof astatine the University of Toronto, said the People’s Party of Canada outgo the Conservative Party astir 10 seats successful the election.

O’Toole advertised himself a twelvemonth agone arsenic a “true-blue Conservative.” He became Conservative Party person with a pledge to “take backmost Canada,” but instantly started moving to propulsion the enactment toward the governmental center.

O’Toole’s strategy, which included disavowing positions held beloved by his party’s basal connected issues specified arsenic clime change, guns and balanced budgets, was designed to entreaty to a broader transverse conception of voters successful a state that tends to beryllium acold much wide than its confederate neighbor.

Whether mean Canadians believed O’Toole is the progressive blimpish helium claims to beryllium and whether helium alienated accepted Conservatives became cardinal questions of the campaign.

O’Toole failed to triumph much seats successful and astir vote-rich wide Toronto, Canada’s largest city.

Trudeau argued that the Conservatives’ attack connected the pandemic, which has been much skeptical of lockdowns and vaccine mandates, would beryllium dangerous. And helium played up his ain party’s successes. Canada has 1 of the highest vaccination rates successful the world, and Trudeau’s authorities spent hundreds of billions of dollars to prop up the system amid lockdowns.

Trudeau supports making vaccines mandatory for Canadians to question by aerial oregon rail, thing the Conservatives oppose.

And Trudeau pointed retired that Alberta, tally by a Conservative provincial government, is successful crisis. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said the state mightiness tally retired of beds and unit for intensive attraction units wrong days. Kenney apologized for the dire concern and is present reluctantly introducing a vaccine passport and imposing a mandatory work-from-home bid 2 months aft lifting astir each restrictions.

O’Toole, meanwhile, didn’t necessitate his party’s candidates to beryllium vaccinated and would not accidental however galore were not. O’Toole described vaccination arsenic a idiosyncratic wellness decision.

“The statement connected vaccination and Trudeau taking connected the anti-vaccination assemblage helped the Liberals to salvage a run that didn’t commencement good for the party,” Béland said.

Wiseman said the Conservatives were wounded by the concern successful Alberta.

“The detonation of the pandemic successful Alberta successful the past 10 days undermined O’Toole’s compliments of the Alberta Conservatives connected however they had handled the pandemic and reinforced Trudeau’s statement for mandatory vaccinations,” helium said.

U.S. President Joe Biden called Trudeau connected Tuesday to congratulate him.

The 49-year-old Trudeau channeled the prima powerfulness of his father, the Liberal icon and precocious Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, erstwhile helium archetypal won predetermination successful 2015 and has led his enactment to the apical decorativeness successful 2 elections since.

Still, failing to triumph a bulk again whitethorn good spell his demise successful the future, analysts said.

“This whitethorn person been Trudeau’s past election. No 1 but helium and his household knows. He whitethorn emotion authorities and privation to enactment successful arsenic agelong arsenic helium can. Or, helium whitethorn determine that the adjacent predetermination volition beryllium adjacent much hard to triumph and helium does not privation to spell retired arsenic a loser,” Wiseman said.

“The world is that elections, similar the 1 we conscionable had, are usually referendums connected the authorities and its leader. If Trudeau is inactive the Liberal person successful the adjacent election, whoever leads the Conservative volition apt prevail.”

Robert Bothwell, a prof of Canadian past and planetary relations astatine the University of Toronto, said O’Toole mightiness clasp his enactment of the Conservative Party if helium argues they’ll ne'er triumph if they don’t determination to the center.

“Trudeau’s prospects are amended than O’Toole’s,” Bothwell said. “O’Toole whitethorn good beryllium successful trouble.”