Toronto (AP) 20 October 2015: Canadians voted for a sharp change in their government on Monday, returning a legendary name for liberals, Trudeau, to the prime minister’s office and resoundingly ending Conservative Stephen Harper’s near-decade in office.
Justin Trudeau, the son of late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, became Canada’s new prime minister after his Liberal Party won a majority of Parliament’s 338 seats. Trudeau’s Liberals had been favored to win the most seats, but few expected the final margin of victory.
Justin Trudeau, a former school teacher and Member of Parliament since 2008, becomes the second youngest prime minister in Canadian history.
Trudeau promises to raise taxes on the rich and run deficits for three years to boost government spending. His late father, who took office in 1968 and led Canada for most of the next 16 years, is a storied name in Canadian history, responsible for the country’s version of the bill of rights.
Canada has shifted to the center-right under Harper, who has lowered sales and corporate taxes, avoided climate change legislation and clashed with the Obama administration over the Keystone XL pipeline.
Harper said he called Trudeau to congratulate him.
The Liberals were elected or were leading in 185 districts, with Trudeau winning his Montreal district. The party needed 170 to gain a majority.
The Conservatives were next with 97, followed by the New Democrats at 28 and Bloc Quebecois with nine.
Regarding Syrian refugees, Trudeau says we must do more for the Syrian refugees fleeing Syria. While the Conservatives set a target of accepting 10,000 Syrian refugees by next September, the Liberals promised to up that to 25,000, beginning immediately. The platform promises to spend $250 million, including $100 million in the current fiscal year, “to increase refugee processing, as well as sponsorship and settlement services capacity in Canada.”