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CANADIANS WILL GO to the polls on October 21, after it was announced today that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau requested to dissolve Parliament.
Local press say that Trudeau went to Rideau Hall today to request from the Governor General that parliament be dissolved. This was accepted, which triggered a federal election.
Speaking to press following the event, Trudeau said that the election will give Canadians “a chance to vote for the kind of Canada they want to live in”.
When Trudeau was elected to the role of Prime Minister, he made headlines for picking a gender-balanced Cabinet.
The election wasn’t surprise news – parties have already been wooing voters with pre-election ads, announcements and whistle stops in key battlegrounds across the country.
Liberal Party
Elected in 2015, Trudeau and the Liberal Party will be battling to hold onto a majority in parliament against untested rivals Andrew Scheer of the Conservatives and New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh, as well as the Greens led by Elizabeth May.
Voters will choose all 338 members of the House of Commons, with the latest poll on Tuesday showing the Liberals reclaiming a slight lead over the Tories.
Accusations of Trudeau meddling in a criminal prosecution sent the Liberals’ popularity tumbling at the start of the year.
Meanwhile, climate change and affordability are widely predicted to be the main issues in the campaign.
The Canadian economy is strong, posting second-quarter growth of 3.7 percent and almost half a million new jobs created in the last year. But the economic gains have not been widely felt, and Canadians have increasingly expressed concern about a rising cost of living.
Trudeau’s mixed first term
Throughout his first term, Trudeau cast himself as a champion in the fight against global warming, while Scheer has vowed to roll back a federal carbon levy as his first act in office, if elected.
Over the past four years the Liberals have legalised cannabis, boosted Canada’s resettlement of refugees, negotiated a new continental free trade deal with the US and Mexico, and concluded trade pacts with the EU and Pacific nations.
The Trudeau government also oversaw the largest military procurement in Canadian history, to replace warships and fighter jets.
But Trudeau’s political agenda was often sidelined by crises, including diplomatic and trade rows with the US, India, Saudi Arabia and China.
China has detained two Canadian nationals in apparent retaliation for Canada’s arrest of a Chinese tech executive on a US warrant.
As host of the 2018 G7 summit, Trudeau found himself the target of accusations of weakness and dishonesty by US President Donald Trump after the US suddenly pulled out of the joint final statement.
The nationalising an oil pipeline to salvage the construction project after years of delays due to protests and legal challenges also drew the ire of environmental activists that year.
But Trudeau’s image suffered the worst hit after he expelled from the Liberal Party two senior ministers — both women, one of them Canada’s first indigenous attorney general — for criticising his alleged meddling in the prosecution of engineering giant SNC-Lavalin to try to save jobs.
In recent months, the Liberals managed to claw back some of that lost support.
According to Mainstreet Research, the Liberals now have 38% support, versus 34% for the Tories. The survey of 1,876 Canadians was conducted from September 6 to 8, with a 2.3% margin of error.
The polling data also showed that the Green Party, with 11% support, could leapfrog the New Democrats at eight percent to claim third place in parliament for the first time.
The Greens currently have only two seats in the lower house. The second was only won in a by-election in May.
- Additional reporting AFP
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New socks !!!!
@sinead foley-coleman: How dare you assume his footwear.
@Dara O’Brien: True Mr. O Brien very true…… I “stand” corrected for my “foot” in mouth faux pas. I haven’t a leg to stand on !!
@sinead foley-coleman: That’s toe-tally alright Sinead. You probably hit the nail on the head with the joke. I was only calf serious really – pulling your leg even. I think I just like playing the heel
@Dara O’Brien: what kind of mind trickery is this?
@Dara O’Brien: oh you are soleless Mr. O. Brien says I with an ARCHed eyebrow. Let’s not be corny now !!!
Wasn’t there a bit of a scandal a couple of months back with this lad, kept his head down since then.
At least he legalised cannabis
@Robert Phelan: just wish the UK would do it as well so lapdog Ireland will follow suit
@Chonky Racoon: Hope not
Other countries can call GEs with the uncertainty of Brexit…
@Artugal: and would it really make a difference having a FF or FG government?
@Artugal: Gonna go out on a limb here and assume you didn’t know but, Canada is not in the UK or in Europe
@Dara O’Brien: do you think the implications of Brexit stop at the borders of U.K., and Europe? Thanks for your concern but I’m well aware of my geography.
@Artugal: Brexit is no more than a pimple on the backside of Canada. The world markets have not batted an eyelid over the past two weeks – in fact they are closing in on record highs.
Brexit is an issue for the Irish Economy, the British Economy and, to a lesser extent, the European Economy. It has no bearing on Canada, the US, China, Japan etc etc.
You may be aware of Geography but it seems that your knowledge of Geopolitical risks to the world economy is, shall we say, a little lacking.
@Dara O’Brien: maybe your aware of the free trade deal that Canada and the U.K. previously agreed, that is dependent on U.K. leaving – regardless of how dismissive you feel like it is it was big enough to be well reported. The happenings of Brexit reach beyond Europe, regardless of how well you’ve studied the map. Ask the Falklands…
@Artugal: ah here lad, you’re looking at the Falkands – a British Overseas Territory (I.e. part of Britain) with a population of less than 4,000 who export 95% of their fish to Europe and equating that to Canada – really?
The falklands are also but a pimple on the world economy. I’m out man – you’re reaching …
@Dara O’Brien: yeah I don’t care bud, I didn’t compare the falklands economy to the Canadian economy anywhere; I quite clearly stated that the impact of Brexit is felt outside Europe. If that’s too much for your brain to comprehend then I understand. Enjoy your maps.
@Artugal: there is no Canada-UK free trade deal. There is a Canada-EU deal known as CETA which has been partially up and running since 2017 (awaiting last members to ratify).
Soy Boy
Slang used to describe males who completely and utterly lack all necessary masculine qualities. This pathetic state is usually achieved by an over-indulgence of emasculating products and/or ideologies.
The origin of the term derives from the negative effects soy consumption has been proven to have on the male physique and libido.
The average soy boy is a feminist, nonathletic, has never been in a fight, will probably marry the first girl that has sex with him, and likely reduces all his arguments to labeling the opposition as “Nazis”.
Isn’t there a third wheel party in Canada, NDP or something . Led by a sheikh if I’m not mistaken .
@John Quill: The New Democrat Party (Canada’s version of the Labour Party) is led by a Canadian of Sikh ancestry. As for third wheel, that position it shares with the Bloc Québécois (like Canada’s version of the Scottish National Party), and with increasingly, the Green Party of Canada. The NDP have never held power in Canada but at various times have had major influence on policy, such as when they were able to encourage the formation of Canada’s public health care after the NDP (known as the CCF then) brought in a similar program to Saskatchewan (for useless trivia, this was led by Tommy Douglas who was the actor Kierfer Sullivan’s grandfather).
have your say