Liberals win snap election with minority government

NEWS

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to media after the swearing-in ceremony of the 29th Canadian Ministry in Ottawa, Ont. on Nov. 20, 2019. CREDIT: ADAM SCOTTI / OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER

Liberals win snap election with minority government

Election sees liberals take home the win, lower voter turnout in Guelph, and several hundred U of G students casting their ballots

ELENI KOPSAFTIS

Following 36 days of campaigning, Justin Trudeau and the Liberal party won the Sept. 20, 2021 snap federal election with a minority government. According to the National Post, the Conservative party briefly seemed on track to win by popular vote as they gathered 34 per cent support compared to the Liberal party’s 32 per cent. However, urban and suburban areas have more seats, and voters in these regions were more supportive of the Liberals. The Liberals now hold 159 seats out of the 338 in the House of Commons. The Conservatives hold 119, the Bloc Québécois hold 33, the New Democratic Party (NDP) holds 25, and the Greens hold two. The People’s Party and all “Others” didn’t win any seats.

Despite Trudeau’s hopes of winning with a majority government, these results have largely kept the state of parliament the same as before the election was called.

“You are sending us back to work with a clear mandate to get Canada through this pandemic and to the brighter days ahead,” said Trudeau. “What we’ve seen tonight is that millions of Canadians have chosen a progressive plan.”

In Guelph, local Liberal Candidate Lloyd Longfield was re-elected for a third term when he won roughly 42 per cent of the vote.

Conservative Candidate Ashish Sacha came in at 24 per cent, NDP candidate Aisha Jahangir recieved 21 per cent, Green Party Candidate Michelle Bowman received 7.5 per cent, and People's Party of Canada Candidate Josh Leier received approximately five per cent.

According to GuelphToday, voter turnout in Guelph was 10 per cent lower than the last federal election, a significant drop as only 65,625 out of 105,863 eligible electors cast their ballot.

This data only includes 246 polls out of 247 and does not include voters who registered on election day.

Particularly of note, hundreds of people who were not pre-registered got held up in line at the Delta Hotel and Conference Centre Guelph past the 9:30 p.m. voting deadline. Individuals mostly consisted of University of Guelph students.

Those who arrived before the deadline were still allowed to wait and vote.

In past years, polling stations were set up at over 100 post-secondary institutions through Elections Canada’s Vote on Campus program. However, due to the pandemic, no such polling stations were organized on campuses this year, including at the U of G. Some have criticized the decision since it would have facilitated a speedier voting process for students.

Nevertheless, locals took to social media to praise students for taking the time to cast their vote.