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Canada’s Liberal Party has won a general election, ending nearly a decade of Conservative rule.
The Liberals, led by Justin Trudeau, the 43-year-old son of late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau defeated The Conservative PM Stephen Harper who was in power since 2006. At this age, Justin Trudeau is actually only three years younger than Harper when he was first elected in 2006.
After the results Mr. Trudeau said to Canadians:” It’s time for a change, we beat fear with hope, and we beat cynicism with hard work. Most of all we defeated the idea that Canadians should be satisfied with less”. The centrist Liberals won 184 of the 338 seats in the next House of Commons
On the other hand, Mr. Harper said the polls closed that he had congratulated Mr. Trudeau, and that the Conservatives would accept the results “without hesitation”. The conservatives won 99 seats.
Tom Mulcair of the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) said he had “congratulated Mr. Trudeau on his exceptional achievement”. The NDP is on course to win 44 seats, less than half the number they held in the outgoing parliament.
In the election campaign that lasted to 11 weeks, the Liberal Party said they will Cut income taxes for middle-class Canadians while increasing them for the wealthy, Run deficits for three years to pay for infrastructure spending, Do more to address environmental concerns over the controversial Keystone oil pipeline, Take in more Syrian refugees, and pull out of bombing raids against Islamic State while bolstering training for Iraqi forces, and Legalize marijuana.
Mr. Trudeau is from a family often compared to the Kennedys in the United States. His father Pierre Trudeau, who died in 2000, was the prime minister from 1968 to 1979, and from 1980 to 1984. He is considered the father of modern Canada. He established the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, decriminalized homosexuality and pushed for the bilingualism and multiculturalism that have become an integral part of Canadian national identity.
Liberals hoped when they made Justin Trudeau leader that his youth and famous name would revitalize the party in time to challenge the Conservatives in 2015. In two years, Justin Trudeau brought in Can$37 million to the party and attracted 57,000 volunteers to the campaign, while party membership rose tenfold to 300,000.
There is no fixed transition period under Canada’s constitution. Mr. Trudeau is expected to be sworn in a few weeks’ times.
