Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a news conference that Canadians gave him a lot to think about on Monday night and he is going to take the time necessary to really reflect on how best to serve Canadians. Trudeau’s grip on power was weakened after an election this week. He has said he will reach out to his opponents. But there is no question of forming a government in coalition.
Trudeau’s tone was notably more muted compared to what it had been on Monday, when he triumphantly told supporters he had been given a new mandate to pursue priorities such as climate change. In Monday’s voting the ruling Liberals lost their parliamentary majority. Now they will have to rely on other parties to govern. Thus putting more strain on national unity at the top, Trudeau ally lost his seat and the Liberals were wiped out in two western provinces.
Liberal officials are saying that Trudeau will seek support in parliament on a case-by-case basis. He will most likely seek it from the left-leaning New Democrats and then can easily survive for two years. Trudeau said that he can tell the Canadians that it is not in their plan to form any sort of formal or informal coalition and added that he would reach out to all party leaders in the coming weeks.
Despite losing the popular vote to Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives, the Liberals ended up with more seats than any other party. Their most likely partners, The New Democrats, will most likely demand an action on a list of their priorities such as increased social spending.