Opinion polls indicate no party will gain a majority of seats in the Canadian election on Monday, for the second straight time, leaving one of the two front-runners - Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or Conservative leader Erin O'Toole - trying to govern with a minority.
Trudeau, who has led a minority government since 2019, called an early election in a bid to capitalize on the Liberals' handling of the pandemic and swing to a majority.If Trudeau wins a majority of the 338 seats in the House of Commons, he will remain prime minister. A party needs at least 170 seats for a majority. The Liberals currently have 155 seats.
If the result is a minority, the incumbent prime minister has the opportunity to test his or her standing with a vote of confidence. That would be the case even if Trudeau wins fewer seats than O'Toole. There is little chance of a formal coalition, where New Democrats would serve in a Trudeau Cabinet. Canada has had only one coalition and that was in 1917, during World War One.
That does not have to happen immediately, especially if there are automatic recounts in some seats where the results are particularly tight. The COVID-19 pandemic has also seen a record number of mail-in ballots, which could further delay results.
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