The Liberal Party of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to win the early federal elections held on Monday, September 20, in Canada, according to projections made at the closure of polling stations across the country by the public broadcasting group Radio-Canada. 

Justin Trudeau's Liberals are on their way to winning the Canadian legislative elections, a half-victory however for the outgoing Prime Minister who failed to regain a majority after a campaign during which he was abused.

According to projections by the Canadian media on Monday evening, the preliminary results confirm that the Liberal party would obtain around 155 seats, below the threshold of 170 seats allowing to obtain a majority.

The partial results released by the electoral commission also put the Liberal Party in the lead in 155 districts nationwide, the same as before the poll, including 109 districts in Ontario and Quebec.

The Tories are credited with victory in 121 districts.

These projections do not immediately determine whether Justin Trudeau will obtain a parliamentary majority, his goal by calling an election two years before the initial end of the current legislature.

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Final results expected from Tuesday

In this country with six time zones, the last polling stations closed at 7 p.m. (4 a.m. Tuesday in Paris), in the west, in British Columbia, on the Pacific coast and in the Yukon.

The polling stations, some of which were operated with reduced staff due to the sanitary measures in force, reported the results more slowly than traditionally.

In Ontario, the most populous province, long lines at the entrance to some polling stations forced voters to wait several hours to be able to cast their ballot.

It could take several days to know the final results, while the some 800,000 ballots sent by mail will be counted only from this Tuesday to ensure the absence of "duplicates" - vote by mail and vote by person from the same elector.

A risky ballot

Justin Trudeau called an election two years before the initial end of the current legislature in the hope of securing a parliamentary majority, as he has since 2019 led a minority government that must rely on other parties to get his bills passed.

The poll was presented by the Liberals as an opportunity for voters to vote on the Trudeau government's handling of the coronavirus health crisis.

The decision to call a snap election as a new wave of the epidemic hits the country has proved unpopular, and the Liberal Party's lead in voting intentions has melted as the campaign continues.

Within the Liberal ranks, some conceded that it would be difficult to secure the 170 seats needed to have a majority in the House of Commons, made up of 338 seats.

With AFP and Reuters

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