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Canadians voted for a sweeping change in government Monday, giving Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau a majority to end the nearly 10-year rule of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Election returns showed Trudeau's Liberals winning a majority of the 338 seats in Parliament. With 85% of polls reporting, the Liberals either won or were leading in 185 seats. The party needed to win 170 seats for a majority government.
Trudeau, 43, the oldest son of the late prime minister Pierre, will become the second youngest prime minister in Canadian history.
The story is being carried by USA Today and just about every major news outlet. There were some economic takes on the election as well.
takyon: Results at CBC and BBC. DeSmog Canada has an analysis focusing on potential shifts in environmental and science policies:
The Liberal party has taken a strong stance on the war on science in Canada, promising to free scientists to speak publicly about their work. Trudeau has also promised to instate a Parliamentary Science Officer to ensure transparency, expertise and independence of federal scientists. This position will mirror that of the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
In addition to unmuzzling scientists, the party also wants to work collaboratively with the provinces, First Nations and other stakeholders when it comes to ocean management. This is significant in light of the Conservative government's de-funding of numerous marine science programs, including the only research being conducted into the effects of industrial pollutants on marine mammals. The Liberal party has promised to reinstate $40 million of funding for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 20 2015, @03:29PM
One can see how that can be abused, but that is also a realistic scenario to be in. It is easy to make promises on the campaign trail if you don't or can't know what what the ramifications are, or whether something is even possible. For example, it is easy to say that you'd close Gitmo, but then you find out that you can't because you either don't have anywhere to release prisoners, Congress blocks you from transferring them elsewhere, or the home countries refuse to take them in.
(Score: 2) by davester666 on Wednesday October 21 2015, @12:41AM
It's relative. For example, the Liberals wanted to get rid of the GST, it was the main point of their campaign. Oops, no, we can't afford to do that, like that was a huge surprise.