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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: 1) by purple_cobra on Tuesday October 20 2015, @07:56PM
This is something they'll have a long time to cry over once the Tories have forced through (which is seemingly what all those new Tory peers in the House of Lords were for) the boundary changes. I do, in part, blame the younger generation for not voting in larger numbers; had they done so, it is very unlikely we'd be in the situation we are now. That they *didn't* vote was pure masochism as they're the first ones to get the chop (see tuition fees, student loans, etc). The natural Tory voter is the older home-owner, with pensioners being vastly more likely to vote that way (Tories ensure pensions aren't lowered, pensioners vote Tory), though I should say that there's no evidence that they'd be worse off under any other party (though UKIP pulling up the drawbridge would kill the NHS much faster than the Tories are doing so).
But we're stuck with them for another 5 years and I shudder to think what state we'll be in by then.