Canada’s status quo election: Trudeau returned with another minority, faces uncertain future
Canada’s status quo election: Trudeau returned with another minority, faces uncertain future
September 21, 2021
By Kimberly Speers
Public Administration Teaching Professor, University of Victoria
The 2021 Canadian election results were almost a mirror of the results of the 2019 vote. After calling an election in the middle of a fourth COVID-19 wave, Justin Trudeau’s gamble for a majority government failed.
It won’t be an easy time for the re-elected Liberal minority government to lead. There are a multitude of crises the Liberals are returning to and must address — including the impact of climate change, housing affordability, opioid abuse and economic issues like deficit and debt management.
The next election will need to be held by 2025, unless the Liberal government is defeated in a non-confidence motion. It seems likely that by then, voters will have tired of Trudeau and seek a change of vision — if he’s still leader.
If the Liberals were to call another early election, it would likely devastate the party, perhaps in a manner similar to what happened to the Progressive Conservative Party in 1993 when it went from a majority to holding two seats.
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