Justin Trudeau, Liberals Win Majority In Canadian Federal Election

CTV is reporting projections that the Canadian Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, has won a majority government with 186 seats in the 2015 Canadian Federal Election. In order to control the Canadian Parliament, 170 votes are needed, this number changed with the addition of 30 new federal ridings for the 2015 election, reports CBC.

The last time the Liberal Party won a majority government was in 2000. Led by Jean Chretien through the 1990s, the Canadian Liberals controlled a series of majority governments. Through the 2000s until today, the Conservatives ran two minority governments before winning a majority in 2011. The results are in, and Canadians have decided that they’ve had enough of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and that they want more Justin Trudeau. Lots more Justin Trudeau.

Results show that the Liberal Party has won about 186 seats and that the Liberals have toppled both Conservatives and New Democrats in strongholds of both parties. The Conservatives captured 40 and 38 percent of popular vote in the last two elections, according to Canadian Parliament.

Is it destiny for Justin Trudeau? The Trudeau name is so inextricably linked with Canadian politics

“Just watch me,” Pierre Elliot Trudeau famously told a reporter, 45 years ago this month — Justin would not be born for another year — who asked if he would invoke the War Measures Act in response to a crisis involving the FLQ.

What is interesting is how relevant this is in 2015. Invoking the War Measures Act to combat terrorists sounds quite similar to another recent piece of legislation: Bill C-51, as reported by the Huffington Post. One cannot help but wonder how Former Prime Minister Trudeau would have felt about Bill C-51.

Prime Minister-elect Trudeau has been quoted by the Globe and Mail about C-51, that he is “committed to bringing in reforms and repealing the sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act that cause so much concern for so many Canadians.”

Under the new bill, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service has broad authority to violate individuals’ Canadian Charter rights. Justin Trudeau and the Liberals have promised to change this provision so that warrants would be required by CSIS to violate charter rights.

Justin Trudeau reportedly once scribbled, “Just watch me,” when a passenger asked him if he thought he could beat Stephen Harper. It looks like Trudeau’s confidence was well-founded.

Joe Clark is the only Canadian Prime Minister to be elected younger. Trudeau is 43 years old.

One thing seems likely. Marijuana looks like it is about to become legal for recreational use in Canada. On October 1, Justin Trudeau was quoted with regard to pot by the CBC.

“We don’t yet know exactly what rate we’re going to be taxing it, how we’re going to control it, or whether it will happen in the first months, within the first year, or whether it’s going to take a year or two to kick in,” Trudeau stated, perhaps with a sense of his pending victory.

Justin Trudeau had not had access to the details of the new TPP trade deal until recently, the Toronto Star reports that NDP leader Thomas Mulcair has accused Trudeau of an outright “backing” of the deal.

The Canadian Green Party has been declared the projected victor in Elizabeth May’s home riding, Saanich-Gulf Islands, where she controls a large portion of the vote. Gilles Duceppe and the Bloc Quebecois have been declared projected winners in 10 ridings, up significantly from the last election.

Conservatives maintained a strong presence throughout Alberta and into southern Saskatchewan. The Atlantic provinces were swept by the Liberals.

As of 4:00 a.m. ET, CTV is reporting that the Liberals have 184 seats. the Conservatives have 99, the NDP has 44, the Bloc Quebecois has 10, and the Green Party has one.

[Feature Screenshot Courtesy of Liberal Party of Canada/YouTube]