Canada Elections 2019: Trudeau's Liberal Party wins but loses majority

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party held onto power in a nail-biter of a Canadian General Election yesterday, but as a weakened minority government.

Television projections declared the Liberals winners or leading in 157 of the nation's 338 electoral districts, versus 121 for his main rival Andrew Scheer and the Conservatives, after polling stations across six time zones closed.

The 47-year-old former school teacher dominated Canadian politics over the four years of his first term but faced a grilling during the



40-day election campaign, which was described as one of the nastiest in Canadian history.

The Bloc Quebecois came back from a ruinous 2015 election result, tapping into lingering Quebec nationalism to take 32 seats, while the New Democratic Party (NDP) won 25 seats, according to projections.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, a leftist former criminal defence lawyer, is the first non-white leader of a federal political party in Canada, and will likely emerge as the kingmaker.