With Canada’s federal election taking place today, our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, champion of legalization and free trade (of weed), finds himself weakened by business. Opposing him is Andrew Sheer, a pro-Trump, anti-abortion, anti-cannabis conservative.
To the polls, citizens!
The first polls opened this morning in Newfoundland and Labrador at 8:30 a.m. local time (11 a.m. GMT), while the last voters in British Columbia (west) will cast their ballots until 2 a.m. GMT.
The first results should be in by 6pm Montreal time (midnight GMT), after some 27.4 million Canadians, electing our 338 MPs, have gone to the polling booth.
The latest projections put Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party (PdC) between 31 and 34% of voting intentions, while the Conservatives (PcC) would obtain between 32 and 33% of ballots. These figures would not allow either party to break the 170-seat barrier that guarantees an absolute majority.
A weakened Justin Trudeau
At 47, the Democratic incumbent no longer has the youthful edge – Andrew Scheer, on the other hand, is 40 and could represent the youthful edge that helped bring his opponent to power four years ago.
Faced with Trudeau, this uncomplicated Catholic, 1.93m tall and father of five, promised a return to balanced budgets and tax cuts, with the same nationalist-flavored slogan that carried his campaign for 40 days: “Putting money back in the pockets of Canadians”.
A Conservative candidate who has tried in recent days to compensate for an image somewhat tarnished by attacks on Justin Trudeau that some would describe as vile.
A campaign fraught with controversy
Trudeau ends his mandate weakened by a number of issues, including two recent ones that Scheer has made the most of.
The first accuses Trudeau of political interference in a legal proceeding, the second being the publication of photos of the outgoing Prime Minister dressed as a black man.
Throughout the campaign, Justin Trudeau defended his record: a solid economy, legalized cannabis, a carbon tax, the welcoming of tens of thousands of Syrian refugees, free trade agreements signed with Europe, the United States and Mexico… A record that will not be undermined if the Conservatives win.
Andrew Scheer has promised not to go back on gay marriage or the legalization of cannabis consumption if his party wins the federal election. This is good news for our country, which, like France, is not one to call into question its noblest achievements.
Z.W
