Justin Trudeau’s Narrow Victory Lays Path for Net Zero Carbon Canada

After losing majority, Liberals may seek support of progressive parties, opening door for Canada to leap ahead. But some provinces look set to fight back.

Justin Trudeau scraped a second term in office on Monday, with likely support from progressive parties meaning Canada may set a carbon neutral goal for 2050.

Despite losing the popular vote and its majority, prime minister Trudeau’s Liberal party came out on top in Monday’s election, winning 157 electoral districts but falling short of the 170 seats required to form a majority government.

Hit by racism and corruption scandals, Trudeau put climate policy at the heart of his re-election campaign, pledging to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and establishing legally-binding five-year targets.  He yet gave little details about how his administration would achieve the target.

He defeated Conservative challenger Andrew Scheer, who had pledged to dismantle the country’s climate policies and scrap its carbon tax.  Despite winning 34.4% of the vote, the largest share of the ballots, the Conservatives only secured 121 seats, failing to convince voters beyond the party’s strongholds.

Addressing his supporters on election night, Trudeau said he was returning to Ottawa with “a clear mandate”.  “Canadians have voted in favor of a progressive agenda and strong action on climate change,” he said.

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