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High Voter Turnout Marks Canada’s Federal Election

Canada’s recent federal election witnessed its highest voter turnout since 2015, according to reports from Elections Canada.

The Liberal Party, led by Mark Carney, reclaimed the popular vote, overcoming the challenges of two previous elections where they formed minority governments while trailing the Conservatives in overall support.

As per preliminary results from Elections Canada reported on Tuesday at noon Eastern Time, the Liberals garnered 43.5 percent of the popular vote, representing over 8.3 million ballots cast. In contrast, the Conservative Party, led by Pierre Poilievre, received roughly 41.4 percent of the votes, equating to close to 8 million ballots.

Projected outcomes suggest that the Liberals will secure 168 seats in Parliament, while the Conservatives are expected to win 144 seats.

This election witnessed 19,216,917 individuals participating, signifying a 67.37 percent turnout of registered voters, the highest participation level since 2015.

The previous peak voter turnout was recorded back in 2015 when 68.3 percent of the electorate cast their ballots.

Historical Context of Popular Vote Percentages

It has been over two decades since the winning party achieved over 40 percent of the popular vote, which last occurred in 2000 when former Prime Minister Jean Chretien secured his third consecutive majority. Achieving such a percentage in a multi-party system can be quite challenging.

In rare instances, more than one party surpasses the 40 percent threshold, as was the case in this election with the Liberals and Conservatives. The last occurrence of this was in 1930, when R.B. Bennett and William Lyon Mackenzie King received 47 and 44 percent, respectively.

In Quebec, the Bloc Quebecois, led by Yves-Francois Blanchet, captured 6.7 percent of the vote, totaling approximately 1.2 million ballots, resulting in 23 seats—a decrease from the 32 seats they held four years ago.

Jagmeet Singh’s NDP experienced the most significant setback, receiving only 1,205,131 votes (6.3 percent) and losing official party status in the House of Commons, diminishing from 24 MPs to a projected seven.

The Green Party also faced challenges, with Elizabeth May being the sole member retaining her seat and the party garnering just 1.2 percent of the vote. Jonathan Pedneault lost his bid for election against the Liberals’ Rachel Bendayan. The fate of another Green seat, held by Mike Morrice in Ontario, remains undecided as the party currently trails behind the Conservatives.

Source
globalnews.ca