Headlines from the last seven days

1 CANADA

Liberals wins third term after early vote gamble

Justin Trudeau won a third term as Canada’s prime minister, with his Liberal party taking most votes in the snap election, an outcome he called a “clear mandate” to get the country through the pandemic.

Voters did not give Trudeau a hoped-for majority, meaning he will once again need to work with other parties to pass legislation.

Final results gave his Liberals 158 seats – short of the 170 needed for a parliamentary majority. Erin O’Toole’s opposition Conservatives had 119. The result largely mirrored the outcome of the 2019 election.

The prime minister gambled by calling an election in August in the hope that the government’s pandemic response could boost his party’s power in parliament.

While the opposition Conservatives led in the national popular vote, O’Toole’s centrist campaign failed to persuade enough voters to toss out the Liberal party after six years in power. The progressive New Democratic party, led by Jagmeet Singh, won 25 electoral seats, which means it has fallen short of its hope to reach “kingmaker” status. The Bloc Québécois took 34 seats and the Green party won two.

2 RUSSIA

Putin party wins ‘sham’ election but support wavers

Russia’s ruling United Russia party, which supports president Vladimir Putin, retained its majority