Justin Trudeau, Canada's Liberal Party end Prime Minister Stephen Harper's rule. Canadians voted for a sweeping change in government Monday, giving Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau a majority to end the nearly 10-year rule of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Election returns showed Trudeau's Liberals winning a majority of the 338 seats in Parliament. Trudeau, 43, the oldest son of the late prime minister Pierre, will become the second youngest prime minister in Canadian history. “There’s no question that people in this country ... wanted real change,” said Newfoundland Liberal candidate Seamus O’Regan, who ousted the incumbent in his district by a wide margin. The Liberals’ success in Atlantic Canada, he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC), was a result of running “a campaign of optimism.” Voters in Canada had a choice to hand Harper, 56, and his Conservative Party a rare fourth term, or turn left under Trudeau. Pre-election polls gave an edge to Trudeau. The campaign lasted 11 weeks and was the country's longest and most expensive in more than 140 years. Trudeau had promised to cut taxes for the middle class, raise taxes on the wealthiest 1% and boost government deficits to stimulate Canada's sluggish economy. "We have a chance to bring real change to Canada and bring an end to the Harper decade," Trudeau said earlier Monday in Harper's adopted home province of Alberta, traditionally a Conservative stronghold, according to the Associated Press. Trudeau is a former schoolteacher and member of Parliament since 2008. He and his wife, the former model and television host Sophie Gregoire, have three young children. Trudeau has proposed improving relations between Canada and the United States. Harper's strong stance in favor of the Keystone XL pipeline that would carry crude from Alberta to Texas has clashed with President Obama's reluctance about the project. Trudeau supports the pipeline but says relations between the two major trading partners should not hinge on one project. Harper also clashed with Obama on other issues, including the historic nuclear agreement that the United States and other world powers recently reached with Iran. He has been hawkish on defense, but has been hurt politically by a weak economy this year. Harper tweeted earlier Monday, "Today, I'm asking you to vote Conservative to protect Canadian jobs and our economy," the AP reported. Harper has nudged the traditionally center-left country to the right, lowering sales and corporate taxes, avoiding climate change legislation and supporting the oil industry against environmentalists. He campaigned on a promise of ensuring "stability, not risk" and cast Trudeau as "just not ready" for higher office. But Trudeau's performances in five debates received strong reviews and a surge in pre-election polls. Trudeau's iconic father was elected prime minister in 1968 and held the office almost continuously until 1984. The charismatic politician, who was a bachelor when he became prime minister, often drew comparisons to John F. Kennedy. At age 51, he married 22-year-old Margaret Sinclair, who earned notoriety as first lady for partying with the Rolling Stones and at New York's Studio 54, the AP reported. The couple had three sons but divorced when Justin was 6. The boys were raised by their father, who died in 2000. Canadian election rules allow candidates to win parliamentary districts with a plurality of the vote rather than an outright majority. That makes it possible for a party to win a majority of seats with less than a majority of the national vote.

• published: 20 Oct 2015
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