Canada election: Liberals sweep to power

Canada’s Liberal Party has decisively won a general election, ending nearly a decade of Conservative rule.

Canada’s Liberal Party has decisively won a general election, ending nearly a decade of Conservative rule.

The centrist Liberals, led by Justin Trudeau, started the campaign in third place but in a stunning turnaround now command a majority.

Mr Trudeau, the 43-year-old son of late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, said Canadians had voted for real change.

Incumbent Conservative PM Stephen Harper – in power since 2006 – has congratulated his rival.

Justin Trudeau is son of late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, considered the father of modern Canada.

When Mr Harper first announced that this year’s general election campaign would be a record 78 days long, conventional wisdom was it would benefit the Conservatives, giving them more time to bring their financial advantages to bear.

In hindsight, however, the lengthy campaign gave Mr Trudeau an opportunity to introduce himself to Canadians and overcome Conservative attacks that characterised the 43-year-old former high-school drama teacher as too inexperienced to lead the Canadian nation.

Mr Trudeau also successfully outmanoeuvred the New Democratic Party, campaigning to that party’s left on economic issues.

For Mr Trudeau, the hard work of bringing the Liberal Party back from the ashes is over. Now, as the next prime minister of Canada, the even harder work of governing is about to begin.

BBC