Canada election: Where it went wrong for Conservatives

Source: BBC News:

October 22, 2019 at 13:37

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau speaks to supporters at Liberal election headquarters in Montreal, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press)

Canada's Conservative Party have failed to unseat Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party, despite hard questions about his record in government. So what went wrong?

It was certainly not a victory but neither was it a clear defeat for the Conservatives on election night.

The country elected a Liberal minority government with a projected 155 seats out of 338. The Conservatives got 122, according to the CBC election tracker.

But the Conservatives edged out the Liberals in the popular vote - 34.5% to 33%.

"Let's remember this feeling, coming close but falling just short," Conservative leader Andrew Scheer told supporters in Regina, Saskatchewan.

The party made some gains, sweeping the prairies and picking up seats in New Brunswick, Ontario and British Columbia. That leaves the Conservatives with 24 more seats now than they had in 2015.

There was a point in the campaign when it seemed they would win.

With scandals like SNC-Lavalin and revelations about blackface haunting him, Mr Trudeau had never been weaker. Days before the election, some polls projected the Conservatives would win the most seats.

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