Breaking: Liberals Win A Minority Government for Canada

According to several news outlets, the Liberal Party has won a minority government, winning 156 seats in Parliament.

This is significantly short of the 170 required for a majority government, but it does mean that Justin Trudeau remains Prime Minister of Canada, despite the recent SNC-Lavalin and blackface/brownface scandals.  The Andrew Scheer-led Conservatives will be the Official Opposition, winning 121 ridings, including a complete sweep of Saskatchewan and a near-sweep of Alberta and Manitoba.

Bloc Quebecois (32) and the New Democratic Party (25) earned official party status. BQ was especially surprising as the big winners of the night, gaining 22 seats.  The Greens, expected to make big gains and possibly gain official party status, only one three ridings, with a single riding – Vancouver Granville – going to independent candidate Jody Wilson-Raybould.

The average minority government lasts 1 year and 7 months, and it is widely speculated that a new election will be called in the not-so-distant future.