BR FedElxn Roundup – CP

Source: The Canadian Press – Broadcast wire
Oct 20, 2015

REPEATS with final figures.

(FedElxn)

Trudeaumania 2.0.

Justin Trudeau, the son of one of Canada’s most popular prime ministers, is following in his dad Pierre’s footsteps, as he directed the Liberals to a stunning majority victory in the federal election.

The Liberals soundly defeated the governing Conservatives, winning 184 seats, well above the 170 needed for majority status.

The Conservatives were a distant second with 99 seats, and the New Democrats managed just 44.

In Quebec, the Bloc Quebecois took 10 seats but party leader Gilles Duceppe lost in his riding.

Green party Leader Elizabeth May was re-elected but her party couldn’t improve on that single seat.

In 1968, Liberal election signs representing the style of the day, read “Go, Go, Trudeau” as Canadians went head over heels for the charisma of Pierre Trudeau — and Monday, history repeated itself.

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(Trudeau)

Canada’s incoming prime minister appeared to be almost shocked at the overwhelming mandate given to him by Canadians.

In his victory speech, Justin Trudeau thanked his supporters and emphasized that politics can carry a positive message.

He said the process does not have to be negative and personal to be successful, a subtle shot at Conservative attack ads that claimed he was “just not ready” to lead the country.

He will be returning to his childhood home of 24 Sussex Drive, where he grew up during Pierre Trudeau’s 16 years as P-M.

The younger Trudeau is also the first leader to lift a party from third-place status to an election win.

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(Popular-Vote)

The red river of support the Liberals enjoyed from coast-to-coast was also evident in the popular vote.

The Grits garnered 40 per cent of voting support from Canadians, compared to 32 per cent for the Conservatives.

That matches the 40 per cent the Tories won when they swept to a majority in 2011.

In this election, the New Democrats only captured 19 per cent of the popular vote, compared to 30 per cent four years ago.

The Bloc Quebecois had five per cent and the Greens, three.

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(Harper)

Stephen Harper’s run as prime minister in Canada has come to an end.

And his days as Conservative party leader are expected to also be short.

It is believed Harper will stay on as an M-P for his own riding of Calgary Heritage, but will now look to his party to choose an interim replacement.

In a statement, party president John Walsh said he has spoken with Harper and “he has instructed me to reach out to the newly elected parliamentary caucus to appoint an interim leader.”

Walsh will also ask the party’s governing body to start the process of appointing a leadership organizing committee to set the ground rules for an impending race.

In his concession speech, Harper said the results were not what he had hoped for but said he accepts it without hesitation as the people are never wrong.

He also offered his congratulations to his successor and offered Justin Trudeau his full co-operation in the transition over the coming days.

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(Mulcair)

New Democrat Leader Tom Mulcair was hoping to maintain the party’s Orange Wave, established four years ago under late leader Jack Layton.

But the support crumbled, leaving the N-D-P in control of just 44 seats after capturing 103 ridings in 2011 — 59 of them in Quebec alone.

Mulcair narrowly won his seat, but N-D-P stars including deputy leader Megan Leslie and foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar fell to Liberal challengers.

Olivia Chow, Layton’s widow, succumbed to Liberal Adam Vaughan in downtown Toronto.

In his concession speech, Mulcair said he congratulated Trudeau on his “exceptional achievement both for him and his party,” adding that Trudeau made ambitious commitments and “Canadians will have high expectations for their next Parliament.”

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(Regions)

The Liberal surge started in Atlantic Canada and rolled across the country — with the Liberals even making inroads in what had virtually been a Prairie wasteland.

The Grits won all 32 seats out east before surging into central Canada where they went from a handful of seats to the majority of seats in Quebec and more than 80 seats in Ontario after the N-D-P vote faded.

After winning just two seats in all three Prairie provinces in 2011, the Liberals held their lone riding in Saskatchewan and made gains in Manitoba and even Alberta — picking off a total of 11 ridings although the Conservatives remained dominant in the region.

The Liberals also made big gains in B-C — going from two seats to 18, with the New Democrats second with 12, the Tories holding only 11 and Green Party leader Elizabeth May winning re-election as her party’s lone representative in Ottawa. (The Canadian Press)

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(Familiar-Names)

Many familiar names from Parliament Hill were swept away by the Liberal wave.

On the Conservative side, cabinet ministers Joe Oliver, Chris Alexander, Gail Shea and Bernard Valcourt all lost their seats to Liberal challengers.

Prominent New Democrats who failed to be re-elected included deputy party leader Megan Leslie, party foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar and Nycole Turmel, who was interim party leader after Jack Layton died

A number of other key politicians, including quadriplegic Conservative Steven Fletcher, who championed a private member’s bill on assisted suicide, and Paul Calandra, the prime minister’s parliamentary secretary, went down to defeat.

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(Transition)

The votes have been counted, the victory speech made — and now Justin Trudeau’s new government will have less than a month to get up and running before a series of international summits will command his time.

His first G-20 summit in Turkey, in mid-November, will be followed immediately by the leader’s summit for Pacific Rim countries, in the Philippines.

The Commonwealth heads of government summit is scheduled for near the end of that month in Malta followed by the United Nations climate change conference in Paris, November 30th to December 11th.

Sometime prior to that, Trudeau will squeeze in a meeting with Canada’s premiers, with whom he’s promised to develop a national plan for cutting carbon emissions in time for Paris.

As for future cabinet ministers, Trudeau has plenty to talent to pick from, and in a controversial email that sparked his resignation as Liberal campaign co-chair last week, Dan Gagnier predicted a cabinet of just 25 members.

—

(Cabinet)

The Liberal government was barely a few hours old when speculation began about who might be in the new federal cabinet.

Andrew Leslie, a former Canadian Forces lieutenant-general, and former Toronto police chief Bill Blair are among a raft of high-profile star candidates who ran and won.

Leslie said last night in Ottawa that he hasn’t discussed a possible cabinet position with Trudeau but he did not rule out the possibility.

New faces on the Grit team include former Assembly of First Nations regional chief Jody Wilson-Raybould, Ottawa social justice lawyer Catherine McKenna and Quebec lawyer Melanie Joly — who could possibly play a role in a cabinet Trudeau has promised will be 50 per cent women.

Experienced Liberal party members, including Ralph Goodale and Scott Brison, are also expected to play a key role in the new government.

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(Trudeau-Dosanjh)

Ujjal Dosanjh, a former Liberal Health Minister, says that while incoming prime minister Justin Trudeau has inspired Canadians at the polls, his real work lies ahead.

The popular Vancouver politician says Trudeau cannot afford to be arrogant when he begins to govern and must carry himself as the top most public servant of the country.

He added that the Liberal party on the whole must stop believing it is the natural governing party.

As for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Dosanjh joked that he was a good singer and a great hockey fan _ but steered Canada toward his own vision that Canadians finally rejected.

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(Canada-Expats)

At a popular watering hole for Canadian expats in Washington, a number of boisterous Canucks involved in international affairs were doubly thrilled as the events of the evening unfolded.

At O’Sullivan’s, not only did they celebrate the Toronto Blue Jays’ baseball win in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, they cheered the loss of the Conservative government.

One attendee from a group of financial workers, political consultants and Canadians who work in American politics said, “You could go around this room and not find a single Conservative supporter.”

Making matters more personal, some had their right to vote recently stripped from them.

Voting rights were taken from people working abroad for more than five years, which affected many of the 120 or so people crowded into the pub.

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(FedElxn Roundup by Chris Mayberry and Ellen Huebert)

(The Canadian Press)

INDEX: NATIONAL