Justin Trudeau will become Canada’s next prime minister after leading his Liberal Party to a commanding victory in Tuesday’s parliamentary elections.
The Canadian Broadcasting Company is projecting the Liberals will win more than 180 seats in the 338-seat Parliament, with outgoing Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party winning 104 seats and the left-leaning New Democratic Party finishing a distant third with 36 seats.
Trudeau claimed victory before a crowd of cheering supporters in Montreal late Monday night, saying the campaign proved “this is what positive politics can do” and that he hoped it will serve as “an inspiration to like-minded people to step up and pitch in.”
Moments before, Harper congratulated Trudeau in a concession speech in Calgary late Monday, saying “while tonight’s results are not one we had hoped for, the people are never wrong.” The Conservative Party later announced that Harper will step down from his post as its leader.
