Canada's Opposition Wins Historic Elections

 

The party leader Justin Trudeau is set to become Canada's new prime minister after his Liberal Party surged ahead of the incumbent party, ending nearly a decade of Conservative Party rule.

The 43-year-old Trudeau - the eldest son of Pierre Trudeau, who is considered the father of modern Canada, led his party's stunning electoral performance in a federal election on Monday.

While the final vote count was not yet complete, Trudeau's Liberals were on track to win 174 of Parliament's 338 seats, according to Elections Canada.

Early results on Monday showed the Liberals swept all 32 seats in the country's Atlantic provinces, doubling their popular support in the region, and scored well in key Ontario and Quebec provinces.

Trudeau is on track to break the record for the biggest gain in seats in an election, which was previously held by the Conservatives, who added 111 seats in the 1984 election. It is the largest percentage increase in seats ever gained by a party in an election.

Trudeau, who took over a party in shambles in 2013, trailed early in the campaign, brushed off by his opponents as being more style than substance and an intellectual lightweight who was not ready for the job.