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Canadian Conservatives take new province: projections
MONTREAL, April 24, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Canada’s Conservatives won another
province Tuesday in legislative elections in eastern Prince Edward Island —
while the Liberals in power, affiliated with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s
party, finished third, according to Canadian television projections.
The Progressive Conservative Party, led by Dennis King, won a minority
government — having failed to secure the 14 seats needed to form a majority.
King was immediately congratulated by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who
said he looked forward to working with him.
The Green Party was favorite in the polls, but failed to become the first
party of its kind to lead a Canadian province, taking second place. However,
leader Peter Bevan-Baker will be leader of the official opposition — a first
in Canada.
Liberals and Conservatives had been in power since the province’s creation
in 1873.
The Liberal Party, which came in third, had since 2007 governed what is the
smallest province in Canada — with outgoing premier Wade MacLauchlan seeking
a fourth consecutive term.
“It’s something that happens in politics,” he told reporters. “The tide has
changed.”
Tuesday’s results marked the latest in a series of right-wing victories at
the provincial level in recent months, after Ontario, New Brunswick, Quebec
and Alberta.
And it was another disappointment for Prime Minister Trudeau, who in six
months faces federal elections — with polls showing Conservative Andrew
Scheer as the favorite.
Trudeau is also in the middle of the most serious political crisis he has
experienced in office, after his former attorney general unleashed
accusations of political meddling in the criminal prosecution of a corporate
giant.
In Prince Edward’s Island, the election campaign ended on a tragic note, as
a Green Party candidate and his son drowned after their canoe capsized. A by-
election will be held in that constituency at a late date.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0945 hrs