Justin Trudeau’s Liberals win minority government in 2021 federal election
Photo credit: The Canadian Press
Canada’s next Parliament will feature another Liberal minority government headed up by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. No party reached the 170 seats needed to declare a majority, and there are some tight contests that will be determined with the counting of 800-thousand mail-in ballots. But results show the Liberals leading or elected in about 158 ridings. Erin O’Toole’s Conservatives are leading or elected in 119-to-121 seat; Jagmeet Singh’s N-D-P is at about 25, while the Bloc Quebecois is up to 34. The Green Party still holds two seats, but leader Annamie Paul failed to win a seat in Parliament, placing fourth to Liberal incumbent Marci Ien. People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier also did not get elected in his Quebec riding. Elections Canada will start counting more than 780,000 mailed-in ballots today (Tuesday), and it expects most to be finished by Wednesday, but officials did warn some ridings could take up to four days for final counts.
In Central Nova, Liberal incumbent Sean Fraser kept his seat in the House of Commons. Fraser has held the seat since 2015, and on Monday he was elected over 7 challengers. Fraser took 46% of the vote and won by more than 5200 votes over runner-up Steven Cotter of the Conservatives. Afterwards, Fraser spoke at a gathering of supporters in Stellarton and pointed to the Liberal’s record with investing in infrastructure and plans for child care.
Atlantic Canada remains a stronghold for the Justin Trudeau Liberals, but Erin O’Toole’s Conservatives did make some inroads in Monday’s election. The Liberals won 23 of the 32 seats in Atlantic Canada on Monday. They had held 26 seats after the 2019 election, and had won all 32 seats back in 2015. Here in Nova Scotia, federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan lost her seat to Conservative challenger Rick Perkins. That would seem to be a reflection of the handling of the issue surrounding the emergence of Indigenous lobster fishing fleets that operate outside the federally regulated seasons. The Liberals also lost their seat in Cumberland Colchester, which was won by Conservative Stephen Ellis with 46% of the vote.
Nova Scotia reports 55 new cases of COVID-19 Monday
On Monday, Nova Scotia reported that 55 new cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed since Friday. Thirty-four of the cases are in Central Zone where there are continued signs of community spread among the unvaccinated. The Northwood long-term facility in Halifax — where more than 50 residents died in an outbreak of COVID-19 last year — says a staff member tested positive last week for the virus but all other tests have come back negative. The number of active cases in Nova Scotia has dropped to 129 due to 88 recoveries but eight people remain in hospital.
Nova Scotia Health’s Outreach Vaccine Clinics will be in Truro today. The clinic will be providing the Pfizer vaccine to anyone age 12+ for their first or second dose* at Truro NSCC (Forrester Hall) – 36 Arthur St. Tuesday, September 21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
New Brunswick is reinstating a mandatory mask mandate in indoor public spaces due to spiking COVID-19 cases. Chief medical officer Dr. Jennifer Russell says it will go into effect at the end of the day today, along with a new proof of vaccination system. She made the announcement as she reported 199 new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, including a new single-day record of 75 Sunday. New Brunswick now has 480 active cases of COVID-19 — the most since the start of the pandemic — with 23 people hospitalized, including 14 in intensive care.
N.S. Premier launches “Speak Up For Health Care Tour”
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston launched his “Speak Up For Health Care Tour” on Monday, visiting New Glasgow, Guysborough and Cape Breton. Those stops saw him tour hospitals in New Glasgow and Guysborough; and meet front-line health care providers from the Cape Breton Regional Hospital. The province-wide healthcare tour continues through Thursday.
