Surging Trudeau Liberals poised to form government

Surging Trudeau Liberals poised to form government

Justin Trudeau is poised to be Canada's next
prime minister after leading the Liberal Party to a win, dashing the hopes of
Stephen Harper, who had been seeking his fourth consecutive mandate.

It is still unclear whether the Liberals, who
suffered a humiliating defeat just four years ago, will form a minority or
majority government. CBC News made the projection of a Liberal government
as results of the federal election were still pouring in.

This will be the second time that Canada will be
led by a Trudeau, as the Liberal leader follows in the footsteps of his father,
Pierre Elliott Trudeau. The Tories will form the Official Opposition, moving
Tom Mulcair's NDP to third-party status.

When Parliament was dissolved for the election on Aug.
2, the Conservatives held 159 seats in the 308-seat House of Commons, the NDP
had 95 and the Liberals 36, with another 18 seats either vacant, held by
Independents or shared between the Green Party (two seats) and the
Bloc Québécois and a splinter group.

Because of population growth, 30 new seats have been
added this election, including 15 in Ontario,
six each for Alberta and British
Columbia and three more for Quebec.

Polls have closed across the country. Eyes will
now turn to the results in Quebec and Ontario to see what
inroads the Liberals have made in the two provinces.

If the NDP can't hold Quebec, it could be difficult for the
party to make big gains anywhere else. The Tories were also hoping to
double their seat count to 10.