After more than 99 % of votes were counted, it seems that Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has “suffered a victory”.
His liberal party has gained the most seats but fell short of majority. The conservative party has actually received almost 1,5 percentage point more votes than liberals, but due to the majority voting system has received significantly less seats.
Trudeau will now have to look for a partner to help prop up his minority government. The most likely choice is the New Democratic party, the most left-wing of Canada’s major parties. The other option is the Bloc Québécois, a nationalist and leftist party. A grand coalition between the two biggest parties is extremely unlikely.
In either case this result means that Canada’s policy will likely drift to the left. In addition, it is likely that more environmentalist policies will be implemented. A government supported by the New Democratic party may be somewhat distressing for the markets as NDP will likely demand higher taxation and more regulations in return for its support.
