06-29-2004, 10:23 AM
[b]Canada Liberals to Keep Power, Need Help from Left
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By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's ruling Liberals hung onto power after Monday's federal election, but lost their comfortable majority in Parliament and cannot now govern without the support of the left-leaning New Democrats.
The Liberals of Prime Minister Paul Martin (news - web sites), in power for a decade, did better than many had predicted. But they paid the price for voter fatigue and a scandal over government spending and won just 135 of the 308 seats in Parliament.
The result gives Canada its first minority government for 25 years -- a potentially unstable scenario that could lead to another election within a couple of years.
The preliminary tally, reported by Elections Canada, gives 99 seats to the opposition Conservatives and 19 to the New Democrats.
This means the Liberals and New Democrats, who have cooperated in previous minority governments, are just one seat short of the 155 needed for a majority. But the close vote means recounts are likely in several districts, so the final tally could change.
"We as Liberals have lost votes, we have lost good members of Parliament... Canadians expected, and expect, more from us," Martin told supporters in Montreal.
"As a party and as a government we must do better and we will. I pledge that to you tonight... This is the first minority government in a generation. It's unfamiliar terrain, but we are up to the challenge, and we will embrace it."
Market reaction was muted and the Canadian dollar barely moved.
"With the Liberals remaining, one would assume that the same kind of fiscal policy will stay in place," said Carlos Leitao, chief economist at BLC Securities in Montreal.
The Liberals promise balanced budgets and more money for health care while the New Democrats want more social spending and higher corporate taxes.
"Over the last week Paul Martin made many commitments to Canadians that he would protect public health care...that he would start a national child care program," said New Democrat leader Jack Layton.
"My commitment to Canadians tonight is that we will hold him to it with every ounce of energy we have."
The Liberals won 36.7 percent of the vote, down from 40.8 percent in the 2000 election. The Conservatives won 29.6 percent with the New Democrats on 15.7 percent. Voter turnout was 60.3 percent, the lowest since 1898.
The separatist Bloc Quebecois, earlier tipped as a kingmaker, won 54 of the 75 seats in French-speaking Quebec, but was eclipsed by the New Democrats.
The results were a blow for Martin, who replaced Jean Chretien as prime minister in December, but who never recovered from a February report which showed C$100 million ($75 million) in government funds had found its way to firms with close ties to the Liberals.
Opinion polls indicated voter anger was so great that the Liberals would end up level with the Conservatives.
But the party defied gloomy predictions to pick up 75 of the 106 seats in Ontario, the powerful central province that has overwhelmingly voted Liberal since 1993.
The main losers were the Conservatives, who got far fewer than the 120 seats many had predicted. Officials said voters had been influenced by Martin's portrayal of Conservative leader Stephen Harper as a right-wing extremist.
"What it comes down to is that they wanted to punish the Liberals, but they didn't want to defeat the Liberals," said spokesman William Stairs.
The Conservatives won 24 seats in Ontario, up from four in the previous Parliament but nowhere near the 45 they expected. They lost half a dozen seats in British Columbia, one of their strongholds.
Harper put a brave face on the result.
"We've increased our seats and broadened our base across this nation," he told supporters. "I congratulate you for this remarkable achievement and remember: until someone someday achieves a majority, the fight is not yet won or lost."
Four senior Liberal cabinet members, including Defense Minister David Pratt, lost their seats.
(Additional reporting by Randall Palmer, Gilbert Le Gras, Jeff Jones, Robert Melnbardis and Emily Bowers)
14 minutes ago Add World - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's ruling Liberals hung onto power after Monday's federal election, but lost their comfortable majority in Parliament and cannot now govern without the support of the left-leaning New Democrats.
The Liberals of Prime Minister Paul Martin (news - web sites), in power for a decade, did better than many had predicted. But they paid the price for voter fatigue and a scandal over government spending and won just 135 of the 308 seats in Parliament.
The result gives Canada its first minority government for 25 years -- a potentially unstable scenario that could lead to another election within a couple of years.
The preliminary tally, reported by Elections Canada, gives 99 seats to the opposition Conservatives and 19 to the New Democrats.
This means the Liberals and New Democrats, who have cooperated in previous minority governments, are just one seat short of the 155 needed for a majority. But the close vote means recounts are likely in several districts, so the final tally could change.
"We as Liberals have lost votes, we have lost good members of Parliament... Canadians expected, and expect, more from us," Martin told supporters in Montreal.
"As a party and as a government we must do better and we will. I pledge that to you tonight... This is the first minority government in a generation. It's unfamiliar terrain, but we are up to the challenge, and we will embrace it."
Market reaction was muted and the Canadian dollar barely moved.
"With the Liberals remaining, one would assume that the same kind of fiscal policy will stay in place," said Carlos Leitao, chief economist at BLC Securities in Montreal.
The Liberals promise balanced budgets and more money for health care while the New Democrats want more social spending and higher corporate taxes.
"Over the last week Paul Martin made many commitments to Canadians that he would protect public health care...that he would start a national child care program," said New Democrat leader Jack Layton.
"My commitment to Canadians tonight is that we will hold him to it with every ounce of energy we have."
The Liberals won 36.7 percent of the vote, down from 40.8 percent in the 2000 election. The Conservatives won 29.6 percent with the New Democrats on 15.7 percent. Voter turnout was 60.3 percent, the lowest since 1898.
The separatist Bloc Quebecois, earlier tipped as a kingmaker, won 54 of the 75 seats in French-speaking Quebec, but was eclipsed by the New Democrats.
The results were a blow for Martin, who replaced Jean Chretien as prime minister in December, but who never recovered from a February report which showed C$100 million ($75 million) in government funds had found its way to firms with close ties to the Liberals.
Opinion polls indicated voter anger was so great that the Liberals would end up level with the Conservatives.
But the party defied gloomy predictions to pick up 75 of the 106 seats in Ontario, the powerful central province that has overwhelmingly voted Liberal since 1993.
The main losers were the Conservatives, who got far fewer than the 120 seats many had predicted. Officials said voters had been influenced by Martin's portrayal of Conservative leader Stephen Harper as a right-wing extremist.
"What it comes down to is that they wanted to punish the Liberals, but they didn't want to defeat the Liberals," said spokesman William Stairs.
The Conservatives won 24 seats in Ontario, up from four in the previous Parliament but nowhere near the 45 they expected. They lost half a dozen seats in British Columbia, one of their strongholds.
Harper put a brave face on the result.
"We've increased our seats and broadened our base across this nation," he told supporters. "I congratulate you for this remarkable achievement and remember: until someone someday achieves a majority, the fight is not yet won or lost."
Four senior Liberal cabinet members, including Defense Minister David Pratt, lost their seats.
(Additional reporting by Randall Palmer, Gilbert Le Gras, Jeff Jones, Robert Melnbardis and Emily Bowers)
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