Canada:PM calls snap election for September 20

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called for a snap election which will take place on September 20. The announcement was made after the Prime Minister met Governor General Mary Simon to request her to dissolve Parliament. As required by law, the campaign for the country’s 44th general election will last 36 days. Trudeau’s Liberal Party has been running a minority government for over two years now and the next general election was due in October 2023.

Despite rolling out massive pandemic aid, passing a federal budget and other key legislation with opposition backing over the past year, Trudeau -- in office since 2015 -- has lamented that parliament has become dysfunctional.The prime minister met Governor General Mary Simon on Sunday to ask her to dissolve parliament, triggering a general election that polling shows is likely to return his Liberals to power. "Canadians need to choose how we finish the fight against Covid-19 and build back better -- from getting the job done on vaccines, to having people's backs all the way through to the end of this crisis," Trudeau said after the meeting. All five parties currently holding seats in parliament are gearing up for a fierce battle at the ballot box.

Most Canadians approve of Trudeau's pandemic response. But if a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections strikes during the campaign, it could hurt his backing. "This was the only window of opportunity for him because with students' return to school and universities in two weeks, Covid cases will inevitably go up," Felix Mathieu, political science professor at the University of Winnipeg, told AFP. Trudeau's government "has already held for 18 months, which is the average lifespan for a minority government," he added. Despite rising vaccination rates that are among the highest in the world -- with almost 62 percent of Canadians fully inoculated -- nearly 1,000 new daily Covid-19 cases have been reported across Canada recently. Trudeau was re-elected to office in 2019 but lost his majority in his second term, amid scandals.To regain a majority on September 20, the Liberals must win at least 170 of the 338 seats in the House of Commons, up 15 seats from their current standing.