OTTAWA (djc) The Liberal Party under The Right Honourable Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada, won a third straight majority in an early election, the third national vote in seven years. It also secured his legacy as one of only three Liberal leaders able to deliver three straight majority victories, something that even Pierre Trudeau was unable to do.
Liberals won as many as 173 seats in the 301-member House of Commons, according to the latest informations. The majority victory means Chretien, 66, will be the longest-serving leader of the worlds industrial powers when President Clinton steps down in January.
The Canadian Alliance was second with 67 seats, while the separatist Bloc Quebecois gained 38 seats – all in Quebec, the only province in which it fielded candidates. Both the Progressive Conservatives and the New Democratic Party hovered near the 12-seat minimum to take part in parliamentary debate.
Chretien said in a victory speech in Shawinigan, Quebec, that his party has national support and for the first time since 1980 led the popular vote in Quebec.
Trudeaus death in September, and the subsequent emotional outpouring that boosted Liberal support, contributed to Chretiens decision to take a chance with an early vote that could have evoked a backlash from voters.
By calling an early election, Chretien wanted to prevent the newly formed Canadian Alliance from gaining momentum in its efforts to consolidate conservative support, and needed to fend off moves within his own Liberal Party to make him step aside.
The result showed voters enjoying an economic boom and promises of $67 billion tax cuts over five years were willing to forgive Chretien for calling the election just 3½ years into his second five-year term.
No change is expected in Canada-U.S. relations. The two countries form the worlds largest two-way trade partnership, with Canadas economic growth in recent years dependent on a similar boom south of the border in the dominant U.S. economy.
