Table of Contents
What has happened?
- Voting in Canada’s parliamentary election — held two years ahead of schedule — ended on Monday.
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party won a neck-and-neck contest with his rival Erin
- O’Toole’s Conservative Party.
- Trudeau, who has been the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and is seeking a third term, made the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic the focal point of his campaign.
- On the other hand, the Opposition, especially O’Toole, pitched the election as a referendum on Trudeau’s “selfish” call for polls in the midst of rising Covid-19 cases.
- If no party reaches a majority, the incumbent prime minister gets the first shot at forming a new government by cobbling up a coalition.
Why was the election held 2 years ahead?
- In the 2019 election, the Liberal Party failed to win a majority in Parliament, bagging 155 seats.
- Justin Trudeau had to depend on other parties to govern and pass legislation.
- Opinion polls in August showed him far ahead of his rivals on the back of effective pandemic management.
- Canada has one of the world’s highest vaccination rates.
- Buoyed by the opinion poll results, Trudeau called for snap polls in the hope of getting a parliamentary majority.
- During the poll campaign, Trudeau asserted that only a majority Liberal Party government could beat Covid-19 and set a path to recovery.
- However, since he announced the election on August 15, Trudeau’s approval ratings have fallen.
- The Covid-19 issue could also be Trudeau’s undoing as the prime minister failed to explain why an election needed to happen now when a fourth wave was knocking on the country’s doors.
- The healthcare system of the western province of Alberta has been overwhelmed in recent weeks due to an increase in Covid-19 cases.
- Several restrictions were imposed during the election campaign.
Stakes for India?
- This time, as many as 49 Indian-origin candidates were in the fray in the election, including Cabinet ministers Harjit S Sajjan, Bardish Chagger and Anita Anand.
- In the 2019 election, 20 Indo-Canadians were elected as MPs.
- Indo-Canadians have normally backed the Liberal Party in elections.
- India is the largest source of immigrants and international students for Canada.
- Through its Express Entry programme, the Trudeau administration has expanded immigration into Canada since 2015.
- According to the 2020 Annual Report on Immigration, Indian immigrants accounted for one-fourth of the total permanent residencies granted by Canada in 2019.
- The number of Indians who became permanent residents in Canada jumped from 39,340 in 2016 to 85,593 in 2019.
Relations with India
- However, ties between India and Canada have soured recently after Trudeau voiced concerns over the ongoing farmer protests in India against the contentious three farm bills.
- Trudeau said the situation was “concerning” and his country would “be there to defend the rights of peaceful protest”.
- India, however, rejected the comments as unwarranted.
- In February, Trudeau appeared to play down the issue and praised the government for holding dialogue with the agitating farmers.
Q) Which of the following is correct regarding Canadian Shield?
- It covers over half of Canada.
- It is on the western side.
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 & 2
- None of the above
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