Canada’s Trudeau calls federal election on Sept. 20

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) - Canada will hold an early federal election on Sept. 20, the country’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Sunday.

Rumors had been rife that Trudeau would visit Governor General Mary Simon and ask her permission to dissolve parliament, the first step to the election. It is a formality under the Commonwealth parliamentary system of government.

It happened Sunday and the campaign got underway when Trudeau emerged from a 55-minute meeting with Simon and made the election announcement to waiting reporters.

He began the campaign on a sobering note. Trudeau first spoke about the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and announced that the staff at the Canadian Embassy there were "on the way back to Canada."

He also pledged to bring up to 20,000 Afghanis "to safety in Canada."

It will be Canada's 44th election since the country evolved to independence from a British colony in 1867.

Liberal leader Trudeau is chasing his third consecutive government.

Under the Canadian system of government, based on the British model, once an election is called, Trudeau must be referred to as the Liberal Party leader, not as the prime minister.

Canadians do not vote directly for Trudeau - he and the party leaders need to be elected in their riding (the area they represent) - and the party leader who becomes prime minister must win the most representatives in 338 ridings across the country.

Trudeau leads the Liberals, Erin O'Toole the official opposition Progressive Conservative Party, Jagmeet Singh heads the New Democrat Party and Annamie Paul is the leader of the Green Party.

The Liberals hold 155 seats in the House of Commons; the Conservatives have 119, the Bloc Québécois (a separatist party that seeks to split Quebec from Canada as an independent nation) has 32, the New Democrats 24 and remaining few are divided among the Green Party and Independents. To have a majority, a party must win 170 seats.

Mid-morning Sunday, Trudeau and his wife Sophie and the couple's three children walked from their home to the nearby Governor General's residence at Rideau Hall, the stroll covered live by Canadian media news websites and TV.

Prior to the election call, opposition parties argued against an early election call – October 2023 was the next set election date – saying that government should focus on the pandemic.

However, Trudeau has a spur to call an election now. He and his Liberals lead the polls, with 35.6% support. Conservatives stand at 28.8% and NDP 19.3%. The Bloc Quebecois only runs candidates in Quebec, and the Greens and Independents hold only a few seats.

As of Aug. 13, 71% of eligible Canadians have been fully vaccinated (two shots) against COVID-19, and more than 82% have had one shot, according to the Canadian government.