Canada heads to snap election on September 20

Toronto, Aug 15 (IANS) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday 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.The latest opinion polls give the ruling Liberal Party (35.6 per cent) a lead of over seven points over the opposition Conservative Party (28.8 per cent).The Jagmeet Singh-led New Democratic Party is in third place with 19.3 per cent support.If the trends hold, Trudeau's party is likely to cross the majority mark of 170 seats in the House of Commons.
--IANS gurmukh/vd