Canadians heading back to the polls: Trudeau calls federal election for Sept. 20

Less than two years into his mandate — and with the country still in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called a federal election for Sept. 20.

Trudeau announced Sunday he had asked Gov. Gen. Mary Simon to dissolve Parliament, sending Canadians back to the polls for the second time in 23 months.

Trudeau’s Liberals formed a minority government after the previous election, which was held Oct. 21, 2019.

The Liberals won 157 seats in that election, with the Conservatives second at 121. The Bloc Quebecois was third with 32 seats, followed by the NDP with 24 seats and the Green Party with three.

With retirements and defections over the past two years, the Liberals enter the 2021 election with 155 seats, followed by Erin O’Toole’s Conservatives (119), Yves-Francois Blanchet’s Bloc Quebecois (32), Jagmeet Singh’s NDP (24) and the Annamie Paul-led Green Party (two). Five MPs are sitting as independents and there is one vacant seat.

The Conservatives represented all 14 of the ridings in Saskatchewan when the writ was dropped.

Trudeau’s government has faced numerous issues over the past two years, including the WE Charity controversy that prompted the resignation of then-Finance Minister Bill Morneau.

But the Liberals survived several non-confidence votes during their term, with support from the NDP and/or Green Party.

National polls conducted before the election was called continued to show the Liberals in the lead, with the Conservatives second and the NDP third.

More to come.