Canadians vote for Parliament
June 2, 1997
Web posted at: 1:53 p.m. EDT (1753 GMT)OTTAWA (CNN) -- Canadians went to the polls Monday in a vote that is expected to shrink the ruling Liberal Party's majority in Parliament.
Good weather was forecast for much of the country, where 20 million people were eligible to vote, although rain and snow flurries were expected in some areas.
Prime Minister Jean Chretien, looking for a mandate for his budget cuts, called the elections 1 1/2 years early in the wake of polls taken several weeks ago showing a strong lead for the Liberals. He's lost some ground since then, although the party is expected to hold onto power.
But Chretien may be forced to forge a minority government if either the separatist Bloc Quebecois or right-wing Reform Party keeps the Liberals from an outright majority in the 301-seat House of Commons.
Reform, which is expected to take all 60 seats from the western provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, is also expected to replace Bloc Quebecois as the leading opposition party. Both parties are regional, and neither fields candidates nationwide.
Chretien swept to power in 1993 on a Liberal landslide that tossed the Conservatives out. But he has been unable to strengthen weak support in the West, and the Conservatives could crack his grip on the maritime provinces to the East.
Chretien's opponents hammered the prime minister during the 36-day campaign over an unemployment rate that stayed above 9 percent, with the Conservative and Reform parties calling for tax cuts.
Reform's candidate for prime minister, Preston Manning, has been called a racist bigot for his opposition to any special status for French-speaking Quebec, a charge he denies.
Reuters contributed to this report.
- Newsmaker Profiles: Jean Chretien - Canadian Prime Minister
Related stories:
- Election Watch: Canada
- Canada poised for vote that may deadlock parliament - June 1, 1997
- Canada's Chretien urges voters not to back regional parties - May 30, 1997
Related sites:
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- Official Home Page of the Canadian Government
- Liberal Party of Canada
- Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
- Reform Party of Canada
- Le Bloc Quebecois (in French)
- Election '97 Canada (Victoria Telecommunity Network)
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