Justin Trudeau Needs 170 Seats To Secure A Majority Government & Here's How It Works

As Canadians head to the polls to cast their vote in the 2021 federal election, you may be wondering what would happen if Justin Trudeau and the Liberals secured a majority government.

As things currently stand, a minority Liberal government is in power. To get a majority in the 44th federal election, Trudeau would need to win the vote in at least 170 ridings.

Right now, there are currently 155 Liberals, 119 Conservatives, 32 Bloc, 24 New Democrats, 2 Greens and 5 Independents in the House. One seat is vacant.

But according to Reuters, as of election day, opinion polls indicated no party would gain a majority of seats in the election, leading to a minority government for the second straight time.

If the Liberals do in fact fall short of a majority, Trudeau would have to once again rely on votes from opposition parties to pass legislation.

Justin Trudeau called a snap election on Sunday, August 15. Pauline Beange, who teaches Canadian politics at the University of Toronto and specializes in political parties, previously told Narcity that minority governments in Canada typically only last about two years and Trudeau's Liberals were currently higher in the polls than the Conservatives at the time the election was called.

The federal election results are set to start coming in on September 20, but Elections Canada warns it may take a few days for official results to be released.

You can watch all the election day action go down live on several different platforms.