Gov. Gen. Mary Simon has agreed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s request to dissolve Parliament, triggering an election campaign.
Canadians are set to go to the polls on Sept. 20.
Trudeau is pulling the trigger on an election campaign just as a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic gathers steam across the country.
Opposition leaders have argued that plunging into an election during the health crisis is both unnecessary and reckless.
But the Trudeau Liberals are hoping the risk is worth it as they try to turn their minority government into a majority mandate less than two years after Canadians last went to the polls.
At dissolution, the Liberals had 155 seats, the Conservatives 119, the Bloc Quebecois 32, the NDP 24 and the Greens two. There were also five Independents and one vacancy.
More coming.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2021.