
Justin Trudeau has won a second term as Prime Minister of Canada, but lost his majority and sparked controversy within moments of winning the election as he interrupted a concession speech by his challenger Andrew Scheer.

Mr Trudeau's Liberal party has won 157 seats, ahead of Mr Scheer's Conservatives on 121 but short of the 170 needed for an overall majority, according to preliminary results.

Mr Scheer conceded defeat in the early hours of this morning, but he had barely started speaking when Mr Trudeau began his own victory address - forcing TV networks to cut away from the Conservative leader.

Critics accused Mr Trudeau of lacking humility, branding him 'classless' and saying he was 'giving Andrew Scheer a huge middle finger'.

The close result means that a weakened Mr Trudeau will have to lead a minority government, probably with the help of the smaller New Democrats.

Hailed as a liberal icon after coming to power in 2015, the PM has seen his popularity slide at home and he was badly damaged by a series of blackface and brownface photos which emerged during the campaign.

Today Donald Trump congratulated Mr Trudeau on a 'wonderful and hard fought victory' and said: 'Canada is well served. I look forward to working with you towards the betterment of both of our countries.'

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Election winner: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau wave to supporters as he celebrates a second term in Montreal in the early hours of this morning

Kiss of victory: Mr Trudeau kisses his wife as they celebrate a narrow election victory for the Liberals which will force the PM to lead a minority government with the help of smaller parties

A chart showing the Canadian election results with almost all the votes declared, with Justin Trudeau's Liberals in the lead but falling short of the majority they won four years ago

Snap happy: Trudeau supporters scramble to take pictures on their phones as the Liberal leader arrives to give his victory speech in Montreal - where he cut across his rival Andrew Scheer

Defeated: Conservative leader Andrew Scheer makes his concession speech in Saskatchewan after losing the Canadian general election. TV networks cut away from his speech when Mr Trudeau started talking

Congratulations also came in from European leaders including British PM Boris Johnson, who said he 'looked forward to continuing to work with you'.

Like Mr Trump in 2016, Mr Trudeau is on course to win the election while losing the popular vote. Broadcaster CBC put the Conservatives on 34.4 per cent and the Liberals on 33.1 with most results in.

The Liberals won strong support in their electoral fortress of Toronto, but lost nearly 30 seats across the country with significant setbacks in Alberta and British Columbia in the west of the country.

'From coast to coast to coast, tonight Canadians rejected division and negativity,' Mr Trudeau declared in his victory speech this morning.

'And they rejected cuts and austerity and voted in favour of a progressive agenda and strong action on climate change.'

Acknowledging his electoral setback, he said: 'Regardless of how you cast your vote, our team will work hard for all Canadians.'

Mr Trudeau was endorsed by former President Barack Obama in the final stretch of the campaign and is hailed as a progressive champion by many liberals in the U.S and Europe.

But the blackface revelations, along with a running scandal over his handling of a corruption case, have tarnished his clean-cut image.

Mr Trudeau, the son of the late former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, has also had to overcome a sense of fatigue with his government.

One beneficiary was the Bloc Quebecois, a Quebec separatist party which jumped from 10 to 32 seats and helped to deny Mr Trudeau a second majority.

Liberal leader and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, sons Xavier and Hadrien, and daughter Ella-Grace watch a television broadcast of the initial results from the federal election, in Montreal

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has criticised Mr Trudeau in the past, tweeted his congratulations to the Canadian PM after the election results came in last night

Hands up: Mr Trudeau with his wife at his victory rally in Quebec, where the regional Bloc Quebecois party had a strong night and helped to deny the PM a second majority

Celebration: Liberal supporters embrace last night after a hard-fought election campaign in which Mr Trudeau was shaken by the blackface scandal and criticism of his handling of a corruption case

Kingmaker: Jagmeet Singh (pictured) and his left-leaning New Democrats will hold the balance of power in the new parliament despite disappointing election results last night

'We have come far but we will go further,' party leader Yves-Francois Blanchet told jubilant supporters in the early hours of Tuesday.

The party will back Mr Trudeau on legislation which is good for Quebec, Mr Blanchet said.

'I don't believe Quebecers and Canadians elected a minority government with the goal of going back to the ballot boxes in 18 months,' he said.

The Bloc has softened its stance on Quebec independence and positioned itself as a champion for the predominantly French-speaking province.

In his interrupted speech, Conservative leader Mr Scheer said Canadians had 'passed judgement' on the Liberal government by denying them a majority.

'We have put him on notice, his leadership is damaged and his government will end soon and when that time comes, the Conservatives will be ready and we will win,' he told supporters.

Mr Scheer's allies hoped his bland persona would be a welcome contrast with Mr Trudeau's showmanship but his party was accused of running a negative campaign.

Mr Trudeau said the Conservatives had staged one of the 'dirtiest, nastiest' election campaigns and Scheer supporters chanted 'Lock him up' at a rally, echoing the refrain at Donald Trump rallies.

The nation's top bureaucrat earlier this year warned that public discourse had fallen to such a low level that he 'worried that somebody is going to be shot... during the political campaign.'

At one rally, Mr Trudeau was forced to wear a bulletproof vest.

Meghan Markle, Britain's Duchess of Sussex, posted this picture on Instagram of herself with Justin Trudeau today

Supporters of Liberal party candidate, Justin Trudeau, celebrate as the first results at the Palais des Congres in Montreal come in on election night

Trudeau's supporters cheer on Monday. Trudeau, 47, the Liberal Party leader, was endorsed by former U.S. President Barack Obama in the final stretch of the campaign

Challenger Mr Scheer had also found himself on the back foot late in the campaign over revelations of his American dual citizenship.

There have also been allegations that his party hired a communications firm to 'destroy' the upstart People's Party, led by former Conservative foreign minister Maxime Bernier.

Mr Scheer, who has been leader of the opposition since 2017, may now be forced to step down after his electoral defeat.

The left-leaning New Democrats are likely to hold the balance of power despite a disappointing night in which they won only 24 seats, down from 44 in 2015.

Party leader Jagmeet Singh said he had spoken with Mr Trudeau and told him his party would be 'working hard to deliver on making sure we deliver the priorities that Canadians have.'

Mr Singh, a former criminal defence lawyer, is the first non-white leader of a federal political party in Canada.

Meanwhile the Green Party added one seat, taking its total to three and winning its first seat east of British Columbia.

The night also saw Conservative deputy leader Lisa Raitt turfed out and Liberal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale lose the seat he had held for 26 years.

Liberal supporters celebrate as they watch results roll in at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's election night headquarters

Liberal supporters in Toronto cheer as election results begin to come in, with the Liberals on course to stay in power

Mr Trudeau, accompanied by his family, voted in Montreal on Monday after a marathon sprint campaigning across the country in the past four days.

In 2017, the PM appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in the U.S. under the headline 'Why Can't He Be Our President?'

However, his approval ratings have fallen during his four years in power and some Canadians have grown weary of what they see as his flashy style.

Last month three old photos emerged showing Mr Trudeau wearing blackface and brownface as a younger man, undermining his progressive credentials.

Hours after he apologized for wearing brown make-up on his face, neck and hands while wearing a turban and robe at an Arabian Nights gala in 2001, two more images surfaced depicting similar offensive scenes.

Mr Trudeau issued a second apology for the two additional images, saying that though he did not remember the third incident, he understood it was 'unacceptable'.

He later said he could not remember if there were further blackface incidents, leading Mr Scheer to call him a 'phony' during a debate.

He was also hit by scandal when his former attorney general said he pressured her to halt the prosecution of a Quebec company.

The PM has said he was standing up for jobs, but the damage gave a boost to Mr Scheer's Conservatives.

The first test of his future government will follow in the coming weeks with a speech to parliament outlining his legislative priorities and a confidence vote.

Pierre Trudeau similarly lost his majority in 1972 and led a minority government for the next two years.

Applause: Trudeau supporters react to the first results at the Palais des Congres in Montreal on election night

Challenger: Conservative leader Andrew Scheer looks on next to a voting booth in Regina, Saskatchewan

Voting with the family: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is surrounded by his wife and children as he casts his vote on election day at a polling station in Montreal

Scandal: Mr Trudeau's campaign was rocked by this yearbook photo showing him in brownface at a party in 2001. It was quickly followed by two further blackface pictures