The party of the embattled Canadian PM Justin Trudeau is projected to edge out the Conservatives in a vote on Monday, but is falling short of a majority, leaving the scandal-ridden PM with a task to form a minority government.

Projections published by Canadian broadcasters CBC TV and CTV News after the voting wrapped up on Monday night predicted a win for the Liberals, who are nonetheless set to lose ground in comparison to the 2015 vote, when they managed to secure a majority, having pushed Conservatives into the opposition.

This time, the Liberals will most likely have to contend with forming a minority government, falling short of garnering the necessary 170 seats.

With over 90 percent of polls reporting preliminary results, the Liberals are leading in 155 out of 338 electoral districts, while the Conservatives claim an upper hand in 122 districts.

While the results are still preliminary, Liberals have already started celebrating the outcome of the vote, which was generally viewed as a referendum on Trudeau’s record so far.

Moment Liberal government announced at Libs HQ #CTVpic.twitter.com/mHEdy336BZ — Genevieve Beauchemin (@CTVBeauchemin) October 22, 2019

Meanwhile, the Conservative Party’s HQ fell silent as projections favoring the scandal-plagued Trudeau were revealed.

There is very little energy here at Scheer headquarters. The room is relatively full but people are quietly sitting as they watch the results come in. Zero crowd reaction to the Liberal minority projection by CTV News #cdnpoli#Elxn43pic.twitter.com/guGyjhPUcd — Mackenzie Gray (@Gray_Mackenzie) October 22, 2019

US President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Monday night to congratulate Trudeau on “a wonderful and hard fought victory.”

Congratulations to @JustinTrudeau on a wonderful and hard fought victory. Canada is well served. I look forward to working with you toward the betterment of both of our countries! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 22, 2019

Ahead of the poll, Liberals and Conservatives were going neck-and-neck, and while it was unclear who would emerge at the steering wheel in the end, a minority government seemed to be the most likely outcome.

In the months leading up to the vote, the election started to be seen not as an assessment of the Liberals per se, but as a judgment day for Trudeau, a former poster boy for progressivism , whose reputation has been severely tarnished by the ongoing SNC Lavalin corruption scandal, his decision to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline for $4.5 billion despite environmentalists’ concerns and, most recently, a blackface and ‘brownface’ debacle.

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While fellow Liberals have been dissatisfied with Trudeau talking the talk but not walking the walk, his government is credited with legalization of cannabis and its social policies, which reduced the age to receive Old Age Security from 67 to 65 , among other things.

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