Television Networks Project Liberal Party Victory in Canada's National Elections

The Wall Street Journal's got an analysis, "Canada Networks Project Liberal Party Victory in National Elections":

OTTAWA—Canadian broadcast networks projected a victory for the centrist Liberal Party in national elections late Monday night.

Results from Atlantic Canada and early returns in vote-rich Ontario and Quebec gave an advantage to the Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party campaigned on a track record of economic leadership, which he said put him in a better position to lead Canada out of its economic downturn.

But voters showed a strong desire for change, according to polls. Those same polls said before Monday’s vote that the favorite to win Monday’s election was relative newcomer Mr. Trudeau, 43 years old, who was tagged as “not ready to run” by the Harper campaign.

In the leadup to Monday’s election, voters expressed unease about their prospects, as Canada’s economy contracted in the first half of the year. While indicators point to a return to growth in the third quarter, Canada’s economy has still suffered the most of any advanced economy from the drop in prices for crude oil and other commodities.

That decline made it harder for Mr. Harper to run on the strength of his economic leadership. The country’s central bank has cut rates twice this year, and the Canadian dollar has weakened 20% versus the U.S. dollar since the start of the commodity-price rout.

Mr. Trudeau appealed to the 70%of voters who told pollsters they wanted a change. The son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Mr. Trudeau is a former high-school teacher who has never held a cabinet post or executive job.

He ran on a pledge to reduce income inequality and support the middle class, including by increasing tax rates for the top 1% of earners, and a plan to stimulate the economy with an infrastructure-spending plan of 60 billion Canadian dollars ($46 billion) over the 10 years, financed in part by deficits.

That plan contrasts with the approach of Mr. Harper, who sought to keep taxes low and promised to balance the budget.

Mr. Trudeau also signaled he aims to rebuild relations with Washington, which he and others have said are at a low ebb due to tensions over a slew of issues including the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline, which was championed by Mr. Harper. The Liberal Party says it supports the Keystone XL pipeline project and that it would create jobs and help Canada’s energy patch...