Trudeau launches Canada election campaign

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday kicked off a six-week re-election campaign with opinion polls suggesting his hold on power will be weakened. Trudeau, whose Liberals swept to office in November 2015 promising “sunny ways” and stressing the importance of gender equality and the environment, faces an electorate more focused on the economy and affordability when it votes on Oct 21. Not since 1935 has a Canadian prime minister who won a parliamentary majority in his first term been booted from office in the next election. But Trudeau may not win enough seats to govern by himself after a series of missteps that called into question his leadership while cutting into his once sky-high popularity. That would leave him and his Liberal Party weakened, relying on opposition members of parliament to push through legislation.