Canada parliamentary elections: Liberal Party gains lead over Conservatives

Ottawa: The voting period for the parliamentary elections to elect Canada's next prime minister has ended, and preliminary results have also started coming in.

Voting for the parliamentary elections in Canada continued from 9:00am to 9:00pm, during which citizens exercised their right to vote.

A close contest was expected between Canadian Prime Minister and Liberal Party candidate Mark Carney and Conservative Party candidate Pierre Paul Ayew.

Either party would need 172 seats to win a majority in the 343-member House.

According to the news agency, several media outlets have claimed that Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal Party has won the Canadian general election.

Both public broadcasters CBC and CTV News have claimed that the Liberal Party will form Canada's next government, but it is not yet clear whether the party has a majority in parliament.

According to preliminary figures after the vote, the Liberal Party is leading with 158 seats, while the Conservative Party is leading with 143.

In addition, the Bloc Québécois is leading with 24 seats, and the NDP is leading with 10 seats.

It is pertinent to note that before the election, the Liberals had 152 seats and the Conservatives had 120 seats, while the Bloc Québécois had 33 and the NDP had 24 seats.

The election comes at a time when President Trump's tariffs on Canada are on the minds of voters. Other issues, including high housing prices in urban areas, a 6.7 percent unemployment rate, and difficulty accessing healthcare, are also drawing attention.