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By Carolyn Pritchard, CBS MarketWatch.com Last Update: 6:32 AM ET June 29, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Canada's Liberal Party has lost control of Parliament and will form the country's first minority government in 25 years, according to federal election voting results.
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However, the ruling Liberals retained the largest plurality of seats in Parliament in Monday's balloting.
In the days before the election, polls showed a neck-and- neck race that had been deemed too close to call. Polls swung between Liberals, whose leadership passed to Paul Martin from Jean Chretien last year, and the recently unified Conservative Party, led by Stephen Harper.
Final but unofficial results showed the Liberals holding 135 seats, followed by the Conservatives with 99 seats, the separatist Bloc Quebecois with 54 and the New Democratic Party with 19. Automatic recounts were ordered in tightly contested races.
A majority government in Ottawa requires 155 of the 308 seats.
Much of Martin's campaign focused on promises of fixing the country's health-care system and bolstering other social programs, while Harper touted a more controversial platform, promising to lower taxes, pull out of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change and beef up Canada's military.
With a minority government, the direction that Canada will take is uncertain, since Liberals now must win support from members of the NDP or the Bloc Quebecois to pass legislation in Parliament.
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