Asia-Pacific

Harper wins re-election as Canadian PM

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-05-03 13:07

OTTAWA - Canada's Conservative Party led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper won the 41st federal election and will form its first majority government in seven years.

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Harper broke the political deadlock that resulted in four elections in the past seven years. Starting in 2004, Canada has had three parliaments in which no single party held a majority of seats.

Canadian voters bought Harper's pitch for a strong, stable government, rather than a parliament in which parties had to work together and compromise to get legislation passed.

According to projections, the Conservative Party would garner 166 of 308 seats up for grabs, while the New Democratic Party would triple its number of seats to more than 100 and become the official opposition party.