AKIPRESS.COM - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hung onto power after a tight election on Monday that saw his government reduced to a minority, results that will likely push his agenda to the left while alienating energy producing provinces.

Trudeau, one of the world’s most prominent progressive politicians, struggled with domestic scandals. He now looks set to govern with support from the left-leaning New Democrats, who have 24 seats, Reuters reports.

His Liberals did not win any seats in the oil-rich provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The party was leading or elected in 157 seats, a decrease of 20, preliminary results showed.

Minority governments in Canada rarely last more than 2-1/2 years. Although the New Democrats lost 16 seats, leader Jagmeet Singh is positioned to press for action on priorities such as more social spending and increased action on climate change.

Trudeau’s liberal image took a blow early in the campaign when photos emerged of him wearing blackface in the early 1990s and in 2001.

Preliminary results gave the Liberals 33.1% of the popular vote, below the opposition Conservatives’ 34.4%.