Australia's center-left opposition party toppled the conservative government after almost a decade in power, and Prime Minister-elect Anthony Albanese in his Saturday election victory speech promised sharper reductions in greenhouse gas emissions while he faces an early foreign policy test.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he quickly conceded defeat despite millions of votes yet to be counted because an Australian leader must attend a Tokyo summit on Tuesday with U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Albanese, who has described himself as the only candidate with a "non-Anglo Celtic name" to run for prime minister in the 121 years that the office has existed, referred to his own humble upbringing in the Sydney suburb of Camperdown.
"It says a lot about our great country that a son of a single mom who was a disability pensioner, who grew up in public housing down the road in Camperdown can stand before you tonight as Australia's prime minister," Albanese said.
"Every parent wants more for the next generation than they had. My mother dreamt of a better life for me. And I hope that my journey in life inspires Australians to reach for the stars," he added.
Albanese will be sworn in as prime minister after his Labor party clinched its first electoral win since 2007.
Labor has promised more financial assistance and a robust social safety net as Australia grapples with the highest inflation since 2001 and soaring housing prices.
The party also plans to increase minimum wages, and on the foreign policy front, it proposed to establish a Pacific defense school to train neighboring armies in response to China's potential military presence on the Solomon Islands on Australia's doorstep.
It also wants to tackle climate change with a more ambitious 43% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050.
Morrison's Liberal party-led coalition was seeking a fourth three-year term. It held the narrowest of majorities -- 76 seats in the 151-member House of Representatives, where parties need a majority to form a government. In early counting on Saturday, the coalition was on track to win 51 seats, Labor 72, 10 were unaligned lawmakers and 18 were too close to call.
The major parties bled votes to fringe parties and independents, which increases the likelihood of a hung parliament and a minority government.
Australia most recent hung parliaments were from 2010-13, and during World War II.
The minor Australian Greens party appeared to have increased its representation from a single seat to three.
The Greens supported a Labor minority government in 2010, and will likely support a Labor administration again if the party falls short of a 76-seat majority.
As well as campaigning against Labor, Morrison's conservative Liberals fought off a new challenge from so-called teal independent candidates to key government lawmakers' reelection in party strongholds.
At least four Liberal lawmakers appeared to have lost their seats to teal independents including Liberal Party deputy leader Josh Frydenberg, who had been considered Morrison's most likely successor.
"What we have achieved here is extraordinary," teal candidate and former foreign correspondent Zoe Daniels said in her victory speech. "Safe Liberal seat. Two-term incumbent. Independent," she added.
The teal independents are marketed as a greener shade than the Liberal Party's traditional blue color and want stronger government action on reducing Australia's greenhouse gas emissions than either the government or Labor are proposing.
The government's Senate leader Simon Birmingham was concerned by big swings toward several teal candidates.
"It is a clear problem that we are losing seats that are heartland seats, that have defined the Liberal Party for generations," Birmingham said.
"If we lose those seats -- it is not certain that we will -- but there is clearly a big movement against us and there is clearly a big message in it," Birmingham added.
Due to the pandemic, around half of Australia's 17 million electors have voted early or applied for postal votes, which will likely slow the count.
Early polling for reasons of travel or work began two weeks ago and the Australian Electoral Commission will continue collecting postal votes for another two weeks.
Hurricane Milton is a Category 4 storm forecast to bring extreme flooding, high winds and heavy rain to the central west coast of Florida.
Hundreds of thousands of vehicles are being recalled in Canada due to a steering-related issue that could increase a driver's risk of crash.
One in eight women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in their lifetimes, according to the American Cancer Society. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for women in the United States, with 42,000 women dying every year from this cancer.
The federal government introduced a number of measures related to housing on Tuesday, which include measures for homeowners wanting to add a secondary suite, taxing vacant land and building homes in place of underused federal properties.
A group of people and a dog fleeing Hurricane Milton had to be rescued near St. Petersburg, Fla., on Tuesday after a private plane crashed into the sea.
An organization that ranks the best universities across the globe says its latest report shows a concerning trend that several of Canada’s institutions are slipping down its list.
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Another beluga whale has died at Marineland and four years into a provincial probe, Ontario's solicitor general is saying little about the investigation's progress.
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The leaders of B.C.'s main political parties sparred over health care, housing, and affordability Tuesday, pitching competing visions for how to address the most urgent issues facing the province in a debate punctuated by a few feisty exchanges.
More than two weeks have passed since Hassan Ali walked out of a Toronto courtroom a free man, after prosecutors decided not to move forward with a first-degree murder trial against the local rapper.
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A steady rain fell in the Tampa Bay area Wednesday morning as a mighty Hurricane Milton churned toward a potentially catastrophic collision with the west coast of Florida, where some residents insisted they would stay even after millions were ordered to evacuate. Stragglers face grim odds of surviving, officials said.
Since Joe Biden ended his reelection bid, Kamala Harris swiftly secured the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination, brought in hundreds of millions of dollars in new campaign donations and surged past Biden’s poll numbers from earlier this year. And yet, Democrats are increasingly anxious over Harris' fate. Why?
A large-scale Israeli operation in northern Gaza has killed and wounded dozens of people and threatens to shut down three hospitals over a year into the war with Hamas, Palestinian officials and residents said Wednesday.
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The minority Liberal government is not considering proroguing Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday, despite persisting uncertainty over who is willing to keep propping them up and procedural wrangling over a Conservative led-privilege debate.
Nathalie Drouin, the prime minister's national security and intelligence adviser, is scheduled to appear today at a federal inquiry into foreign interference.
Former cabinet minister Marc Garneau, who describes himself in his new book as always-a-Liberal, 'but a decidedly blue one,' says he hopes the party still has room for someone like him.
COVID-19 could be a powerful risk factor for heart attacks and strokes for as long as three years after an infection, a large new study suggests.
The Ontario Ministry of Health says four people have been sickened after consuming beef tongue believed to be contaminated with listeria.
One in eight women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in their lifetimes, according to the American Cancer Society. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for women in the United States, with 42,000 women dying every year from this cancer.
The research that won Geoffrey Hinton a Nobel Prize for physics was the product of plenty of work carried out before artificial intelligence was the buzzword it is today.
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The Brazilian Supreme Court's Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Tuesday authorized the restoration of social media platform X´s service in Brazil, over a month after its nationwide shutdown, according to a statement posted on the court's website.
Jenna Fischer is highlighting Breast Cancer Awareness Month by sharing that she is now 'cancer free' after she was diagnosed with the disease in October 2023.
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Sum 41 lead singer Deryck Whibley alleges in his new memoir that he was pressured into a secret sexual relationship with his former manager, Treble Charger frontman Greig Nori.
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RJ Barrett will miss the rest of the Toronto Raptors' pre-season with an injury.
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The leaders of B.C.'s main political parties sparred over health care, housing, and affordability Tuesday, pitching competing visions for how to address the most urgent issues facing the province in a debate punctuated by a few feisty exchanges.
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Amazon has just launched a new service in Canada where delivery drivers can drop packages off directly in garages for those who want to protect their parcels from being swiped by porch pirates.
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Calgary police are searching for a suspect or suspects in a stabbing that occurred in the city's southeast on Tuesday evening.
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St. Michael Catholic High School in Kemptville, Ont. is scheduled to open Wednesday after being closed for four consecutive days, as Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) investigated alleged anonymous threats.
The Ottawa Senators have signed goaltender Linus Ullmark to a new four-year contract extension ahead of the start of the NHL season.
Quebec chicken chain St-Hubert is entering the 'value menu wars' by offering a series of cheaper options for lunch and freezing prices on its main courses.
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Randy Boissonnault, MP for Edmonton Centre and the federal minister of employment, workforce development and official languages, has been named the ministerial lead of Jasper's rebuild.
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International award-winning editorial cartoonist Michael de Adder has been cut from the Halifax Chronicle Herald.
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Manitoba RCMP and the Winnipeg Police Service are launching Manitoba's Most Wanted website.
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Hundreds of thousands of vehicles are being recalled in Canada due to a steering-related issue that could increase a driver's risk of crash.
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Hundreds of thousands of vehicles are being recalled in Canada due to a steering-related issue that could increase a driver's risk of crash.
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Highway 144 is reopened north of Sudbury after a two-vehicle collision between a commercial and passenger vehicle happened around 1 p.m. Tuesday, police say.
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Hurricane Milton is a Category 4 storm forecast to bring extreme flooding, high winds and heavy rain to the central west coast of Florida.
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Hundreds of thousands of vehicles are being recalled in Canada due to a steering-related issue that could increase a driver's risk of crash.
Chatham and Wallaceburg fire departments were dispatched to Running Creek Road in Chatham-Kent on Tuesday afternoon after receiving reports of flames.
Several cars are being pulled out of the Detroit River in west Windsor.
The leaders of B.C.'s main political parties sparred over health care, housing, and affordability Tuesday, pitching competing visions for how to address the most urgent issues facing the province in a debate punctuated by a few feisty exchanges.
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A Lethbridge police officer involved in a scandal involving former Lethbridge New Democrat MLA Shannon Phillips has been reprimanded.
Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.
A woman in Greater Sudbury, Ont., said "It doesn't get more Canadian than this" when she spotted a black bear dumpster diving at a Tim Hortons last month.
The Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) is the latest organization to call on the Doug Ford government to re-open dialogue with an airline service that transports lower-income Canadians to crucial medical care far from home.
A Conservative MP from Newfoundland and Labrador says some small towns in his rural riding are overrun with crime, but police say they haven't received reports to that effect.
As millions in federal funding flow into a Labrador group whose claims of Inuit identity have been rejected by Indigenous organizations across Canada, a national Inuit leader worries the Liberal government is putting the rights of Indigenous Peoples at risk.
He may not have logged the fastest time or even gone the full distance, but residents of a Newfoundland town agree the goat who unexpectedly joined the local weekend half marathon was the event's undisputed champion.
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