Canada election results: Trudeau expected to maintain grip on power in minority government after fraught election against Scheer

Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer is Justin Trudeau's biggest rival in this tight race. He is MP Regina - Qu'Appelle in Southern Canada and is another young candidate at only 40 years old. 

The father-of-five has not been without his own controversies. Scheer has been criticised for his opposition to abortion and refusal to say whether he supports same-sex marriage. 

Earlier this month he admitted that he holds both Canadian and American citizenship after the information was revealed by Toronto newspaper The Globe and Mail. Scheer says he is renouncing his American citizenship, which he acquired because of his US-born father.

During a campaign rally in Ontario over the weekend, Andrew Scheer promised the crowd he would "hold a judicial inquiry into his scandal to get to the bottom of what he's done" if he is elected, referring to the SNC-Lavalin case that has clouded Trudeau's presidency. In response to the pledge, the audience chanted "Lock him up! Lock him up!"

Unlike the "Lock her up!" chants often heard at Donald Trump rallies, Scheer did redirect the crowd, saying: "We're going to vote him out. Vote him out! Vote him out!"

So what is the SNC-Levelin affair Trudeau is embroiled in?

Construction company SNC-Lavalin was charged by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) with fraud offences that allegedly took place between 2001 and 2011, relating to the bribing of Libyan officials. The company has denied the allegations.

Former Canadian justice minister and attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould accused Trudeau of attempting to persuade her that a SNC-Lavalin trial would have a harmful impact on the Liberal party and Canadian jobs.

The emergence of this scandal caused the resignation of two of Trudeau's top personal aide, two cabinet ministers and the head of the federal bureaucracy - and also put his 'progressive' credentials under question.

Trudeau has said he did not instruct his staff to interfere, but did not deny talking about the case with his cabinet ministers. The prime minister argued he was not trying to improperly pressure the attorney general but wanted to advocate for financial penalties rather than a 10-year ban on bidding for federal contracts which was one of the possible punishments if SNC-Lavalin was found guilty. Trudeau said this route to protect jobs that might be lost if the company was blocked from federal contracts.

In August, Canada's federal ethics commissioner found that Trudeau violated ethics law with his handling of the corruption inquiry. Although the report did not carry any legal implications for Trudeau, he may end up paying at the ballot box.

Trudeau said at the time of the report that he disagreed with some of the report's findings that he acted improperly and that he would not apologise for trying to stand up for Canadian jobs.

On Wednesday, Barack Obama gave his endorsement for Justin Trudeau. Posting to Twitter, the former US president said: 

As we wait for the polls to begin closing later this evening, let's take a brief moment to reflect on the history at play here.

This election is Canada's 43rd general election, and the opportunity for Canadian voters over the age of 18 to cast ballots for their preferred candidate.

The election season was just 40 days long — which is quite astonishing as an American who regularly covers the US elections that are ongoing (and over a year away!).

Overall, Canada says that around 27.4 million people are expected to vote today, at around 20,000 polling places across the country.

Not all of the 20,000 polling sites open today have managed to avoid troubles.

CBC News reports that at least one site in Ottawa was unprepared for voters, and didn't have ballot boxes or signs this morning.

In Natuashish, on Labrador's coast, there was difficulty getting to election sites because of poor weather conditions and flight delays, too.

In Manitoba, a severe storm last weekend has forced special polling stations to be opened.

Voting hours vary across the country today, and we may be in for a late one in this pivotal election.

Here are voting hours for each time zone, in local times, from CBC:

• Newfoundland — 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
• Atlantic — 8:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
• Eastern — 9:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.
• Manitoba — 8:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
• Alberta, Saskatchewan and Northwest Territories — 7:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
• Pacific — 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Justin Trudeau is just ahead of Andrew Scheer, according to average polling data. The Liberals are at 32%, with the Conservatives close behind at 31.6%. 

An Ipsos poll from yesterday, however, put the Conservatives at a 2% lead over Trudeau's Liberal Party. 

Polling from Politico reflects these numbers, showing just how tight a race this is going to be. According to their data, Liberals and Conservatives were neck-and-neck in the election build-up, with 32% each. The next party is the NDP with 18%, followed by Green 8%, BQ 7% and People's Party at 2%.

Voting is taking place across 338 ridings, with each one based on population size, and 170 seats are required for a majority. According to polling data from CBC news, Trudeau's Liberals should clear this 170 seat mark, but it is of course too early to tell with polls still open across the nation.

The various parties have generally remained quiet when it comes to talks of a coalition government, particularly Justin Trudeau and the Liberals. However Jagmeet Singh, the head of the New Democratic Party (NDP), said on October 13 that he would "absolutely" consider working with other parties in order to prevent a Conservative government.