The Liberal Leadership race came to a close today. After a week-long voting period, 104,552 ballots were cast, representing 82% of eligible voters for the leadership race. Trudeau has taken 80.1% of those votes and his chief opponent Joyce Murray received 10.2%.

This weekend the Liberals and NDP are doing housekeeping in preparation for a showdown in the polls. With recent polls showing Liberal momentum and a strong possibility that Justin Trudeau will win the leadership, the NDP prepares to take a massive hit. The NDP are meeting to discuss policy and give their leader Thomas Mulcair a new image.

Voting for the next Liberal leader may only end on Sunday but for former Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Justin Trudeau is the clear choice. Mulroney infuriated the Conservative party Monday as he endorsed their toughest adversary in an interview with CTV’s Power Play. Ever since Trudeau entered the race, polls have shown a sharp incline for the party which would give them a majority government.

Political parties are strategizing these days and Canadians are weighing in. Despite the party members and their views, the electorate will inevitably get the final say and recent polling numbers paint an interesting story about Liberal-NDP cooperation and prospective Liberal Leadership candidates.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has approved the CNOOC-Nexen takeover deal and Canada is now trapped in a 31 year deal where China will almost always get the final say. The Chinese government does not believe in our free and capitalist society, remaining totalitarian with a communist system that has one of the worst standards for human rights in the world. This was once a concern for Harper whom slammed the door on China but now, out of virtually nowhere, not only is China an important trade partner, it is trusted enough to own, for 31 years, one of Canada’s most strategic resources that is in very high demand and low supply around the world. In other words, Canada got royally ripped off with its flat rate $15 billion in one-time revenue.

Since the defeat of Paul Martin’s Liberal Minority Government in  2006 by Stephen Harper’s Conservatives, the news has only gotten worse, and worse, and worse for the Liberal Party of Canada. The once mighty party was reduced to third party status last year after repeated hits, losses and unfavorable conditions. However, there is a glimmer of hope at the horizon. As the Liberals grow and rebuild, a new Forum poll for The National Post shows, in favor of other polls that have been conducted, that star candidate Justin Trudeau can take them back to the top if he becomes their leader.