The center-left Liberals, who entered the race with a big lead in opinion polls, were ahead in 139 of the 338 seats in Canada’s House of Commons

Elections Canada showed the Liberals leading in 146 electoral districts with only a small fraction of votes counted.

The House of Commons holds 338 seats and a party needs to win 170 to hold a majority.

Polls reported results much more slowly than usual, with some stations forced to limit occupancy due to COVID-19 restrictions. Long lines forced some electors to wait hours to vote in southern Ontario, a critical battleground.