The centrist Liberals,
led by Justin Trudeau, started the campaign in third place but in a dramatic turnaround
now rule a majority.
Mr
Trudeau, the 43-year-old son of late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, said
Canadians had voted for real change.
Incumbent
Conservative PM Stephen Harper accepted defeat and his party said he will step
down as leader.
It
was the highest movement in Canada's history, and had been thought to be much nearer.
Speaking
after the polls stopped, Mr Harper said he had already congratulated Mr
Trudeau, saying the conservative would accept the results "without
hesitation".
Addressing
his thrilled supporters shortly afterwards, Mr Trudeau said that Canadians
"sent a clear message tonight - it's time for a change".
"We
beat fear with hope, we beat cynicism with hard work. Most of all we crushed
the idea that Canadians should be pleased with less.
"This
is what positive politics can do," he said, also praising Mr Harper for
his service to the country.
Few had predicted a
Liberal victory on this level. They look set to win 184 out of 338 seats - 14
more than they need for a majority.
That represent a huge
increase from only 36 that they had held after suffer their worst-ever election
result in 2011.
They become the first
party ever to move from third place in parliament to a majority in one election.
The party's election
platform included:
§
Cutting income taxes for middle-class Canadians while rising
them for the wealthy
§
Running deficits for three years to pay for infrastructure
spending
§
Doing more to address environmental concerns over the
controversial Keystone oil pipeline
§
Taking more Syrian refugees; pulling out of bombing raids
against Islamic State while bolstering training for Iraqi forces
§
Legalizing marijuana
Meanwhile, the
left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) is on course to win 44 seats, less than
half the number they held in the outgoing parliament.
"I congratulated Mr.
Trudeau on his exceptional achievement," said NDP leader Tom Mulcair.