a few of us are a bit lost with the numbers.
can anyone explain a little?
is there a "magic number" the conservatives need?
The "magic number" is 155 seats, but if they get more than ~120 then they can form a government with support from other parties. If the total for the Liberals and NDP is greater than 155 (unlikely) then we lose.
It's 155 for a majority, because our House of Parliament has 309 seats.
So if no party gets over that number, then the party with the largest number forms a minority government - though its leader still becomes the Prime Minister - with some kind of co-op deal with another party to get the 155 "working majority" needed to pass legislation.