Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Liberal Party have failed to significantly win most of Congressional seats in Monday’s election, and face President Trump’s economic and sovereignty threats, and need the help of small parties to pass laws and pursue a challenging agenda.
Liberals have secured 169 seats in 343 Congress as the final results arrive on Tuesday from almost all districts a day after the investigation was finished. The Conservatives won 143 seats, leading the other seat.
The result remains an overwhelming success for the liberals, who were predicted to lose badly for conservative opposition three months ago and for Mr. Carney, who had never run for offices elected by Monday. It grants the Liberal Party a rare four consecutive term in government.
The majority government had allowed Mr. Carney to promote his policies without having to resort to others in Congress, but the task of securing support from other members was far too taxed to pass the law or budget. Smaller parties like Green and the Left New Democrats are more naturally in line with the liberal central left political platform.
The Conservatives were groomed by polls until March, when Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods were enacted and Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as prime minister and Liberal leader. For conservative leader Pierre Polyevel, the party’s stinging defeat was exacerbated by the fact that he lost the seat he had held for 20 years to a liberal candidate.
The election is extraordinary in many ways, and the candidates and many voters describe it as the most important vote of their lifetime.
It was controlled by Trump and his closest allies in America and Trump, who mercilessly focused on his trading partner Canada. He repeatedly threatened to impose tariffs on Canadian goods such as automobiles, steel and aluminum, pushing the country towards a recession and annexing it as the 51st province. Even if Canadians were heading for the poll on Monday, he repeated the social media debate that Canada would bring economic and military benefits if it became part of the United States.
Speaking on the phone Tuesday, Trump and Carney said in a brief statement that Carney’s office will meet “in the near future.”
“President Trump congratulated Prime Minister Carney on his recent election,” the statement said. “The leaders agreed to the importance of Canada and the United States working together as independent, sovereign nations to improve mutually.”
Veteran economist and policymaker, Carney promoted himself as an anti-Trump candidate, centered his campaign on dealing with the US, and ultimately benefited from the actions of the US president.
Now he could be judged about how he would protect fares by protecting Canada from damage, including serious unemployment and hobsing in key industries.
In an accepted speech early Tuesday, Carney warned Canadians that there will be some difficult times ahead for Canadians, even if they reveal that they are ready to protect Canada’s interests in their dealings with Trump.
“As I have been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water,” he said. “President Trump is trying to destroy us, so he’s making sure he owns us. That’s never going to happen.”
Poilliebre, 45, and conservatives have dominated polls for many years, building support on the argument that Trudeau and the liberals dragged Canada into chronic economic lies.
But they saw the double-digit lead disappear quickly after Trump launched an offensive campaign against Canada and unpopular Trudeau.
Canadians heading for the polls became obsessed with both their relationship with their neighbors in the South and their relationship with their financial situation at home. The concerns about affordability for housing, primarily in views conducted before the election was presented, appeared to increase the number of conservative candidates in some districts.
But Canada’s election choice on Monday also served as a kind of referendum on the way Trump and the US allies and their trading partners.
It was the second major international election since Trump came to power after Germany, and Canada’s handling of ruptures in relations with the US has been closely watched around the world.
The election also highlighted that Trump’s political brand could become toxic to conservatives elsewhere if he is seen as being too synced with his ideological and rhetorical style.
Repeated condemnations of Poilliebre’s “radical awakening ideology” and his promise to return Canadian national broadcasters and reduce foreign aid appeared to have cost him centristic voters, a pre-election poll suggested.
The party’s defeat and the loss of Poilliebre’s own seat could trigger a fight for conservative leaders, but the party has gained more seats and vote shares over the years.
For Carney, the victory marked the astonishing culmination of how it has rapidly risen into Canada’s political establishment since joining the race on behalf of Trudeau in January.
Carney, a political beginner but a veteran policy-building veteran, helped shake up many voters who were thinking of supporting the Conservative Party, according to polls and some voters.
And his politics as a pragmatist and centricist appeared to fit better with the mood of Canada after a decade of Trudeau’s progressive agenda.
Earlier on Tuesday, during the celebration, Kearney said he was ready for the challenge. “We fight back against everything we need to get the best deal in Canada,” he said. “We will build an independent future for a great nation.”
