Key Points
- Mark Carney’s Liberals have won a strong minority, fuelled by backlash to Donals Trump’s tariffs and threats.
- The Liberals secured 169 seats, falling just short of a majority, with recounts pending in two districts.
- Carney faces no immediate threat, with rivals Pierre Poilievre and Jagmeet Singh both losing key seats.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals staged a major political comeback to retain power in parliamentary elections, fuelled by a backlash against US President Donald Trump's tariffs and comments on making Canada the 51st US state.
With almost all votes counted in Monday's election, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation forecast the Liberals would form a strong minority government, falling just short of the 172 electoral districts they needed for a majority.
Provisional results from Elections Canada showed the Liberals had won 169 districts, followed by the Conservatives with 144. Judicial recounts will be needed in two districts, and a final official result may be days away.
Although he failed to get a majority, Carney faces no immediate political danger, since all opposition legislators would have to vote against him to topple the government, and two of his main rivals are in political trouble.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who just three months ago had looked certain to sweep the polls, lost his seat in Ontario. Jagmeet Singh announced he would step down as leader of the left-leaning New Democrats after he lost his seat in British Columbia and saw most of his party's legislators defeated.
Carney had sought a majority to help him negotiate with Trump on the tariffs threatening Canada's economy.
Trump congratulated Carney on his election victory in a call on Tuesday, Carney's office said in a statement.
"The leaders agreed on the importance of Canada and the United States working together, as independent, sovereign nations, for their mutual betterment. To that end, the leaders agreed to meet in person in the near future," it said.
The Globe and Mail newspaper, citing a senior Liberal official, said Carney would name a cabinet and reconvene Canada's House of Commons within two weeks. Another priority will be the annual budget, which is usually presented in March or April.
Carney, having declared Trump wanted to , had repeatedly vowed to open talks on new security and economic ties with the US president as soon as possible after the Canadian election.
The Liberals, who have been in power since November 2015, were 20 percentage points behind in surveys in January before the unpopular Justin Trudeau announced he was quitting as prime minister and Trump started threatening tariffs and annexation.
"It was the 'anybody-but-Conservative' factor, it was the Trump tariff factor, and then it was the Trudeau departure ... which enabled a lot of left-of-centre voters and traditional Liberal voters to come back to the party," said Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute polling firm.
In his victory speech early on Tuesday, Carney said Canada's old relationship with the US was over.
"The system of open global trade anchored by the United States ... (which) has helped deliver prosperity for our country for decades, is over. These are tragedies, but it's also our new reality," he said.
