Meet new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, a banker-turned politician who led the liberals to victory
In a victory speech before Ottawa supporters, Carney stressed the importance of Canadian solidarity in the face of Washington’s threat.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals won Canada’s federal election on Monday, winning a stunning turnaround in the annexation threat and trade war by U.S. President Donald Trump. After the polls are over, liberals are expected to win 343 seats in Congress instead of the Conservatives. However, if they win a full majority (at least 172 people), or need to rely on a smaller party to pass legislation, it is not immediately clear.
The liberals looked like they had been a crushing defeat until the U.S. president began attacking Canada’s economy and threatening its sovereignty, indicating that it should be the 51st state.
Trump’s actions have angered Canadians and sparked a surge in nationalism, which helped liberals flip the election narrative and earned the power to win the fourth straight win.
In a victory speech before Ottawa supporters, Carney stressed the importance of Canadian solidarity in the face of Washington’s threat. He also said that since the end of World War II, Canada and the United States have shared mutually beneficial systems.
“We are shocked by the shock of American betrayal, but we should never forget the lesson,” he said.
“As I warned for months, the United States wants our land, our resources, our water, our country,” Carney said. “These are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so that the United States can have us. This will never happen…but we also have to recognize that our world has changed such a reality.”
The failure of the conservatives
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre hopes to make the election a referendum for former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and his popularity declines at the end of his decade as food and housing prices rise.
But Trump was attacked, Trudeau resigned, and two-time central banker Carney became Liberal Party leader and prime minister.
With the charter speech and his own seat in the House of Commons still in doubt, Poilievre vowed to continue fighting for the Canadians.
“We realized that we haven’t overcome the finish line yet,” Poilievre told Ottawa supporters. “We know that changes need to be changed, but changes are hard to achieve. It takes time. It takes work. That’s why we have to learn tonight’s lessons – so that next time we Canadians decide on the future of the country, we can achieve better results.”
Even with the consequences of Canadians’ fatal weekend attacks at Vancouver Street Music Festival, Trump dragged them on Election Day, again hinting on social media that Canada should be the 51st state and said he was voting. He also wrongly claimed that the United States subsidized Canada, writing: “Unless Canada is a state, it doesn’t make sense!”
Trump’s atrocities have angered Canadians, causing many to cancel their holidays in the United States, refuse to buy American goods, and may even vote early. A record 7.3 million Canadians voted before Election Day.
When Poilievre and his wife voted in Ottawa, he begged voters to “go out and vote – make a change.” But after weeks of Trump-racing, the similarities of conservative leaders to the over-the-top Americans may have cost him.
Toronto resident Reid Warren said he voted for liberals because poilievre “sounds like a mini Trump to me.” He said Trump’s tariffs were worrying.
“You know, all the shadows Canadians throw from the United States are great, but there is certainly some turmoil, that’s for sure,” he said.
Historian Robert Bothwell said Poilievre called for “dissatisfaction” with Trump, but ultimately caused opposition to him.
“The liberals should pay him,” Boswell said. “Trump’s speech is not good for conservatives.”
Free way forward
Carney and the liberals have won a new term, but they face tough challenges.
If they don’t win a majority in parliament, liberals may need to rely on a smaller party to continue to rule and pass legislation. The Quebec group looks to be third, a separation party from the French-speaking Quebec seeking independence from Canada.
Trudeau’s liberals rely on the New Democrats to continue in power for four years, but the Progressive Party performed poorly in the case of Monday, with its leader Jagmeet Singh saying he resigned after eight years in charge.
“It’s a dramatic comeback, but if the Liberals can’t win most seats, the political uncertainty in the new minority parliament could complicate them,” said Daniel Beland, a professor of political science at McGill University.
Until this year, foreign policy has not dominated the Canadian election as much since 1988, and free trade with the United States is a common problem.
In addition to the trade war with the United States and its frost relationship with Trump, Canada is also dealing with the crisis of cost of living. More than 75% of exports are exported to the United States, so Trump’s tariff threat and his desire to make North American automakers provide South to Canadian production could seriously undermine Canada’s economy.
During the campaign, Carney vowed that every dollar the government collects from the anti-harmony of U.S. goods will be used for Canadian workers adversely affected by the trade war.
He also said he plans to retain dental care, provide middle-class tax cuts, return immigrants to sustainable levels and increase funding from CBC, CBC.
(This story has not been edited by DNA staff and published from AP/PTI in addition to the title)
