Carney's Liberals Win Canada Election Defined by Trump

The public broadcaster CBC and other outlets projected the Liberals would form Canada's next government, but it was not yet clear if they would hold a majority in parliament.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre fell short of becoming prime minister, but his party was on track to form a strong opposition.

Carney, who had never held elected office and only replaced Justin Trudeau as prime minister last month, previously served as central bank governor in both Canada and Britain.

Trump's trade war and annexation threats outraged Canadians and made dealing with the United States a top campaign issue.

Carney, a 60-year-old former investment banker, anchored his campaign on an anti-Trump message, promising to expand Canada's overseas trading relationships to curb reliance on the United States, a country he said "we can no longer trust."

Carney has described the threat of Trump in stark terms.

"Donald Trump wants to break us so America can own us," he said during the campaign.

"They want our resources, they want our water, they want our land, they want our country. They can't have it."

When the CBC projection was announced, cheers of joy erupted at the Ottawa venue where Liberal supporters were watching the results.

"I'm happy in the sense that we've got somebody that can speak to Mr. Trump on his level," said Dorothy Goubault, 72.

"Mr. Trump is a business person. Mr. Carney is a business person, and I think they can both relate."

Before Trudeau resigned, Trump had mocked him, calling the prime minister "governor" as he urged Canada to become the 51st U.S. state.

Goubault said she expects that mockery to stop.

"It's not the governor anymore, it's the prime minister of Canada, and it's not the 51st state anymore. It's 'We are Canada!'"

Liberal lawmaker and a member of Carney's cabinet, Steven Guilbeault, tied the outcome to Trump.

"The numerous attacks by President Trump on the Canadian economy, but not just the economy, on our sovereignty and our very identity, have really mobilized Canadians, and I think they saw in Prime Minister Carney someone who has experience on the world stage, someone who has experience with the economy," he told the CBC.

Carney led the Bank of Canada through the 2008-2009 financial crisis and headed the bank of England through the turmoil surrounding the 2016 Brexit vote.

 Trudeau's departure 

Trudeau's departure was also crucial to the Liberal win, which capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history.

On January 6, the day Trudeau announced he would resign, the Conservatives led the Liberals by more than 20 points in most polls, as public anger over soaring costs mounted after Trudeau's decade in power.

But Carney replacing Trudeau, combined with nationwide unease about Trump, transformed the race.

Carney distanced himself from Trudeau throughout the campaign.

He said the former prime minister did not focus enough on growing Canada's economy and scrapped a controversial Trudeau tax on carbon emissions that left many voters seething.

For Poilievre, a 45-year-old who has been in parliament for two decades, the outcome marks a stinging defeat.

He was criticized for the at-times muted anger he directed towards Trump, but said he wanted to keep the focus on domestic concerns.

He tried to persuade voters that Carney would simply offer a continuation of the failed Liberal governance, an argument that fell short.

At the Conservative watch party in Ottawa, Jason Piche told AFP he was surprised by the result.

"I was hoping to have a big celebration tonight," Piche said.

Nearly 29 million of Canada's 41 million people were eligible to vote in the massive G7 country that spans six time zones.

Results were still pending on the shape of Canada's 343 members of parliament, with 172 seats needed for a majority. The Liberals won a majority in 2015 but have governed with a minority since 2019.

Source: HDN