The contentious campaign was dominated by the trade war with the US and Donald Trump’s “51st state” claims
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals are projected to form their fourth consecutive government in Canada, according to CBC Decision Desk and CTV News. Carney centered his campaign on attacking US President Donald Trump over tariffs and Trump’s suggestion that Canada could become America’s “51st state.”
According to CTV, preliminary results from Sunday’s snap election show the Liberals winning 89 seats in the House of Commons, while the Conservatives are projected to win 77. A total of 172 seats is required to form a majority government.
The elections were called after Justin Trudeau, the Liberal prime minister for nearly a decade, announced his resignation in January. Trudeau stepped down amid an internal crisis in his party, as his once-high approval ratings sank to historic lows.
Carney, a former financier who served as governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, used tough language to rebuke Trump’s “unjustified” tariffs on Canadian goods. “His strategy is to break us so America can own us,” Carney said at a campaign event in the weeks leading up to the election.
“The old relationship we had with the United States – based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation – is over,” he said.
In early March, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on most Canadian goods, citing concerns over trade imbalances and drug trafficking. Ottawa responded by introducing its own duties on US-made products.
Trump also argued that Canada would be better off as “the 51st state” of the US – a position rejected by the Liberals and other parties. Carney stated that during their phone call, he made it clear to Trump that Canada would, under no circumstances, become part of the U.S. “Absolutely not. Never. Move on,” he said.
Multiple media outlets argued that Trump’s tariffs and aggressive rhetoric helped boost the Liberals’ popularity. “We were dead and buried in December. Now, we’re on track to form a government,” David Lametti, former Liberal Justice Minister, told CTV on Monday. “We’ve turned this around thanks to Mark,” he added.
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