Liberals win Canada election; Carney says ties with US to remain frosty; setback for Jagmeet

CANADIAN prime minister Mark Carney's Liberals are leading the country's general elections on Monday (28), but it is not yet clear whether they may garner a majority.

The Liberals were leading or elected in 167 electoral districts, followed by the Conservatives with 145, with votes still being counted.

They need to win 172 of the House of Commons' 343 seats for a majority or they will have to cobble up a coalition with a smaller party.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre conceded defeat and said his party would hold the government to account.

The result marks a comeback for the Liberals, who had been 20 percentage points behind in the polls in January before former prime minister Justin Trudeau announced he was quitting, and Trump started threatening tariffs and annexation.

The Conservatives were on track to win the vote, but Trump's attacks, combined with the departure of unpopular Trudeau, transformed the race.

"Our old relationship with the United States, a relationship based on steadily increasing integration, is over," Carney said in a victory speech in Ottawa.

"The system of open global trade anchored by the United States, a system that Canada has relied on since the Second World War, a system that, while not perfect, has helped deliver prosperity for our country for decades, is over."

"America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country," Carney said.

"These are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so America can own us. That will never ever happen."

"These are tragedies, but it's also our new reality."

Carney said the coming months would be challenging for Canadians and require sacrifices.

Shachi Kurl, president of the polling firm Angus Reid Institute told Reuters the Liberal win hinged on three factors.

"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-center voters and traditional Liberal voters to come back to the party," Kurl said.

Carney had promised a tough approach with Washington over its import tariffs and said Canada would need to spend billions to reduce its reliance on the US.

But the right-of-center Conservatives, who called for change after more than nine years of Liberal rule, showed unexpected strength and the resulting fight was a close one.

Wave of Patriotism

Trump's threats ignited a wave of patriotism that swelled support for Carney, a political newcomer who previously led two G7 central banks.

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.

Trump re-emerged as a campaign factor last week, declaring that he might raise a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian-made cars because the US does not want them.

He said earlier he might use "economic force" to make Canada the 51st state.

Carney has emphasized that his experience handling economic issues makes him the best leader to deal with Trump, while Poilievre tapped into concerns about the cost of living, crime and a housing crisis.

Trump, in a social media post on Monday, reiterated his call for Canada to become the 51st state.

"Good luck to the Great people of Canada," he said.

Jagmeet faces defeat

Tensions with the US have caused supporters of two smaller parties, the left-leaning New Democratic Party and the separatist Bloc Quebecois, to shift to the Liberals.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh conceded defeat in his own district and said he planned to quit as party leader.

The NDP failed to secure even 12 seats, thus losing the party’s national status.

It contested on 343 seats, but secured just eight, as the polls closed.

NDP's defeat is being seen as a blow to the supporters of Khalistan, as Jagmeet is a recognized sympathizer of he movement.

The Conservatives appeared on track to make gains in the seat-rich Toronto area to prevent a Liberal majority government, but Poilievre was trailing in his own Ottawa-area district, with votes still being counted.

"We didn't quite get over the finish line yet," Poilievre told his supporters in Ottawa. "We know that change is needed, but change is hard to come by. It takes time."

The Liberals are the last party to win four consecutive elections in Canada, accomplishing the feat in 2004.

Poilievre focused his campaign on domestic issues and the need to fix a country that he said the Liberals had "broken."

For this 45-year-old Conservative politician, 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.