The Liberal Party of Canada led by economist Mark Carney has won the federal election and is now set to form a new government. This is after Carney led the Liberals to a shocking victory over the Conservative Party led by Pierre Poilievre.
However, projections showed that Carney will have to form a minority government after his party failed to reach the 170 seats threshold for a majority government.
The victory by Mark Carney was a shock turnaround for the Liberals who were trailing the Conservatives by more than 25 points in the polls barely two months ago. However, the departure of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from the party and the election of Carney as the leader of Liberals improved perception in favour of the Liberals.
The gap between the Liberals and Conservatives was further narrowed down following threats by US President Donald Trump to make Canada the 51st State of the United States, and the trade tariffs that followed.
“President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us – that will never ever happen,” Carney said in his victory speech.
According to the BBC, the US president’s tariff threats and comments undermining Canada’s sovereignty “played an outsized role in this election, suddenly making leadership and the country’s economic survival the defining issues of the campaign.”
Canadians refusing to visit US in protest against Trump
But while Carney used these threats to pass his message, his opponent chose to focus on domestic issues. “Mark Carney used it to his advantage, running as much against Trump as he did against his main opposition rival, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre,” the BBC reported.
Poilievre brought Trump up much less frequently during the campaign, focusing his message on domestic issues – the cost of living, the housing affordability crisis, and crime – and targeting the Liberals for their record on those matters.”
Faced with a minority government, Carney will now rely on other parties for backup in passing critical legislature and surviving in power.
He forms the government as Canada’s Prime Minister with a decorated career in the banking industry. A profile by the Bank of Canada states that Carney was appointed Governor of the Bank of Canada, effective 1 February 2008, for a term of seven years.
“After five and half years of service as Governor, Mark Carney departed the Bank of Canada on 1 June 2013 to become the Governor of the Bank of England. He was appointed to this position on 26 November 2012, with an effective date of 1 July 2013,” the profile states.
