Mark Carney’s Liberals win minority

Mark Carney’s Liberal party has won the federal election, but fallen short of securing a majority government. 

On top of securing a fourth consecutive mandate for the Liberals, Carney also captured his Nepean seat, cementing the former central banker’s entry into elected politics. The move gives the party another shot at power, with Carney becoming the face of a comeback from the unpopularity of Justin Trudeau.

In his victory speech, Carney promised to be humble.

“Over my long career, I have made many mistakes, and I will make more, but I commit to admitting them openly, to correcting them quickly and always learning from them,” he said to the Liberal supporters gathered at a hockey arena in Ottawa shortly after 1 a.m Tuesday. 

As of 1:30 a.m., Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was trailing the Liberal candidate in his riding of Carleton and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh had lost his seat in Burnaby.

Singh said he would stay on as leader until a new one is appointed.

“We are only defeated if we stop fighting,” said Singh in a concession speech that began shortly after 12:30 a.m. “We’re only defeated when we believe those that tell us that we can never dream of a better Canada, a fairer Canada, a more compassionate Canada.”

Poilievre, on the other hand, showed no sign of quitting.

He called the election results a “razor-thin minority government” and “a virtual tie,” and spoke about co-operating with the other parties in Canada’s interest.

“While we will do our constitutional duty of holding government to account and proposing better alternatives, we will always put Canada first as we stare down tariffs and other irresponsible threats from (U.S.) President (Donald) Trump,” said Poilievre. “Conservatives will work with the prime minister and all parties with the common goal of defending Canada's interests and getting a new trade deal that puts these tariffs behind us while protecting our sovereignty and the Canadian people.”

Carney also took aim at Trump, repeating a line he’d used in the campaign: “President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. That will never, that will never, ever happen.”

A Liberal victory was considered all but impossible only three months ago. 

Trudeau announced his resignation as prime minister in early January amid mounting pressure to either resign or call an election, while Poilievre’s Conservatives held a 25-point lead in the polls and promised to kick him out of office in a “carbon tax election.” 

In one of his first actions as prime minister, shortly before calling the election, Carney axed the consumer carbon tax. 

Carney pitched himself to Canadians as not only a change from the last 10 years of Liberal government, but also as the best person to face off against Trump and manage the country’s economy during a crisis. He’s also promised to put a greater focus on fiscal discipline than Trudeau.

Trump reared his head again on election day, calling on voters to elect him and become the 51st U.S. state.