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The Canadian election was heavily influenced by the trade dispute with the U.S. and comments from Donald Trump suggesting Canada could become the “51st state.”
CBC Decision Desk and CTV News project that Mark Carney’s Liberals will secure a fourth consecutive term in Canada. Carney’s campaign focused on criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and his remark about Canada potentially becoming America’s “51st state.”
CTV reports that initial results from Sunday’s election indicate a Liberal victory with 89 seats in the House of Commons, while the Conservatives are expected to win 77. A total of 172 seats is needed for a majority government.
The election was triggered by Justin Trudeau’s resignation as Liberal prime minister in January, after nearly a decade in office. Trudeau’s departure followed an internal party crisis, with his approval ratings plummeting to record lows.
Carney, a former financial expert who led both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, strongly condemned Trump’s “unjustified” tariffs on Canadian goods. “His goal is to weaken us so that America can control us,” Carney stated at a campaign event leading up to the election.
“The previous relationship with the United States – built on increasing economic integration and close security and military ties – is finished,” he declared.
In early March, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on the majority of Canadian goods, citing trade imbalance and drug trafficking concerns. In response, Ottawa implemented its own tariffs on American products.
Trump also suggested that Canada would be better off becoming the “51st state” of the U.S., a suggestion rejected by the Liberals and other parties. Carney stated that he made it clear to Trump during their phone call that Canada would never become part of the U.S. “Absolutely not. Never. Let’s move on,” he said.
Several media outlets have suggested that Trump’s tariffs and aggressive comments helped increase the Liberals’ popularity. “We were in a very bad position in December. Now, we are likely to form a government,” David Lametti, the former Liberal Justice Minister, told CTV on Monday. “We owe this turnaround to Mark,” he added.