Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has won the country’s federal election Monday night, The Associated Press (AP) reported, marking a stunning resurgence for Canada’s Liberal Party in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump‘s tariff threats and repeated calls for Canada to become the 51st state.
Newsweek reached out to Canada’s Liberal Party via email Monday night.
Why It Matters
Carney took over as prime minister after his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, left office earlier this year with low favorability ratings.
Although the election was initially expected to tilt in favor of the Conservative Party, Trump turned the tables by taunting Trudeau as “Governor Trudeau” and imposing steep tariffs on the U.S.’s closest trading partner, leading to a surge in popularity for Trudeau, Carney and the Liberal Party.
Poilievre, meanwhile, has been compared to Trump in the media and shares some similarities with the U.S. president, particularly as it relates to his “Canada first” messaging and his tough-on-crime platform.
What To Know
The election was called shortly after 10 p.m. ET for Carney, after polls closed at 7 p.m. PT in British Columbia.
More than seven million Canadians cast their ballot ahead of election day and broke an early voting record, according to AP.
Ahead of polls closing nationwide, 72 percent of people said Carney was going to win the election compared to 28 percent, on betting odds website Polymarket at 8:44 p.m. ET.
According to the AP, citing the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Liberal Party will win more of Parliament’s seats than the Conservative Party, but it was immediately unclear if they have an outright majority.
Trump did not formally endorse either candidate but mentioned the election in a post on social media on Monday.
His remarks drew swift rebukes from both Poilievre and Carney, who warned Trump to stay out of the election and rejected his calls for Canada to become the 51st state.
After his January inauguration, Trump announced a first round of tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China for concerns the countries were pouring fentanyl into America. The Canadian government has repeatedly rebuked the president amid his ongoing remarks and hit back with threats on American imports as well.
Officials seized less than 50 pounds of fentanyl along the U.S. northern border in the 2024 fiscal year, according to the AP, citing U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) data. Since January, CBP data shows, authorities have confiscated 1.5 pounds of the powerful synthetic opioid. Comparatively, the AP reports that last year, officials intercepted more than 21,000 pounds of the drug along the U.S. southern border.
What People Are Saying
Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier Monday: “Good luck to the Great people of Canada. Elect the man who has the strength and wisdom to cut your taxes in half, increase your military power, for free, to the highest level in the World, have your Car, Steel, Aluminum, Lumber, Energy, and all other businesses, QUADRUPLE in size, WITH ZERO TARIFFS OR TAXES, if Canada becomes the cherished 51st. State of the United States of America.”
The president continued: “No more artificially drawn line from many years ago. Look how beautiful this land mass would be. Free access with NO BORDER. ALL POSITIVES WITH NO NEGATIVES. IT WAS MEANT TO BE! America can no longer subsidize Canada with the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year that we have been spending in the past. It makes no sense unless Canada is a State!”
Carney responded with a video message on X, along with the caption: “This is Canada — and we decide what happens here.”
Poilievre responded on X: “President Trump, stay out of our election. The only people who will decide the future of Canada are Canadians at the ballot box. Canada will always be proud, sovereign and independent and we will NEVER be the 51st state.”
He continued, “Today Canadians can vote for change so we can strengthen our country, stand on our own two feet and stand up to America from a position of strength.”
Millionaire businessman Kevin O’Leary on X on Monday: “Something unusual is happening in the 905 metropolitan area of Toronto, where mostly, it’s just like Florida, elections are determined. It has the most populous number of seats in the Canadian parliament. They’ve had an unprecedented showing today in Canada, not only in the early voting, but even today, lineups around the block, and I don’t know what that means because it’s never ever happened before. This will be the highest turnout in Canadian history for an election.”
O’Leary added: “The question is simply this. Can Carney, who basically was the policy for Trudeau in the last five years that devastated the Canadian economy and brought 25% of the population to the poverty line, can he get that stink off his clothing by using Donald Trump as the shiny bead for everybody to look at while he says, ‘Don’t look at our track record.’ Now, he may be successful with that, but I got a feeling something’s up right now, and you may be very surprised in a few hours. There is a lot of very unhappy Canadians with Mr. Carney.”
What Happens Next
Carney and Poilievre have yet to issue a statement following the reported election results, but it is likely.
Update 4/28/25 11:11 ET: This story was updated with additional information.
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