In a shocking move, Canadians have handed the Liberal Party, led by Mark Carney, another term in power in the 2025 federal election.
The decision extends a decade of liberal governance that many argue has left Canada economically strained and politically adrift.
Carney, a former central banker (in England, per the BBC) with no prior elected experience, replaced Justin Trudeau in March after Trudeau’s resignation amid plummeting polls.
The Liberal Party’s victory, reported on at multiple outlets, including NBC and The New York Times, defied expectations, as polls earlier this year showed Conservatives under Pierre Poilievre leading by double digits.
Poilievre, who campaigned on affordability and “common sense politics,” conceded defeat early Tuesday but vowed to hold the Liberals accountable.
Shockingly, Poilievre then lost his own seat in Carleton, Ontario, a stunning blow to the Conservative leader — and a sign that Poilievre’s rhetoric, which always hewed close to that of President Donald Trump’s, may have fallen on deaf or defiant ears, the Times reported.
The Liberals have reportedly secured 167 seats, falling short of the 172 needed for a majority, meaning Carney will likely rely on smaller parties like the NDP to govern, as noted by Reuters.
(Conservatives have nailed down 145 seats.)
This minority government setup promises fragility, similar to the current set-up in the U.S. Congress, where the ruling party must navigate with razor thin margins.
Did Canada just do itself a major disservice?
Carney’s campaign leaned heavily on anti-American rhetoric, capitalizing on Trump’s tariffs and provocative comments about Canada becoming the “51st state.”
In his victory speech, Carney doubled down.
“President Trump is trying to break us, so that America can own us,” he said, per NBC. “That will never, ever happen.”
Canadians, it seems, bought into this narrative, prioritizing opposition to the U.S. over domestic priorities like housing and cost-of-living crises. Poilievre’s evaporating double-digit lead also attests to this.
The election, despite being Canadian, somehow became a referendum on Trump, with Carney painting himself as the defender of Canadian sovereignty against American “betrayal.”
“We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons. We have to look out for ourselves,” he said.
This anti-U.S. sentiment, stoked by Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods (10 percent on Canadian energy), fueled a surge of nationalism that seemingly flipped the electoral script.
This election suggests Canadians are more interested in symbolic defiance than pragmatic leadership, choosing liberal anti-Trump-ness over Poilievre’s more grounded vision for Canada.
(For that matter, Poilievre had explicitly told Trump to stay out of Canadian elections on X, saying that his country would “NEVER be the 51st state.”)
By electing Carney, Canada has signaled it’s doubling down on policies that have failed for a decade, ignoring the chance for real change.
And the U.S. now faces a northern neighbor led by a prime minister eager to vilify it, setting the stage for tense years ahead.
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