Canadians headed over to the polls on Monday, April 28, to elect the members of the House of Commons to the 45th Canadian Parliament. With the recent events of imposed tariffs and Trump’s proposed idea of Canada becoming the “51st state” of America, the 45th and 47th president of the United States played a critical role in shaping how citizens voted in this election.
As part of Mark Carney’s campaign, he emphasized the policy pressures from Trump and promised defiance and pride in Canada’s sovereignty, while also promising to boost the country’s economy during this turbulent time. Carney is a sixty-year-old economist who served as the governor of the Bank of Canada and the head of the Bank of England, with a strong academic background from Harvard University and Oxford. He also pulled off a political miracle, bringing the Liberal Party’s comeback to its fourth term in power, all while entering the political scene just three months ago as an experienced banker.
Carney was mostly against three other party leaders in their respective ridings (electoral districts): Bloc Québécois, Conservative and the New Democratic Party. His main rival, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, has just lost his own seat in Parliament after 21 years. Being so close to becoming the widely referred to next prime minister of Canada, this result was upsetting, especially when former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was unfavourable among voters and the Conservatives received their highest share of the popular vote since 1988.
Despite the Liberals performing well in this election, Conservatives were still able to gain seats in the House of Commons. With the rising patriotism, Canadians have become conflicted about their trust in Poilievre, as he shares similar ideologies with the American president during this tense time in Canada-U.S. relations. However, some voters think that electing Poilievre is exactly what the country needs to deal with Trump, to fight fire with fire.
Despite having won enough seats, Liberals are short of a majority that needs 172 seats. According to preliminary results: Liberals have 169 seats, Conservatives have 144 seats, Bloc Québécois have 22 seats, New Democrats have seven seats and the Green Party has one.
In Canada, the candidate who receives the most votes in each riding wins the seat and becomes a member of Parliament. The party that holds the most seats in Parliament forms the government. Hence, its leader becomes the prime minister. Since the Liberals fell short and missed out on the majority, they will form a minority government, which will require the support of three other members from smaller parties to pass legislation and policies in the 343-seat chamber.
With the 2025 Canadian election results, Carney does not have time to take in the victory, as the Canadian Parliament has not been in session since Trudeau resigned and suspended its activities in January. Canadians will be looking to him for his navigation and lawmaking in restoring the current state of global trade and security, drawing on his past experience leading major institutions through turmoil, including the Bank of England during Brexit. The G7 leaders’ summit in June will be his first test to see if Carney is truly the right candidate for Canada.