Ottawa, April 29: Canada’s Liberal Party is set to retain its power under Prime Minister Mark Carney after a closely-fought election with an unintended boost from US President Donald Trump, who helped unleash a wave of nationalism in a country known for its understated demeanour.
Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre conceded defeat and congratulated him early Tuesday morning, sealing his victory. Declaring victory, Carney said, “We will build an independent future for our great country.”
At 3 a.m. (12:30 p.m. in India), with results still coming in, it was not clear if the Liberal Party would have a majority on its own. The party had won 150 seats and was leading in 17, which together could add to 167 seats, six short of a majority in the 343-member House of Commons.
It had 152 seats in the last parliament. The Conservative Party had won 132 seats and was ahead in 13, for a total of 145 likely seats. The National Democratic Party, led by Khalistan sympathiser Jagmeet Singh suffered a rout, winning five seats and leading in two, while Singh himself lost the election.
The Liberal Party appeared at the beginning of the year to be heading towards a humiliating defeat when Trump resurrected it by waging a tariff war against Canada and threatening to annexe it.
Support for the party surged in a show of defiance against Trump and reinvigorated nationalism. In the backlash, many Canadians switched allegiance to the Liberal Party, which they believed was better placed to stand up to Trump than the Conservative Party led by Pierre Poilievre, whose ideology mirrored the US President’s in many ways.
The Liberals were also helped by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had become very unpopular, stepping down and replaced by Carney. A newcomer to electoral politics, Carney is a technocrat who had been the governor of the central banks of Britain and Canada during trying times for them economically.
Both the Liberal and Conservative leaders offered messages of unity and hope. Poilievre offered his cooperation in “getting a trade deal that puts these tariffs behind us while protecting the sovereignty of Canada and the Canadian people.”
Carney, who congratulated Poilievre on his election, said, “Let’s put an end to the division and anger of the past. We are all Canadian, and my government will work for and with everyone.”
Turning to the confrontation with Washington, he said, “When I sit down with President Trump, it will be to discuss the future economy and security relationship between two sovereign nations.”
He said he would work to wean Canada away from its dependence on the US. Trump, who ridiculed Trudeau, calling him the “governor of the 51st state” of the US, has been more restrained with Carney. He has said that he could work with Carney. IANS