The country is also grappling with the aftermath of a fatal car ramming attack on Saturday in Vancouver. The tragedy prompted the suspension of campaigning for several hours. Police ruled out terrorism and said the suspect is a local man with a history of mental health issues.
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Liberals win in Canada — but will they have majority rule?
Voting is over in Canada’s parliamentary elections, but ballot counting continues, as does the uncertainty over whether the ruling party will govern with a majority.
Carney also won his seat, and he will keep his job as prime minister. But he will have to form a new government with a new cabinet.
The big question, though, is if Liberals will secure enough seats for a majority — or if they will have enough support from the NDP and Green Party in a minority Parliament.
Trump has yet to weigh in on the election’s results
However, he is touting the trade measures that helped motivate Canadian voters on his Truth Social site.
“The USA lost Billions of Dollars A DAY in International Trade under Sleepy Joe Biden,” he wrote on the site. “I have now stemmed that tide, and will be making a fortune, very soon. Stay tuned as we MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Sitting Prime Minister Mark Carney retains his seat in Ottawa
The first non-Brit to run the Bank of England since it was founded in 1694, and the former head of Canada's central bank, in January entered the race to be Canada's next prime minister following Trudeau's resignation.
Carney’s Liberal Party has been projected to win more of Parliament’s 343 seats than the Conservatives. But it wasn’t clear yet if the Liberals will win an outright majority, which would allow them to pass legislation without needing help.
Mark Carney’s Liberals win election, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation projects
The win Monday caps a stunning turnaround in fortunes fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s annexation threats and trade war.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster, said the Liberals will win more of Parliament’s 343 seats than the Conservatives. It wasn’t clear yet if the Liberals will win an outright majority, which would allow them to pass legislation without needing help.
The Liberals looked headed for a crushing defeat until the American president started attacking Canada's economy and threatening its sovereignty, suggesting it should become the 51st state. Trump's actions infuriated Canadians and stoked a surge in nationalism that helped the Liberals flip the election narrative and win a fourth-straight term in power.
The opposition Conservative Party's leader, Pierre Poilievre, hoped to make the election a referendum on former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose popularity declined toward the end of his decade in power as food and housing prices rose.
But Trump attacked, Trudeau resigned and Carney, a two-time central banker, became the Liberal Party's leader and prime minister.
All polls closed across Canada
As of 10 p.m. EDT, all polls have closed across Canada.
Many areas across Eastern, Central and Mountain Time wrapped up voting at the same time, 9:30 p.m. EDT, as well as in Saskatchewan.
Those poll closures also included Ontario and Quebec, Canada’s most populous provinces. The remaining two provinces — British Columbia and Yukon — closed polls 30 minutes later.
Canadians aren’t directly electing their prime minister
Voters in each of Canada’s 343 federal electoral districts are only electing their local representative to the House of Commons.
The leader of whichever party wins a majority of seats in the House of Commons will form a new government and serve as prime minister.
If no party wins a majority, a party — usually the one with the most seats — can form a minority government but must rely on support from some opposition members. In rare cases, two or more parties might reach a formal agreement to form a coalition government together.
In this election, it’s paper ballots only
Elections Canada has said it’s sticking with paper ballots — which are hand counted — for these federal elections.
Candidates may appoint representatives to oversee the count. Results from polling stations are reported to Elections Canada, which releases them online.
Results typically trickle out as polls close, since ballot boxes themselves aren’t relocated to centralized places for counting.
Many say they voted for change
Sisters Laiqa and Mahira Shoaib said they both voted for change in Monday’s election.
Laiqa, a 27-year-old health care worker, voted for the New Democratic Party. Mahira, 25, who works at a bank, supported the Conservative Party.
The sisters, who immigrated from Pakistan a decade ago, say the economy has worsened and job opportunities have dried up under Liberal rule.
“It was different when we arrived,” Laiqa Shoaib said after casting her ballot at a community center in Mississauga, Ontario, just outside of Toronto. “We need to get out of Liberals.”
Mahira Shoaib said Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is the best candidate to improve the country’s financial picture.
“He is business-minded, and that’s what we need right now,” she said.
Both sisters said President Trump’s rhetoric and tariff plans also influenced their voting decisions.
‘Elbows up’ pops up as a way to show Canadian unity. What does it mean?
It comes from hockey, Canada’s signature sport, but it’s playing a role in this year’s elections, too.
The phrase dates back to Gordie Howe, a longtime Detroit Red Wings hockey player from Saskatchewan known for his toughness and use of his elbows in fending off opponents.
Since Trump’s comments about annexing Canada as a U.S. state and his tariffs on Canadian exports, “Elbows up” has popped up across social media as a way to show Canadian unity against Trump’s threats.
Comedian Mike Myers, a Canadian, appeared in an ad with Carney, both men clad in “Never 51” jerseys and popping up their elbows alongside a hockey rink. Last month, Myers also appeared on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” in a “Canada Is Not For Sale” T-shirt.
Trump insists that Canada needs the US more than the US needs it
Trump reinserted himself into Canada’s election during a signing ceremony inside the Oval Office, saying Canada “would cease to exist as a country” if the U.S. stopped buying its goods.
“I have to be honest, as a state, it works great,” said Trump, who previously threatened to make the country the 51st state through economic coercion.
Trump reiterated his claim that the U.S. doesn’t need anything from Canada — including autos and oil.
Carney said last week that eliminating trade barriers within Canada would benefit Canadians as he made his case to retain power. Carney has set a goal of free trade within the country’s 10 provinces and three territories by July 1. Canada has long had interprovincial trade barriers.
“We can give ourselves far more than Donald Trump can ever take away,” Carney said. “We can have one economy. This is within our grasp.”
▶ Read more about Trump and Carney's comments
Trump says Canada as a US state ‘would be great’
As Canadians vote, Trump has reiterated his stance on incorporating the northern neighbor.
In an interview with The Atlantic posted online Monday, the U.S. president said his country doesn’t need gasoline, oil, lumber or “energy of any type” from Canada.
Nearly a quarter of the oil America consumes per day comes from Canada. About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, as are 85% of U.S. electricity imports.
Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day.
Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security.
Elections Canada says majority of ballots will be counted on election night
Elections Canada says it expects to count the "vast majority" of ballots on election night. Each polling place counts its election day vote by hand after polls close and reports the results to the district's local Elections Canada office, which then posts the results on the Elections Canada website. Results are also released directly to Canadian news organizations.
Results from mail voting and ballots cast at special locations such as military bases and correctional institutions are also reported on the Elections Canada website and released to the news media, but they can take longer to tabulate.
Only preliminary results are available on election night. Vote totals are double-checked in the days following the election, but final, official results typically are not available until about six months after election day, according to Elections Canada.
Elections Canada does not declare winners in any district or in the overall contest for prime minister. Canadian media organizations typically announce winners based on their own independent analysis of election results.
Here's how votes are counted
All ballots are counted by hand by federal election officials in the presence of witnesses, usually campaign or party representatives.
Ballots cast in person on election day are counted at each local polling place after polls close. Ballots cast in person before election day and mail ballots cast from within the district are tabulated at the district’s local Elections Canada office.
Ballots from incarcerated voters, members of the military, Canadians living overseas and voters who live in Canada but outside their home district —such as some college students — are counted at a centralized Elections Canada facility in Ottawa.
Poll closings are somewhat synchronized across six time zones
Canada’s vast expanse has six time zones, but polls are somewhat synchronized to end at about the same time across the country.
Polls in Newfoundland close at 7 p.m. EDT. Areas just west of that, including Nova Scotia, are on Atlantic Time and vote until 7:30 p.m. EDT.
Many areas across Eastern, Central and Mountain Time all wrap up voting at 9:30 p.m. EDT, as well as in Saskatchewan.
Polls in Pacific Time are open until 10 p.m. EDT.
Others are in contention and another party leader urges voters to protect Canada
Other parties are fielding candidates as well.
One is Jagmeet Singh, who heads the progressive New Democratic Party and responded on X to Trump's remarks by telling voters that "You can protect what makes Canada, Canada. Every New Democrat you send to Ottawa will stand up for our country. And never back down."
There's also Yves-François Blanchet, who leads Bloc Québécois, a Quebec nationalist party.
In March, Carney called for Parliament to be dissolved to pave the way for the election. At the time, the Liberals held 152 seats and the Conservatives had 120. Bloc Québécois held 33 seats and the NDP held 24. Others were held by unrecognized parties, independents or were vacant.
Canada is a constitutional monarchy, with Britain's King Charles III serving as ceremonial head of state. The country's electoral system is modeled after the U.K.'s.
How the prime minister and members of Parliament are elected
A member of the House of Commons will be elected in each of the nation’s 343 federal electoral districts, also known as a constituency or a riding. The winner in each district is the candidate who receives the most votes. A majority vote is not required to get elected to Parliament. This is sometimes called a “first-past-the-post” system.
The leader of the party that wins a majority of seats in the House of Commons will form a new government and serve as prime minister. If no party wins a majority, a party — usually the one with the most seats — can form a minority government but must rely on support from some opposition members. In rare cases, two or more parties might reach a formal agreement to form a coalition government together.
Canada’s Parliament has an upper chamber called the Senate, but those members are appointed and do not play a role in determining the prime minister.
A Toronto voter says Poilievre ‘sounds like mini-Trump’
Toronto resident Reid Warren says he voted Liberal because Poilievre “sounds like mini-Trump to me.” And he says Trump’s tariffs are a worry.
“Canadians coming together from, you know, all the shade
The winner will face many challenges
Canada has been dealing with a cost-of-living crisis for some time, and Trump's threat to impose sweeping tariffs and his desire to get North American automakers to move Canada’s production south could severely damage the Canadian economy.
Both Carney and Poilievre said that if elected, they would accelerate renegotiations of a free trade deal between Canada and the U.S. to end the uncertainty hurting both of their economies.
Carney has notable experience navigating economic crises after running Canada’s central bank and later becoming the first non-U.K. citizen to run the Bank of England.
Poilievre urges Trump to stay out of election
Poilievre, who has been criticized for not taking a firmer stance against Trump, responded to the U.S. president's post with a post of his own.
“President Trump, stay out of our election. The only people who will decide the future of Canada are Canadians at the ballot box,” he posted. “Canada will always be proud, sovereign and independent and we will NEVER be the 51st state.”
Poilievre and his wife voted in their suburban district near the nation’s capital, Ottawa.
Trump’s attacks have put Poilievre and the Conservative Party on the defensive.
“The Americans want to break us so they can own us,” Carney said recently. “Those aren’t just words. That’s what’s at risk.”
Trump trolls Canadians on election day
The U.S. president trolled Canadians on social media, suggesting that he himself is on the ballot, repeating that Canada should become the 51st state and incorrectly claiming that the U.S. subsidizes Canada.
“It makes no sense unless Canada is a State!” Trump posted.
Canadians have canceled U.S. vacations, refused to buy U.S. and voted early — a record 7.3 million Canadians cast ballots before their Election Day.
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