Canadians began voting on Monday to choose a new government, facing critical issues like threats of annexation from the United States and the need to deal directly with President Donald Trump, whose trade war has heavily influenced the election campaign.
The first polling stations to open were in the Atlantic province of Newfoundland and Labrador, as the vast country, which covers six time zones, started its voting process. Initially, the Liberal Party, now led by new Prime Minister Mark Carney, was expected to suffer a major defeat to the Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre. However, when US President Trump launched attacks on Canada, voter sentiment shifted, and poll numbers started to favour the Liberals.
Mark Carney, who is 60-years-old, only became prime minister last month after replacing Justin Trudeau. Carney has never before held an elected office. He previously had a successful career as an investment banker and later served as the governor of the central banks in both Canada and Britain.
Throughout the campaign, Carney has argued that his experience managing major financial institutions prepared him well to lead Canada through the current challenges, especially Trump's tariffs and trade actions. He has also pledged to strengthen trade within Canada and expand Canada’s business opportunities internationally to reduce reliance on the United States, which he says "we can no longer trust."
Carney has repeatedly warned during the campaign that the United States under Trump "wants to break us, so they can own us." In the final days before the election, Carney told Canadians, "We don’t need chaos, we need calm. We don’t need anger, we need an adult."
Meanwhile, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, 45, who has spent his entire career in politics, has focused his campaign on domestic problems that made Trudeau unpopular, such as the rising cost of living.
Poilievre has argued that electing Carney would simply continue what he called “the lost Liberal decade." He said that only a new Conservative government could properly address the real problems Canadians care about, such as crime, housing shortages, and other issues unrelated to Trump. "You cannot handle another four years of this," Poilievre said at a campaign event over the weekend. Although Poilievre has criticised Trump, he insisted that ten years of Liberal rule had left Canada weak and exposed to threats from a now-hostile United States.
‘A Good Pick’
Final polls suggest a close race, but they show Carney slightly ahead. Polls have also consistently shown that voters believe Carney, with his financial background, is the best person to stand up to Trump.
Jeff Sims, a resident of Quebec near the national capital Ottawa, said he believes Carney has "the pedigree" needed to be prime minister. "Two central banks under his belt, I think that’s a good pick," the 46-year-old said on Sunday.
At a Conservative rally over the weekend in Oakville, a key battleground city west of Toronto, Janice Wyner criticized the idea that Carney would bring change. She said, "Trudeau’s policies stunk and it’s the same party. Canada is just in a mess. I’m 70 years old. It’s not even a country that I recognize and I’m worried for my grandkids."
Similarly, Nadine Sokol, a 41-year-old from near Ottawa, said her top concern was "the threat coming from the US."
Historic Turnaround
If the Liberals win, it would be one of the most dramatic comebacks in Canadian political history. Back on January 6, when Trudeau announced his resignation, polls showed the Conservatives leading the Liberals by more than 20 percentage points, and Poilievre seemed almost certain to become the next prime minister.
However, after Carney took over leadership and concerns about Trump grew across the country, the race tightened. According to CBC’s poll aggregator on Sunday, the Liberals had 42.8 per cent support nationwide, while the Conservatives had 38.8 per cent.
However, as in American elections, national polls do not always predict the final outcome. The performance of two smaller parties — the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) and the separatist Bloc Quebecois — will also play a major role.
In past elections, a strong NDP performance in Ontario and British Columbia, or a strong Bloc showing in Quebec, reduced the number of seats the Liberals could win. But this time, polls suggest both smaller parties might perform poorly. Nearly 29 million Canadians, out of an estimated population of 41 million, are eligible to vote. A record 7.3 million voters had already cast their ballots during advance voting.
In Canada, where the country stretches across six time zones, polling stations open at 8:30 a.m. local time, starting in Newfoundland and Labrador. Canadians are voting to elect 343 members of Parliament. A party needs 172 seats to hold a majority. The Liberals won a majority in 2015 but have governed with a minority since 2019.
Also Read: Putin declares ceasefire from May 8 to 10
Follow us
