Canadian election: Liberals win on anti-Trump platform

Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada won a new term on Monday night, the national broadcaster CBC/Radio Canada projected, a remarkable turnaround for his Liberal Party, owed in large part to US President Trump’s aggressive stance toward the country.

After midnight, it was still unclear whether the Liberal Party would secure a majority of seats in the House of Commons or have to form a minority government. Preliminary results were likely to be available overnight Tuesday. A minority government would require support from other parties to pass legislation and would be weaker and less stable than a majority.

But the voters’ decision sealed a stunning reversal for the Liberal Party that just months ago seemed all but certain to lose to the Conservative Party, led by the career politician Pierre Poilievre.

Carney has been prime minister since March, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stepped down.

Poilievre conceded early Tuesday morning but said that he would remain as party leader.

The Canadian election has been dominated by Trump and his relentless focus on Canada, America’s closest ally and trading partner. Trump has imposed tariffs on Canadian goods, pushing the country toward a recession, and repeatedly threatened to annex it as the 51st state. Even as Canadians were heading to the polls on Monday morning, he repeated that desire, arguing on social media that it would bring economic and military benefits.

Carney, 60, a seasoned economist and policymaker who promoted himself as the anti-Trump candidate and centered his campaign on dealing with the United States, ultimately benefited from the American president's actions.

Poilievre, 45, and the Conservatives had been dominating polls for years, building a platform against the Liberals and Trudeau around the argument that they had dragged Canada into prolonged economic malaise.

But they watched their double-digit lead rapidly evaporate after Trump’s aggressiveness toward Canada and Trudeau’s resignation.

Canadians heading to the polls were preoccupied both with the country’s relationship with its neighbor to the south and with the state of the economy at home. Affordability worries, primarily over housing, were top of mind, opinion surveys conducted before the election showed.

But Canada’s choice on Monday also came as a kind of referendum against Trump and the way he has been treating America’s allies and its trading partners.