New elections in Canada

Liberals win Canadian elections – Carney to remain as prime minister

The Liberal Party has won the Canadian election, according to forecasts from CTV and the public service broadcaster CBC. This is the fourth time in a row that the party has been given the confidence of the voters to lead the country.

It is still unclear whether the party will be able to form a majority government or whether they will have to rule in a minority. As of 5 a.m., the Liberals have secured 156 seats compared to the Conservative Party’s 145. To gain a majority in parliament, 172 seats are needed.

The separatist Bloc Québécois, which is only running in Quebec, is leading in 25 districts. The social-democratic NDP is balancing on the fence and has the lead in ten districts. Twelve seats are needed to enter parliament.

The Liberals’ victory means that Mark Carney, who took over from Justin Trudeau in March, will remain as prime minister.

Carney Promises to Protect His Country: "Trump Wants to Break Us So the US Can Own Us"

Canada's newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney promises to protect his country from Donald Trump, he says in his victory speech.

- The US wants our country, our resources, our water. These are not empty threats. Trump is trying to break us so the US can own us. That will never happen, says Carney.

Within a few days, he and Trump will "discuss the future of two sovereign and independent nations". But the fact is that the "old relationship" with the US is already over after the US's "betrayal", which Mark Carney describes as a tragedy. He sees strengthened ties with Europe and Asia ahead.

In the speech, Carney also says that he understands that millions of Canadians wanted to see a different direction for Canada, but he now promises to work for all residents and urges unity. 

Analysis: Voters flocked to Carney's safe embrace

The election in Canada was more about Donald Trump than about Canada's Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, writes Susan Delacourt in the Toronto Star. On election day, Trump wrote that he himself would be the best leader for Canada.

"Canadians politely said no and gave the victory to Mark Carney and the Liberals - a vote for stability in the midst of the chaos that Trump is trying to create."

In the more conservative Toronto newspaper, Toronto Sun, Mark Lilley writes that the Canadians have changed the frontman in the band, but not the musicians or the songs. He notes that the conservatives were heading for a huge victory until Trump's swing led hordes of voters into Carney's "warm and safe embrace."

"Carney has been incredibly lucky."

In The Globe and Mail, Tony Keller writes that the newly elected prime minister promised during the election campaign to “cut taxes like a Conservative while spending more than a Trudeau Liberal.” Now that the term begins, he calls for honesty.

“Campaigning is about promising, but governing is about choosing.”