The polling has closed in at least four Atlantic provinces, and their results projections are the first indication of how Canada voted in monumental elections largely shaped by US President Trump’s annexation threats. Early results are trickling in from Labrador, where polls closed at 7 pm (ET). Voting is still underway in most of Canada, including in vote-rich Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.
Led by Prime Minister Mark Carney, the Liberals are hoping for a comeback as posters indicate a tight race. Election day came as the country grappled with the fallout from a deadly weekend attack at a Vancouver street fair that led to the suspension of campaigning for several hours.
Canada spans six time zones, and will see its final polling stations in western regions close at 7:00 pm local time, with results expected later in the evening. If the Liberals win, it would mark one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history.
On January 6, the day Trudeau announced he would resign, the Conservatives led the Liberals by more than 20 points in most polls. But Carney replacing Trudeau, combined with nationwide unease about Trump, transformed the race. Public broadcaster CBC’s poll aggregator’s final update late Sunday put the Liberals’ national support at 42.8 per cent, with the Conservatives at 39.2 per cent.
The performance of two smaller parties — the left-wing New Democratic Party and the separatist Bloc Quebecois — could be decisive as strong showings by both parties in past votes have curbed Liberal seat tallies.
Nearly 29 million of Canada’s 41 million people are eligible to vote in the massive G7 country. A record 7.3 million people cast advanced ballots. Canadians will elect 343 members of parliament, meaning 172 seats are needed for a majority. The Liberals won a majority in 2015 but have governed with a minority since 2019.
The Liberal Party, led by new Carney, was trailing Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives until Trump’s attacks on Canada sparked a wave of patriotism and a sudden reversal in poll forecasts. The US president trolled Canadians on election day by suggesting on social media that he was in fact on the ballot and repeating that Canada should become the 51st state, incorrectly claiming the US subsidises Canada.
Both Carney and Poilievre said that if elected, they would accelerate renegotiations of a free trade deal between Canada and the US in a bid to end the uncertainty hurting both of their economies.
Poilievre, criticised during the campaign for his at-times muted anger towards Trump, hit back firmly. “President Trump, stay out of our election,” he posted on X. “Canada will always be proud, sovereign and independent and we will NEVER be the 51st state.”
Carney also weighed in, saying on X: “This is Canada and we decide what happens here.” The 60-year-old has never held elected office and only replaced Justin Trudeau as prime minister last month.
