Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called for early federal election on April 28. Liberals and Conservatives are tight in a race that is largely focused on Trump’s threats.
The newly elected Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney called for early federal elections on April 28, six months in advance.
This election doesn’t come as a surprise. Carney, 60, was elected by registered Liberal voters only to replace Trudeau, who resigned as party leader on January 6, 2025 in a period when he was deeply unpopular across the country. Since then, the Parliament has been prorogued – so unable to pass any new laws – until today, March 24.
Carney was officially sworn in as PM on March 14 and now wants to get to work with a strong mandate from all Canadians.
Dealing with Trump’s tariffs and expansionist threats is one of the most pressing issues in Canadian politics right now. Skyrocketing costs of living, the housing crisis and inflation are among the others.
Carney’s main opponent is Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party, whose popularity has been rising significantly in the past two years.
How do federal elections work in Canada?
Canada has a first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system. Canadians don’t vote directly for their Prime Minister: they elect local members of the House of Commons, who need to get most of the votes to win (here’s the FPTP system), not a 50+1 majority.
The country is divided in 343 ridings, one for each seat in Parliament. Whoever wins the election will need 172 seats to form a majority government. Alternatively, whoever gets the most votes can lead a minority government with the support of another party to pass legislation.
Former PM Trudeau’s last government, for example, was a minority government, and it was passing legislation with the help of the NDP, New Democratic Party led by Jagmeet Singh.
The race: Liberals VS. Conservatives
Carney is holding elected office for the first time in his career. Former banker, he was head of the Bank of Canada during the 2008 crisis and head of the Bank of England during Brexit. He’s going all in with his financial expertise to protect Canadians from Trump’s tariffs.
His main adversary is Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada from September 2022.
Poilievre, 45, has been in Parliament since 2004. He has held various positions, including Minister of Democratic Reform and Employment Minister under Steven Harper’s conservative government (2006-2015). He campaigns on deregulation and cutting taxes to make life more affordable for Canadians.
He advocates for unleashing Canada’s full potential when it comes to oil and gas resources and giving up on environmental policies that get in the way, like Trudeau’s tax on carbon emissions – which Carney cancelled on day in an attempt to disarm his opponent.
Poilievre has twenty years of experience in Canadian politics and he’s a confident orator whose similarities with Trump didn’t go unnoticed – like his attacks on “biased” government funded media and on “woke” policies and adversaries.
This is costing him in the polls – after leading by at least 15 points in the past year, he’s now behind by a few points – 37% compared to the Liberal’s 39%.
Carney’s weaknesses
Carney is new in the national political arena and his French is weak – not a good thing in the eyes of Canadians from the French-speaking province of Québec.
Recalling when Carney needed help to find a word in French on the issue of Hamas during the Liberal debate last February, Karina Gould, former Liberal House leader, said that
Pierre Poilievre, Jagmeet Singh, Yves-François Blanchet are all battle tested, talented politicians. If that [gaffe] were to happen in a general debate in the election, they’re gonna absolutely go on the attack.
Other parties in the race are the Bloc Québécois, an independentist party advocating for Québec’s interests led by Blanchet, and the New Democratic Party (NDP) guided by Singh.
The campaign trail starts today, and candidates have now only a little over a month to try to win an election that is going to shape Canada’s both national and international future.
