Canadians appear poised to grant Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Liberal Party a fourth consecutive mandate, multiple outlets projected on Monday night, including CityNews, The Canadian Press and The Toronto Star.
Preliminary figures released by Elections Canada showed the Liberals would retain government, though it remained unclear whether they would command a majority or be reduced to a minority. As of 10:44 p.m. Eastern Time, the Liberals won 156 seats, with 172 seats required for a majority.
This anticipated victory comes a little more than five weeks after Carney called a snap election, just days after assuming office as Canada's 24th Prime Minister, replacing Justin Trudeau who had resigned in January.
Throughout the 36-day campaign, the Liberals sought to focus voters’ attention on national sovereignty and resistance to US President Donald Trump's escalating tariff policies.
Polling consistently showed the Liberals ahead of the Conservative Party of Canada, although the gap narrowed significantly in the final days of the race.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre emphasized affordability issues throughout the campaign. Some within his own party criticized this approach, urging a stronger stance against Trump's aggressive trade moves.
Shortly after his election as Liberal leader, Carney was quick to comment on the situation in Gaza, calling the decision to cut off electricity to the region a mistake, although he did not directly mention Israel.
“It has been more than two days that the supply of electricity to Gaza has been shut off,” Carney stated, adding, “It must resume. Essentials including food, electricity and medical supplies should never be used as political tools.”
Carney further emphasized that “Canada must work with our allies to stand up for international law to promote sustainable peace and security in the Middle East and to support full access to humanitarian aid for Palestinian families.”
He also called for both sides to work towards “the return of all hostages and the completion of the ceasefire agreement.”
Later, a video was released showing Carney at a rally in Calgary, where he responded to a protester in the crowd who yelled, “Mr. Carney, there is a genocide happening in Palestine,” by pausing and saying, “Thank you…I’m aware. Which is why we have an arms embargo.”
Carney was later asked by reporters about the remark and walked it back, claiming that he had not heard the specific term “genocide” and was simply referencing existing arms restrictions imposed by the Canadian government.
“I didn’t hear that word,” Carney said. “It’s noisy. If you’re up there you hear snippets of what people say and I heard Gaza, and my point was I’m aware of the situation in Gaza.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired back at Carney, saying, “Canada has always sided with civilization. So should Mr. Carney. But instead of supporting Israel, a democracy that is fighting a just war with just means against the barbarians of Hamas, he attacks the one and only Jewish state. Mr. Carney, backtrack your irresponsible statement!”
Poilievre has been a staunch supporter of Israel. In 2022, he stated that if he were to win the elections for Prime Minister, he would move the Canadian embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Poilievre also advocated for Israel to preemptively strike Iran's nuclear facilities, describing such an action as “a gift by the Jewish state to humanity”.