Carney’s Liberals fell just short of the 172 seats needed for majority control of parliament, but with 169 confirmed wins the party will be in a strong position to pass legislation.
Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a United States that is newly hostile to free trade.
“It is time to be bold, to meet this crisis with the overwhelming positive force of a united Canada,” Carney said, stressing the need to work across party lines.
Canada's Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader Mark Carney waves to supporters at a victory party in Ottawa, Ontario. Photo / AFP
Trump congratulated Carney in a call on Tuesday (local time), the prime minister’s office said, adding they agreed to meet “in person” soon.
“The leaders agreed on the importance of Canada and the United States working together — as independent, sovereign nations,” the statement from Ottawa said.
Carney’s victory was an extraordinary comeback for the Liberals, who until recently looked headed for an electoral wipeout.
Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party had been on track to win the vote but Trump’s attacks, combined with the departure of unpopular former premier Justin Trudeau, transformed the race.
Carney, who replaced Trudeau as prime minister just last month, convinced voters that his experience managing economic crises made him the ideal candidate to defy Trump.
He led the Bank of Canada through the 2008-2009 financial crisis and headed the Bank of England through the turmoil surrounding the 2016 Brexit vote.
“If Donald Trump hadn’t been there, the Conservatives probably would have won,” said University of Ottawa political scientist Genevieve Tellier.
‘Partisan truce’
Poilievre lost his own seat in a shock result, but indicated he would seek to stay on as opposition leader.
Conceding on Tuesday, he promised to work with Carney and the Liberals to counter Trump.
“We will always put Canada first,” Poilievre told supporters in Ottawa.
Despite the defeat, the 45-year-old led the Conservatives to their best performance in several elections, setting them up as a forceful opposition in parliament.
The Tory leader was criticised for only showing limited anger towards Trump, but said he wanted to keep the campaign’s focus on domestic concerns.
The leader of the separatist Bloc Quebecois, Yves-Francois Blanchet, whose party will be the third-largest in parliament, also pledged unity against the US president.
He called for “a partisan truce” in a parliament that “will have to face Donald Trump”.
“I sincerely believe that Quebecers, and Canadians, expect the new parliament to be stable and responsible during the negotiations” with Washington, Blanchet said on Tuesday.
In Ottawa on Tuesday, Liberal voter Danny Barber told AFP he believed Carney was “the best guy to stand up to what’s happening south of the border”.
Trudeau’s influence
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum were among the world leaders to congratulate Carney.
China’s foreign ministry said it was “willing to develop China-Canada relations on the basis of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit”.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was keen to grow relations with Ottawa.
Canada has accused New Delhi of being involved in the assassination of a Canadian who campaigned for Sikhs to secede from India — a claim which Modi’s government has denied, and led to the near-collapse of Canada-India relations in Trudeau’s final months in office.
On January 6, the day Trudeau said he would resign, the Conservatives led Liberals by more than 20 points in most polls, as public fury over soaring costs mounted.
But Carney distanced himself from Trudeau, who had been in power for a decade, throughout the campaign.
He said the former prime minister did not focus enough on growing Canada’s economy and scrapped a controversial Trudeau carbon tax that left many voters seething.
