Mark Carney's Liberals Win Canada Vote, Eye Talks With Trump

Photo : AP

Canada’s Liberal Party has won the election again. This is the fourth time they have won in a row. Their new leader, Mark Carney, will now become the prime minister.

Carney said he will work hard to grow Canada’s economy and protect Canada from Donald Trump, the President of the United States.

By late night, the Liberal Party had won or was leading in 135 out of 343 seats. The Conservative Party had 88. This means the Liberals can make a new government. But they may need help from other smaller parties to pass new rules.

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The Liberals won many seats in Ontario and Quebec, where many people live and where big factories are. These places make cars, steel, and aluminum — and Trump has added new taxes on these. The Liberals also won many seats in the Atlantic provinces.

This win is a big surprise. Just a few months ago, many people thought the Liberal Party would lose badly. Mark Carney became party leader on March 9. Two weeks later, he called for an election. Carney used to be a top banker in Canada and the UK. He said he would protect Canada from Trump and fix the economy.

Carney is 60 years old. He showed he was not the same as the last prime minister, Justin Trudeau. Carney cared more about jobs and trade. He also visited France and the UK before the election to meet leaders there.

Carney told voters that Trump has hurt Canada’s friendship with the US. Trump even said Canada should be America’s 51st state. In March, Trump added new taxes on Canadian cars. Carney said, “The United States is no longer a good partner.”

Carney is calm when he talks. Many people trust him because of his past job in banking. A poll before the election showed Carney was more popular than the Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre.

Now Carney must keep his promises. In the past, he helped during the 2008 world money crisis and also during Brexit. But Trump might be harder to deal with. Trump has said he will hurt Canada’s economy and tax Canadian goods.

Carney wants to talk with Trump about a new trade and safety deal. This may include a new look at the trade deal between the US, Mexico, and Canada. Trump signed that deal before but now says it is not good enough.

This is important for Canada because 75% of Canada’s exports go to the US — this includes most of Canada’s oil and gas. If there is a trade fight, Canada could lose a lot of money.

Canada’s economy is weak right now. It might soon go into a recession (a time when the economy shrinks). The US already put taxes on some Canadian goods, and more may be coming.

Professor Lori Turnbull says Carney will focus on jobs, trade, and making Canada strong. This is very different from what Trudeau did before.

Carney says he wants to build big new energy projects. He also wants to protect the environment, so he kept some green rules like the carbon tax for businesses. He said he will build more houses, using a new plan to make prefab homes (homes made in factories). But he also cut immigration, which means fewer skilled workers may come to Canada.

Alberta, a province with a lot of oil, is not happy. Its leader gave Carney a list of demands and warned of a big national problem if Carney doesn’t agree.

Carney also said during the election that he will spend more money on building things like roads and bridges, and he will lower taxes for workers. To do this, he plans to have a bigger government budget deficit.

The Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, lost badly. Last year, he was very popular. He promised to cut taxes, lower spending, and build more homes.

He wanted to remove Trudeau, and he did. He also pushed to end the carbon tax, and Carney did stop the tax for shoppers. But after that, Poilievre had trouble. He did not change his message, even though voters were now more worried about Trump.

His party’s plan was to grow the economy with more oil and gas, fewer rules, and tax cuts. But Poilievre’s style reminded people of Trump. He said things like “Canada First” and spoke against “woke” culture. Liberals showed videos of him talking like Trump, and this hurt him — many Canadians do not like Trump.

Some people say Poilievre had smart ideas but did not try to be friendly or likable. He also failed to bring in strong team members. Even Doug Ford, Ontario’s Premier, did not help him. Ford even took a photo with Carney.

Now, Carney is the new leader. He has big problems to solve — the weak economy, bad trade ties with the US, and Canada’s future with Trump. The job will be hard, but Carney has the power now.