Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump a day after landing the Liberals a stunning comeback with a minority government.
According to a readout of the call from the Prime Minister’s Office, Trump, whose trade war very much upended Canadian politics over the last few months, congratulated Carney.
“The leaders agreed on the importance of Canada and the United States working together — as independent, sovereign nations — for their mutual betterment,” the readout said.
“To that end, the leaders agreed to meet in person in the near future.”
It took until Tuesday afternoon for the picture to become clear after Elections Canada paused counting overnight, but the Liberals have clinched 169 seats, shy of the 172 needed for a majority, CBC News projects.
The result brings an element of instability to Parliament during uncertain and turbulent times.
Recounts in tight races
Carney, a central banker who ascended to the office of prime minister after an incredible sequence of events, will need to collaborate with opposition members, most likely the Bloc Québécois or NDP, to pass legislation and stave off another election in the near future.
While there will be at least two automatic recounts, results suggest for now the Conservatives secured 144 seats, the Bloc were reduced to 22 and the NDP collapsed to just seven. Elizabeth May is back to being the sole Green Party MP.
While a Liberal win was clear on election night, some races were too close to call — with many outstanding votes — to project whether it would be a minority government or not. Elections Canada paused counting special and advance ballots at about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday and resumed later that morning.
The results are likely not as strong as Carney, who had been asking Canadians for a “strong mandate,” wanted.
Still, a minority government would have felt miraculous a few months ago when the Liberals under former prime minister Justin Trudeau faced annihilation.
When Canadians gathered over the December holidays, Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives had a 21-point lead over the Liberals in opinion polls as Canadians became increasingly concerned about affordability and frustrated with the Liberals.
Prime Minister Mark Carney briefly stopped to speak with reporters, mostly in French, as he walked up the steps to his office in Ottawa, the day after the federal election that’s expected to return another Liberal government.
But the political landscape was upended when Trudeau stepped down and U.S. President Donald Trump launched a trade war and repeatedly made taunts about making Canada the 51st state.
By Easter and Passover, Carney’s Liberals held a small lead in the polls, which he was able to translate into the most seats.
While the race against the Conservatives shaped up to be closer than many polls predicted, Carney pulled off one of the most stunning reversals of political fortunes in Canadian history.
“Not a lot of sleep,” said Carney as he headed into his office Tuesday morning.
Poilievre, Singh both lose seats
This projection means Carney will not only need to figure how to lead his party in the House of Commons, something he’s never done before, but also how to manage a minority situation.
That’s on top of an already ambitious agenda he laid out to voters, including what could be anunpleasant negotiation with the president.
And he’s promised to reduce interprovincial trade barriers by Canada Day.
When the House of Commons is recalled, there will be two prominent faces missing. Poilievre failed to win his Ottawa-area riding and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also lost his seat.
Singh announced last night he will step down, but Poilievre indicated he wants to stay on.
The prime minister briefly stopped to speak with reporters Tuesday.
Asked when he’d speak to Trump, and if he’d call for a byelection so that Poilievre could run for a seat in Parliament, he was vague.
“We’ll see,” he said to both questions. On the second, he said that the results are still coming in.
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