Highlights: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals win election

Voting is over in Canada’s parliamentary elections, but ballot counting continues, as does the uncertainty over whether the ruling party will govern with a majority.

Carney also won his seat, and he will keep his job as prime minister. But he will have to form a new government with a new cabinet.

The big question, though, is if Liberals will secure enough seats for a majority — or if they will have enough support from the NDP and Green Party in a minority Parliament.

However, he is touting the trade measures that helped motivate Canadian voters on his Truth Social site.

“The USA lost Billions of Dollars A DAY in International Trade under Sleepy Joe Biden,” he wrote on the site. “I have now stemmed that tide, and will be making a fortune, very soon. Stay tuned as we MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

Canada’s Parliament is bicameral, but only the 343 seats in the House of Commons are up for election.

There are also 105 members of an upper chamber called the Senate, but those members are appointed and do not play a role in determining the prime minister.

The first non-Brit to run the Bank of England since it was founded in 1694, and the former head of Canada’s central bank, in January entered the race to be Canada’s next prime minister following Trudeau’s resignation.

Carney’s Liberal Party has been projected to win more of Parliament’s 343 seats than the Conservatives. But it wasn’t clear yet if the Liberals will win an outright majority, which would allow them to pass legislation without needing help.

Yves-François Blanchet has won his Quebec riding of Beloeil-Chambly.

Blanchet has been the Quebec nationalist party leader since 2019.

Elections Canada says it might take longer than usual to count votes in Carleton, in part because of the length of the ballot itself.

In a social media post, the federal elections entity said voters in Carleton were presented with a ballot that measured more than 38 inches (97 centimeters). Officials said the ballot was adapted to two columns instead of one, to make sure that the names of all 91 candidates would be included.

Eighty-five of those candidates signed up in the last few days ahead of the election, as part of an operation organized by a group called the Longest Ballot Committee, which says it’s making a point to push for electoral reform.

Officials said the Carleton ballot is tied for the longest in Canadian history.

The win Monday caps a stunning turnaround in fortunes fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s annexation threats and trade war.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster, said the Liberals will win more of Parliament’s 343 seats than the Conservatives. It wasn’t clear yet if the Liberals will win an outright majority, which would allow them to pass legislation without needing help.

The Liberals looked headed for a crushing defeat until the American president started attacking Canada’s economy and threatening its sovereignty, suggesting it should become the 51st state. Trump’s actions infuriated Canadians and stoked a surge in nationalism that helped the Liberals flip the election narrative and win a fourth-straight term in power.

The opposition Conservative Party’s leader, Pierre Poilievre, hoped to make the election a referendum on former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose popularity declined toward the end of his decade in power as food and housing prices rose.

But Trump attacked, Trudeau resigned and Carney, a two-time central banker, became the Liberal Party’s leader and prime minister.

As of 10 p.m. EDT, all polls have closed across Canada.

The federal elections entity website appeared to be inaccessible earlier in the night, but it came back online some time later — albeit with a note appended to the top.

“Our website is having technical difficulties,” the note reads. “As a result, some of our online services and tools are currently unavailable. We are aware of the issue and are working hard to fix it. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

Elections Canada lists elections results and polling place information.

British Columbia and Yukon are the only Canadian provinces where polling locations are still taking new voters. A party needs 172 seats in Parliament for a majority.

Many areas across Eastern, Central and Mountain Time are all wrapping up voting at the same time, 9:30 p.m. EDT, as well as in Saskatchewan.

Those poll closures also include Ontario and Quebec, Canada’s most populous provinces.

Voters in each of Canada’s 343 federal electoral districts are only electing their local representative to the House of Commons.

The leader of whichever party wins a majority of seats in the House of Commons will form a new government and serve as prime minister.

If no party wins a majority, a party — usually the one with the most seats — can form a minority government but must rely on support from some opposition members. In rare cases, two or more parties might reach a formal agreement to form a coalition government together.

Elections Canada has said it’s sticking with paper ballots — which are hand counted — for these federal elections.

Candidates may appoint representatives to oversee the count. Results from polling stations are reported to Elections Canada, which releases them online.

Results typically trickle out as polls close, since ballot boxes themselves aren’t relocated to centralized places for counting.

The website for the entity that runs Canada’s federal-level elections is giving an error message to users.

Several national broadcasters are mentioning the apparent outage in their programs, and various social media users are questioning it online.

Sisters Laiqa and Mahira Shoaib of Mississauga, Ontario, say they both voted for change.

Laiqa, a 27-year-old health care worker, voted for the New Democratic Party. Mahira, 25, who works at a bank, supported the Conservative Party.

The sisters, who immigrated from Pakistan a decade ago, say the economy has worsened and job opportunities have dried up under Liberal rule.

“It was different when we arrived,” Laiqa Shoaib says. “We need to get out of Liberals.”

Mahira Shoaib says Poilievre is the best candidate to improve the country’s financial picture.

“He is business-minded, and that’s what we need right now,” she said.

That means that no more voters can queue up at polling places in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

It comes from hockey, Canada’s signature sport, but it’s playing a role in this year’s elections, too.

The phrase dates back to Gordie Howe, a longtime Detroit Red Wings hockey player from Saskatchewan known for his toughness and use of his elbows in fending off opponents.

Since Trump’s comments about annexing Canada as a U.S. state and his tariffs on Canadian exports, “Elbows up” has popped up across social media as a way to show Canadian unity against Trump’s threats.

Comedian Mike Myers, a Canadian, appeared in an ad with Carney, both men clad in “Never 51" jerseys and popping up their elbows alongside a hockey rink. Last month, Myers also appeared on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” in a “Canada Is Not For Sale” T-shirt.

According to Elections Canada, ridings are the electoral districts that make up Canada’s federal elections map.

They refer to the geographical areas that are represented by members of Parliament.

Trump reinserted himself into Canada’s election during a signing ceremony inside the Oval Office, saying Canada “would cease to exist as a country” if the U.S. stopped buying its goods.

“I have to be honest, as a state, it works great,” said Trump, who previously threatened to make the country the 51st state through economic coercion.

Trump reiterated his claim that the U.S. doesn’t need anything from Canada — including autos and oil.

In recent weeks, Trump has dialed back his talk of Canada becoming the 51st state. He stopped saying it after a call with new Prime Minister Mark Carney last month.

Carney said last week that eliminating trade barriers within Canada would benefit Canadians as he made his case to retain power ahead of an April 28 vote. Carney has set a goal of free trade within the country’s 10 provinces and three territories by July 1. Canada has long had interprovincial trade barriers.

“We can give ourselves far more than Donald Trump can ever take away,” Carney said. “We can have one economy. This is within our grasp.”

▶ Read more about Trump and Carney’s comments

As Canadians vote, Trump has reiterated his stance on incorporating the northern neighbor.

In an interview with The Atlantic posted online Monday, the U.S. president said his country doesn’t need gasoline, oil, lumber or “energy of any type” from Canada.

Nearly a quarter of the oil America consumes per day comes from Canada. About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, as are 85% of U.S. electricity imports.

Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day.

If Canada were to join the U.S., it would become the largest state, with a population bigger than California — meaning that it would get more than what would be the equivalent of 54 electoral college votes, 52 members of Congress and 2 senators.

Despite Trump’s repeated claim that the U.S doesn’t need Canada, nearly a quarter of the oil America consumes per day comes from Canada.

About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports as well.

Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security.

Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day.

An election in an individual district is subject to a recount if the vote margin is less than one one-thousandth of the total votes cast. In other words, in a district where 100,000 votes are cast, a recount would be required if fewer than 100 votes separated the top two vote-getters. A judge would preside over the recount process. Losing candidates or voters may also request a recount.

Elections Canada says it expects to count the “vast majority” of ballots on election night. Each polling place counts its election day vote by hand after polls close and reports the results to the district’s local Elections Canada office, which then posts the results on the Elections Canada website. Results are also released directly to Canadian news organizations.

Results from mail voting and ballots cast at special locations such as military bases and correctional institutions are also reported on the Elections Canada website and released to the news media, but they can take longer to tabulate.

Only preliminary results are available on election night. Vote totals are double-checked in the days following the election, but final, official results typically are not available until about six months after election day, according to Elections Canada.

Elections Canada does not declare winners in any district or in the overall contest for prime minister. Canadian media organizations typically announce winners based on their own independent analysis of election results.

As Canadians head to the polls, the country has been swept by an unprecedented surge of nationalism, spurred by Trump’s attacks on the nation’s sovereignty and his continued insistence that Canada become the U.S.’ 51st State.

On coffee shops menus, Americanos have been replaced by “Canadianos.” Provincial liquor store shelves have been cleared of American wines and spirits. Many are choosing to forgo trips down south and boycotting American products. Boos ring out at stadiums when “The Star-Spangled Banner” plays.

It’s a highly unusual posture for Canadians, who had long seen the U.S. as their closest friend and ally and are typically known more for apologizing than flag-waving.

Some 343 parliamentary seats are being contested in Monday’s general election, up from 338. That’s because of changes to boundaries.

To reach majority status in the next Parliament, a party would need to secure a minimum of 172 seats.

All ballots are counted by hand by federal election officials in the presence of witnesses, usually campaign or party representatives. Additional details of how votes are counted depend on how the ballots were cast.

Ballots cast in person on election day are counted at each local polling place after polls close. Ballots cast in person before election day and mail ballots cast from within the district are tabulated at the district’s local Elections Canada office.

Ballots from incarcerated voters, members of the military, Canadians living overseas and voters who live in Canada but outside their home district (such as some college students) are counted at a centralized Elections Canada facility in Ottawa. In some cases, the counting of these ballots may begin up to 14 days before election day, although the results cannot be released until after polls close.

Election day came as the country grappled with the fallout from a deadly weekend attack at a Vancouver street fair.

Police have ruled out terrorism and say the suspect is a local man with a history of mental health issues.

The attack led to the suspension of campaigning for several hours.

▶Read more aboutthe attack in Vancouver

Unlike in the United States, where federal elections are administered by state and local elections officials, the Canadian federal election is administered on a national level by Elections Canada, an independent, nonpartisan government agency.

Other parties are fielding candidates as well.

One is Jagmeet Singh, who heads the progressive New Democratic Party and responded on X to Trump’s remarks by telling voters that “You can protect what makes Canada, Canada. Every New Democrat you send to Ottawa will stand up for our country. And never back down.”

There’s also Yves-François Blanchet, who leads Bloc Québécois, a Quebec nationalist party.

In March, Carney called for Parliament to be dissolved to pave the way for the election. At the time, the Liberals held 152 seats and the Conservatives had 120. Bloc Québécois held 33 seats and the NDP held 24. Others were held by unrecognized parties, independents or were vacant.

Canada is a constitutional monarchy, with Britain’s King Charles III serving as ceremonial head of state. The country’s electoral system is modeled after the U.K.'s.

A member of the House of Commons will be elected in each of the nation’s 343 federal electoral districts, also known as a constituency or a riding. The winner in each district is the candidate who receives the most votes. A majority vote is not required to get elected to Parliament. This is sometimes called a “first-past-the-post” system.

The leader of the party that wins a majority of seats in the House of Commons will form a new government and serve as prime minister. If no party wins a majority, a party — usually the one with the most seats — can form a minority government but must rely on support from some opposition members. In rare cases, two or more parties might reach a formal agreement to form a coalition government together.

Canada’s Parliament has an upper chamber called the Senate, but those members are appointed and do not play a role in determining the prime minister.

Trump’s trade war and annexation threats have upended Canada’s election and improved the fortunes of the Liberal Party, and might have contributed to record early voting, with 7.3 million Canadians casting ballots before election day.

The Liberals and the country’s new prime minister, Mark Carney, looked headed for a crushing defeat until the American president started attacking Canada’s economy and even threatening its sovereignty, including suggesting it should become the 51st state.

Trump’s dumping on Canada has infuriated its people and stoked a surge in Canadian nationalism that has helped the Liberals flip the election narrative.

The opposition Conservative Party’s leader, Pierre Poilievre, hoped to make the election a referendum on former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose popularity declined toward the end of his decade in power as food and housing prices rose and immigration surged.

But Trump attacked, Trudeau resigned and Carney, a two-time central banker, became the Liberal Party’s leader and prime minister.

▶Read more about the impact of Trump’s trade war on Canada’s election

Toronto resident Reid Warren says he voted Liberal because Poilievre “sounds like mini-Trump to me.” And he says Trump’s tariffs are a worry.

“Canadians coming together from, you know, all the shade being thrown from the States is great, but it’s definitely created some turmoil, that’s for sure,” Warren says.

Prime Minister Mark Carney and the governing Liberal Party appeared poised for a historic election defeat until Trump slapped heavy tariffs on Canada and began threatening its sovereignty.

Trump’s attacks have infuriated Canadians, who are canceling trips to their southern neighbor and avoiding buying American goods when they can. The surge in Canadian nationalism has bolstered the Liberals’ poll numbers.

The opposition Conservative Party had hoped to make the election a referendum on former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose popularity cratered as food and housing prices rose and immigration surged. But after decades of bilateral stability, the vote is now expected to focus on who is best equipped to deal with Trump.

Read more about what’s at stake in this election

The first polls are closing in Canada’s parliamentary elections.

Voting in the easternmost province of Newfoundland and Labrador ends at 7 p.m. EDT.