Canada: Mark Carney stays prime minister

Canadian PM and Liberal Party Leader Mark Carney (centre) speaks after winning the election on Monday night, in Ottawa, Canada. Pic/AFP

The Liberal Party has won the federal election in Canada. With this result, the Liberal Party's leader and current prime minister, Mark Carney, will remain in the job, and will form a new government with a new cabinet. It's still unclear if the liberals will have a majority in the Parliament or whether they will need to look for alliances with other parties.

New Canadian PM

The prime minister is chosen by parliament rather than elected directly by the voters. The party that assembles a majority in the House of Commons, either alone or with the support of another party, forms a government. That's expected to happen in coming days. The leader of the party forming the government will be the new primer minister, who then has to pick a cabinet. Carney was sworn in on March 14 as prime minister after Justin Trudeau resigned..

Challenges faced

Externally, the main challenge will be to manage the relationship with the US, over President Donald Trump's threats of steep tariffs and demands that Canada should become the 51st state. Internally, the government will have to deal with rising food/housing prices and a surge in immigration.

No pro-Khalistan backers

Pro Khalistani, Canadian politician and New Democratic Party (NDP) chief Jagmeet Singh is stepping down after he lost his seat for Burnaby Central in British Columbia in the House of Commons - one he's held since 2019 - coming in third. The NDP has also lost its official status, failing to secure the 12 seats necessary.

‘Trump trying to break us'

In a victory speech in Ottawa, Carney stressed the importance of Canadian unity in the face of Washington's threats. "We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons... As I've been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country... President Trump is trying to break us so America can own us. That will never ever happen. But we also must recognise the reality that our world has fundamentally changed," he said.

Mark Carney's experience

Mark Carney, a 60-years-old economist educated in the US and England, had no experience in politics until he succeeded Trudeau as prime minister in March. He was a Goldman Sachs executive for more than a decade, until he started working in the Central Bank of Canada in 2003, as deputy governor. He was then the head of the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013 and headed the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020. Now, after voters gave liberals the victory, Carney will likely be guiding Canada for a full term.

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