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Key Points
- As Canadians headed to the polls, US President Donald Trump renewed a call for Canada to become the “51st state”.
- Prime Minister Mark Carney and leader of the Conservative Party Pierre Poilievre are the frontrunners.
- The Conservatives led the Liberals in polls in January but Trump’s threats have led to growing support for Carney.
“No more artificially drawn line from many years ago,” he said.
Carney also chided the president, saying on X: “This is Canada and we decide what happens here.”
The frontrunners
Carney, 60, has never held elected office and only replaced Justin Trudeau as prime minister last month.
The Conservative leader argued Carney would continue “the lost Liberal decade” and that only the Conservatives would act against soaring costs, housing shortages and other non-Trump issues that Canadians rank as priorities.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney casts his vote in Ottawa, Ontario. Source: AAP / Sean Kilpatrick/AP
A possible historic turnaround
But Carney replacing Trudeau, combined with nationwide unease about Trump, transformed the race.
Canadians will elect 343 members of parliament, meaning 172 seats are needed for a majority. The Liberals won a majority in 2015 but have governed with a minority since 2019.
