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Canada PM's Party Wins Election 04/29 06:11
Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre was voted out of his own seat in
Parliament as Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal Party won Canada's federal
election, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation projected Monday.
TORONTO (AP) -- Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre was voted out of
his own seat in Parliament as Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal Party won
Canada's federal election, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation projected
Monday.
The loss of his seat representing his Ottawa district during Monday's
election capped a stunning decline in fortunes for the firebrand Poilievre, who
only a few months ago appeared to be a shoo-in to become Canada's next prime
minister and to shepherd the Conservatives back into power for the first time
in a decade before U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with Canada and
suggestions it should become the 51st state outraged voters and upended the
election.
Poilievre, a career politician, campaigned with Trump-like bravado, even
taking a page from the "America First" president by adopting the slogan "Canada
First." But his similarities to Trump may have ultimately cost him and his
party in Monday's election.
After polls closed, the Liberals were projected to win more of Parliament's
343 seats than the Conservatives. It wasn't immediately clear, though, if they
would win an outright majority -- at least 172 -- or would need to rely on one
of the smaller parties to pass legislation.
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.
In a victory speech before supporters in Ottawa, Carney stressed the
importance of Canadian unity in the face of Washington's threats. He also said
the mutually beneficial system Canada and the U.S. had shared since World War
II had ended.
"We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget
the lessons," he said.
"As I've been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our
water, our country," Carney said. "These are not idle threats. President Trump
is trying to break us so America can own us. That will never ... ever happen.
But we also must recognize the reality that our world has fundamentally
changed."
A defeat for the Conservatives
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.
In a concession speech and with his own House of Commons seat still in
doubt, Poilievre vowed to keep fighting for Canadians.
"We are cognizant of the fact that we didn't get over the finish line yet,"
Poilievre told supporters in Ottawa. "We know that change is needed, but change
is hard to come by. It takes time. It takes work. And that's why we have to
learn the lessons of tonight -- so that we can have an even better result the
next time Canadians decide the future of the country."
Even with Canadians grappling with the fallout from a deadly weekend attack
at a Vancouver street festival, Trump was trolling them on election day,
suggesting again on social media that Canada should become the 51st state and
saying he was on their ballot. He also erroneously claimed that the U.S.
subsidizes Canada, writing, "It makes no sense unless Canada is a State!"
Trump's truculence has infuriated Canadians, leading many to cancel U.S.
vacations, refuse to buy American goods and possibly even vote early. A record
7.3 million Canadians cast ballots before election day.
As Poilievre and his wife cast their ballots in Ottawa, he implored voters
to "Get out to vote -- for a change." After running a Trump-lite campaign for
weeks, though, the Conservative leader's similarities to the bombastic American
might have cost him.
Reid Warren, a Toronto resident, said he voted Liberal because Poilievre
"sounds like mini-Trump to me." And he said 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," he said.
Historian Robert Bothwell said Poilievre appealed to the "same sense of
grievance" as Trump, but that it ultimately worked against him.
"The Liberals ought to pay him," Bothwell said, referring to the U.S.
president. "Trump talking is not good for the Conservatives."
The Liberal way forward
Carney and the Liberals secured a new term, but they have daunting
challenges ahead.
If they don't win a majority in Parliament, the Liberals might need rely on
one of the smaller parties to remain in power and pass legislation. The Bloc
Qubcois, which looked set to finish third, is a separatist party from
French-speaking Quebec that seeks independence from Canada. Trudeau's Liberals
relied on the New Democrats to remain in power for four years, but the
progressive party faired poorly on Monday and its leader, Jagmeet Singh, said
he was stepping down after eight years in charge.
"This is a dramatic comeback, but if the Liberals cannot win a majority of
seats, political uncertainty in a new minority Parliament could complicate
things for them," said McGill University political science professor Daniel
Bland.
Until this year, foreign policy hadn't dominated a Canadian election this
much since 1988, when, ironically, free trade with the United States was the
prevailing issue.
In addition to the trade war with the U.S. and frosty relationship with
Trump, Canada is dealing with a cost-of-living crisis. And more than 75% of its
exports go to the U.S., so Trump's tariffs threat and his desire to get North
American automakers to move Canada's production south could severely damage the
Canadian economy.
While campaigning, Carney vowed that every dollar the the government
collects from counter-tariffs on U.S. goods will go toward Canadian workers who
are adversely affected by the trade war. He also said he plans to keep dental
care in place, offer a middle-class tax cut, return immigration to sustainable
levels and increase funding to Canada's public broadcaster, the Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation.
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