Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney secured a stronger hold on power – and bigger mandate to push back against US President Donald Trump – after a series of historic floor crossings and two special election wins supercharged his Liberal Party to a majority government.
Liberals were set to win two additional seats in parliament Monday, CNN-affiliate CBC News projected, bringing the party to 173 seats in the House of Commons – just one above the threshold needed to claim a majority government. A third race, a knife-edge contest in Quebec which the Liberal candidate previously won by just one vote, has yet to be called.
Monday’s victories for the Liberals follow five defections by opposition politicians in the past five months.
Carney’s newfound majority will solidify his grip on power and allow him to push through his agenda, which has largely focused on rebuffing Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats and reducing Canada’s dependency on its southern neighbor.
Since Carney’s rise to power last March following the resignation of increasingly unpopular former leader Justin Trudeau, he has emerged as one of the loudest global voices against Trump’s “America First” nationalism and economic intimidation.
He warned of the end of the international rules-based order and called for middle powers to band together in a World Economic Forum speech that was heard around the world.
Carney’s swift ascent, which represented a remarkable rebound for the then-flailing Liberals, was partly credited to Trump, and the perception by many Canadians that Carney, a former central banker, was the best person to counter him.
Speaking in Sydney, Australia last month, Carney said his strategy on dealing with Trump is “respect but not obsequiousness.”
“He is more interested in your viewpoint on various things in private and that creates an ability to work through things,’ Carney said of the US leader, according to CBC News.
“But it’s not easy, to be clear.”
Trump’s hostility toward Canada has sparked a new sense of patriotism among Canadians, many of whom still refuse to travel to the US or buy American-made products as a sign of resistance against what has been widely viewed as a betrayal by their longtime ally and neighbor.
Carney has both benefited from and fostered this newfound sense of unity.
In his remarks at the Liberal Party convention last week, he alluded to Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st state.
“United, we will build Canada strong, a Canada for all, a Canada strong that no one can ever take away,” Carney said.
However, Carney’s quest for a majority has prompted backlash among some Liberals who feel his open-arms policy toward defectors risks comprising the party’s values.
Long-time Conservative Member of Parliament Marilyn Gladu, who crossed the aisle to the Liberals earlier this month, has spoken outwardly against abortion – the right to choose in Canada is a core tenet of the Liberal Party’s ethos.
However, she said she is committed to voting with the Liberals on issues regarding a woman’s right to choose, CBC reported.
