Prime Minister Mark Carney won Canada's election on Monday, as predicted by local media, leading his Liberal Party to a new term in power by convincing voters that his experience in managing economic crises has prepared him to stand up to US President Donald Trump.
Public broadcaster CBC and CTV News predicted that the Liberals would form Canada's next government, but it is not yet clear whether they will have a majority in parliament.
Trump's trade war and threats to annex Canada, which he renewed in a social media post on election day, outraged Canadians and made relations with the United States a key issue in the campaign.
Carney, who has never held elected office and only last month replaced Justin Trudeau as prime minister, based his campaign on messages against Trump.
He previously served as central bank governor in both the UK and Canada and convinced voters that his experience in global finance had prepared him to lead Canada through a trade war.
He promised to expand trade relations abroad to limit Canada's dependence on the United States.
Carney's descriptions of the threat posed by Trump are harsh.
"Donald Trump wants to break us so that America can own us," he said during the campaign.
"They want our resources, they want our water, they want our land, they want our country. They can't have it."
- Trudeau's departure -
But the resignation of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was also crucial to the Liberals' victory, which ended one of the most dramatic reversals in Canadian political history.
On January 6, the day Trudeau announced he would resign, the Conservatives were leading the Liberals by more than 20 points in most polls, as voter anger quickly grew after Trudeau's decade in power.
But Carnie, who replaced Trudeau, combined with national concerns about Trump, transformed the race.
The 60-year-old Carnie distanced himself from Trudeau throughout the campaign.
He said the former prime minister had not focused enough on growing the Canadian economy and scrapped Trudeau's controversial carbon tax, which angered many voters.
Nearly 29 million of Canada's 41 million people were eligible to vote in the vast G-7 country, which spans six time zones. A record 7.3 million people voted early.
Results are still pending for the 343 Canadian seats in parliament, with 172 needed for a majority. The Liberals won a majority in 2015 but have governed with a minority since 2019. I BGNES