Good morning. At the beginning of the year, Canada’s Conservatives had a 25-point lead over the Liberal government, and their leader, Pierre Poilievre, looked a dead cert to be the country’s next prime minister. But as the votes cast in yesterday’s election have been counted, the story of the campaign has been confirmed: victory for the Liberals and their new leader, Mark Carney, who have extended their decade of rule by another five years.
It isn’t settled yet whether the Liberals will govern with a majority, or be the leading party in a hung parliament, as in the last two elections; Reuters projected a minority government a short while ago, while the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said it was still too close to call. Either way, it represents a remarkable turnaround, and vindication for Carney’s efforts to present himself as the prime ministerial candidate who would most effectively stand up to Donald Trump. As for Poilievre: the result isn’t in yet, but he is in serious danger of losing his seat.
