Prime Minister Mark Carney’s party secured a majority in parliament on Monday after two byelection wins, boosting his Liberals as they work to bolster a country shaken by threats from the United States.
Carney’s Liberals won the most seats in elections a year ago, but fell just short of a majority.
Canadians voted in three ridings on Monday to fill vacated seats, and the Liberals easily won two Toronto areas where the party had dominated in recent votes, CBC projected.
The result was still too close to call in Quebec’s Terrebonne district, where the Liberal candidate and Bloc Quebecois separatist were running nearly even.
But the two wins in Toronto gave the Liberals full control of parliament, holding enough seats to ensure they do not seat the speaker of the house — a Liberal — to break a tie.
Carney has improved his party’s fortunes since last year’s election by sticking firmly to a message focused on President Donald Trump, arguing the U.S. leader has upended the world order and Canada needs to take bold action in response.
Carney has announced massive increases in military spending — insisting Canada can no longer rely on Washington for security — and has travelled the globe seeking new trade deals in Asia and Europe.
Liberal poll numbers are higher than they were a year ago, and the party has pulled off a stunning set of defections from the opposition benches — poaching four Conservatives and one left-wing New Democratic lawmaker into the Liberal caucus.
“Members of parliament have switched sides to join our team,” Carney said at a gathering of Liberals on Saturday.
“They understand how important the stakes are. They are convinced that together, we can do better,” he said.
“This is not the time for politics as usual.”
‘Historic moment’
Canadians have been rattled by Trump’s return to power.
The president’s tariffs in key sectors have forced job losses in Canada and slowed growth, even if the majority of bilateral trade remains tariff-free.
Trump has threatened to annex Canada and mocked Carney and former prime minister Justin Trudeau as the “governor” of a U.S. state.
For University of Ottawa political scientist Genevieve Tellier, Carney has built momentum by “emphasizing the historic moment we are living through.”
“We’ve rarely seen popularity ratings this high one year after coming to power,” she said, saying Carney was working to build “a broad national coalition” to respond to the unprecedented geopolitical moment.
‘Sovereign nation’
On a warm afternoon in central Toronto, Jeyaram Duraisingam said he volunteered for the Liberal campaign, partly because he’s impressed by the local candidate, Danielle Martin.
But he also praised Carney for asserting that Canada is “a sovereign nation” in response to Trump’s taunts.
“He’s willing to go out there and connect with Europe, connect with different countries and make those relationships stronger. I think that matters,” he said.
The Liberals remain a political juggernaut but hints of vulnerability are starting to emerge.
The Angus Reid Institute found last month that “concerns over the high cost of living are higher than they have been in recent memory for lower-income Canadians.”
Grocery prices are up more than 20 per cent since 2022 and unemployment is at 6.7 per cent.
Opposition parties are arguing Carney’s soaring rhetoric about economic transformation has failed to make lives more affordable for Canadians.
