TV forecast: Carney's Liberals to win election in Canada

US President Trump's annexation fantasies are giving Trudeau's successor's party a surprisingly strong boost. According to initial TV forecasts, Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney has won the Canadian parliamentary election. Whether this will be enough for a majority of his own remains unclear.

In the Canadian general election, which was dominated by US President Donald Trump's threats of annexation, the governing Liberal Party has claimed victory, according to initial projections. As reported by several Canadian media outlets, Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal Party was ahead of the Conservatives according to initial projections. Both the CBC and CTV News assumed that the Liberals would form the next Canadian government, although it was not yet clear whether they would be enough for a majority in Parliament.

According to the Canadian broadcaster CBC, the incumbent prime minister's Liberal Party has won or is leading in 139 electoral districts. The Conservatives have so far secured 107 electoral districts. A party must win 172 of the 343 seats in the House of Commons to form a majority government. The parliamentary election took place against the backdrop of Trump's repeated threat of a takeover of Canada. Shortly after the polls opened, Trump again referred to Canada as the 51st U.S. state.

Change of opinion due to Trump trauma

Prime Minister Carney and his Liberal Party were considered favorites in the election. Carney succeeds his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, who resigned in January. For a long time, the Liberals had been well behind the Conservatives in the polls. However, Trump's aggressive tariff policy and his repeatedly expressed plan to make Canada the 51st state of the USA brought about a spectacular reversal of opinion. Carney's party was most recently four points ahead of the Conservatives of opposition leader Pierre Poilievre.

During the election campaign, incumbent Prime Minister Carney emphasized that he was best qualified to deal with Trump due to his experience in dealing with economic issues. Conservative Party leader Poilievre had primarily addressed voters' concerns about the cost of living, crime, and the housing crisis.