Liberal Party leader Mark Carney is the new Prime Minister of Canada after being down 21 points to Conservative Party standard bearer Pierre Poilievre just five months ago. Poilievre not only went down to a decisive defeat Monday after being considered a shoo-in; he also lost his seat in Parliament, meaning Conservatives will have to find a new leader.
"It's a complete disaster. The outcome could not have been worse last night," says Dr. Charles McVety of Canada Christian College.
Carney's Liberal Party won 168 seats, which is four short of the majority needed to control Parliament, so they need help. Who did they turn to? Canada's New Democratic Party.
"It's more disastrous than a straight Liberal victory," McVety explains, "because they have a minority government. But the NDP – the socialists, the communists – will be the balance of power."
What happened? In a word: Trump. The American President had been talking about making Canada the "51st state" – but more importantly to the voters, he is threatening debilitating tariffs on Canada.
McVety says Canadians voted for the person they thought could stand up to Donald Trump the best. "Donald Trump, with extreme tariffs, has threatened Canada's way of life," he shares. "And if all the tariffs get put in place, we could see unemployment at 20% or 30%. We could see our economy crash."
Carney is considered a globalist and has declared the long and productive relationship with the U.S. "over."
