OTTAWA — After a short, intense and heated election campaign of just 35 days, Canadians go to the polls today to elect a new federal government.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh spent weeks pitching their cases to voters.
Carney, the former central banker and political neophyte, presented himself as a safe pair of hands for a country threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump, while Poilievre focused on addressing crime and the high cost of living and Singh pushed to protect social programs he argued are under threat.
Trump loomed large over the campaign with his tariff threats and calls for Canada to become a U.S. state, occasionally pushing Carney off the campaign trail to act in his capacity as prime minister.
He even weighed in early on election day via a post on his Truth Social platform, where he repeated those calls and wished "good luck to the Great people of Canada."
"Elect the man who has the strength and wisdom to cut your taxes in half, increase your military power, for free, to the highest level in the World, have your Car, Steel, Aluminum, Lumber, Energy, and all other businesses, QUADRUPLE in size, WITH ZERO TARIFFS OR TAXES, if Canada becomes the cherished 51st. State of the United States of America," he wrote in a post on Monday.
On the final full day of the campaign, all major party leaders paused to address a deadly vehicle attack at a Filipino community event in Vancouver that took the lives of at least 11 attendees, leaving more wounded in hospital.
The Liberals have seen a massive rebound since the start of the year, with most polls now suggesting they lead the Conservatives — who were long favoured to win a majority government while former prime minister Justin Trudeau was in power.
Polls suggest the NDP could lose many of its seats as left-centre voters turn to the Liberals in an effort to prevent Poilievre from forming government.
When Parliament was dissolved at the start of the year, the Liberals held 153 seats in a minority government and the Conservatives formed the official opposition with 120 seats. The Bloc Quebecois held 33 seats, the NDP held 24 and the Greens held two seats. There were three independent MPs at the time.
Because of changes to riding boundaries, the 2025 general election will see 343 seats contested, up from the previous 338.
That means in order for any one party to reach majority status in the next Parliament, it would need to secure a minimum of 172 seats.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2025.
Craig Lord, The Canadian Press
