Christopher Hernandez-Roy, Ryan C. Berg, and Henry Ziemer
On March 23, newly minted Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced snap elections for April 28, kicking off a contest to determine Canada’s future at a critical juncture. The election pits the incumbent Liberal Party, which has received a second wind since January in part due to tariffs and political threats from the United States, against the Conservative Party under the leadership of “Canada First” politician Pierre Poilievre. No matter the outcome, however, the next leader of Canada will inherit a tense relationship with the United States, public pressure to deliver economic gains, and an increasingly fraught global security environment that impinges upon Canada’s sovereignty.
Q1: New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called snap elections—what happens now?
A1: After winning the Liberal Party’s leadership race on March 9, Mark Carney, now prime minister, decided to call a snap election. After just 10 days as prime minister, Carney seeks to take advantage of the Liberal Party’s improved polling numbers and to win a mandate of his own. It is also likely that Carney wagered that it is better to call elections on his terms than to wait for a no-confidence vote in Canada’s Parliament, which had been prorogued since early January as a result of the Liberal Party’s leadership race.
The elections are now set for April 28, 2025, sending parties sprinting for the finish in a quick 37-day election—the minimum required by law. Governed by the Westminster, first-past-the-post system, 343 individual elections in districts (“ridings” in Canadian parlance) will take place across the country. Given the close polling numbers between the Liberal and Conservative parties, the election appears to be a toss-up.
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