Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his county would “never” yield to the United States as he declared victory in Canada's general elections early Tuesday, following a campaign overshadowed by relentless provocations and steep trade tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.
The Liberal Party leader issued a stunning rebuke to Trump as he sent a message of unity to a divided nation, promising to “represent everyone who calls Canada home.”
“As I have been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country. But these are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us,” Carney said. “That will never ever happen.”
Carney reiterated statements he made on the campaign trail about the vastly changed nature of Canada’s relationship with the US.
“We are over the shock of the American betrayal but we should never forget the lessons. We have to look out for ourselves. And above all we have to take care of each other,” he said.
Jagmeet Singh, one of the contenders in the Canada election 2025, has announced that he would step down as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) following his party's crashing defeat in the federal elections. Jagmeet Singh said he will step down once an interim leader is named.
Addressing his supporters at NDP headquarters, Jagmeet Singh said, “It's a disappointing night for New Democrats. We're only defeated when we stop fighting.” He aolso asserted that NDP was “not going anywhere.” Canada Election Results 2025 LIVE Updates
Jagmeet Singh also conceded defeat in his own district, Burnaby Central in British Columbia.
Voters have returned Canada’s Liberal Party to power for a fourth consecutive term but it remains to be seen whether Carney has won a majority or will need coalition partners to govern.
A party needs 172 seats to form a majority. CNN affiliates CTV is projecting a minority government while fellow affiliate CBC says it is too early to tell whether they can clinch a majority.
Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre conceded defeat early Tuesday, saying Carney had won enough seats to form a “razor thin minority government.”
Former central banker Carney, 60, has led a wave of anti-Trump sentiment since winning his party’s leadership contest in a landslide after former prime minister Justin Trudeau stepped down last month. He has rallied the public against the US president’s threats to annex the country as “the 51st state” and made the defense of Canada a central part of his platform.
Poilievre had been the favourite to win when Trudeau announced his resignation in January in the wake of dire polls, a serious cost of living crisis and an internal revolt in his cabinet.
But Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods and threats to its sovereignty dramatically transformed the race into something of a referendum against the US president.
Poilievre said his Conservatives will work with Carney and other parties in “defending Canada’s interests” and “protecting our sovereignty.”
“We will always put Canada first as we stare down tariffs and other irresponsible threats from President Trump,” he said.
The idea that Canada needs to forge its own path outside of US influence has been central to Carney’s messaging since he took office.
Carney pitched himself throughout the campaign as an experienced professional from the political center who can steward Canada’s economy through a period of profound turbulence.
Trump’s tariffs against Canadian exports pose a grave threat to the country’s economy and lasting stability. The US president’s decision to levy a 25% duty on Canadian steel and aluminum, cars and car parts, and threats to tariff pharmaceuticals and lumber have shaken Canadian businesses and pushed the country toward recession. It’s a reality Carney has not sugarcoated, warning of “tough days ahead” with pressure on Canadian employment.
But the prime minister has pledged to “build things in this country again” to make Canada less reliant on the US: new homes, new factories, and new sources of “clean and conventional energy.”
Carney has not ruled out continued talks with Trump, but he has also been moving to deepen ties with more “reliable” allies. In an unusual move, his first prime ministerial trip abroad was to Europe, where he spoke to French and British officials about deepening security, military and economic ties.
In his victory speech early Tuesday, Carney said that when he does sit down with Trump, “it will be to discuss the future economic and security relationship between two sovereign nations.”
“And it will be with the full knowledge that we have many, many other options than the US to build prosperity for all Canadians,” he said.
