Carney won Canada’s election last year, fueled by public anger over US President Donald Trump’s annexation threats.
Also read: UK PM Starmer rules out support for US blockade of Strait of HormuzHis Liberal Party could stay in power until 2029 after Monday’s results.
Five defections from opposition parties to Carney, including four from the main opposition Conservative party, put Carney’s Liberals on the cusp of the majority.
Before Monday’s results, the Liberals had 171 members of Parliament in the House of Commons.Also read: India and France conduct comprehensive review of defence and nuclear cooperation
One of those defectors referenced Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as helping his decision. In the speech, Carney condemned economic coercion by great powers against smaller countries and received widespread praise for his remarks.
Carney, former head of the Bank of England as well as Canada’s central bank, has moved the Liberals to the center-right since replacing Justin Trudeau as prime minister in 2025.
Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said the Liberals were almost certain to win the two Toronto seats and had a shot at winning in Terrebonne.
Béland said the deterioration of Canada-US relations under the second Trump presidency has convinced many Canadians, including people who do not identify as Liberal, to rally behind the prime minister.
“Carney has thus far proved that he is an astute politician, even though he only formally entered the political arena in January of last year,” Béland said.
“The Davos speech has certainly helped boost Carney’s support at home, and he is now significantly more popular than when he became prime minister nearly 13 months ago.”
