Carney to call snap federal election Sunday: sources

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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to call a snap election on Sunday, dissolving the federal government he took over barely a week ago and sending Canadians to the ballot box amid a historic trade war with the United States.

Two federal government sources confirmed media reports that Carney will head to Rideau Hall on March 23 to ask Governor General Mary Simon to dissolve Parliament and send Canadians to the ballot box. The sources were not authorized to discuss the date publicly.

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Sunday is the eve of the day Parliament was set to return from prorogation that was requested by ex-prime minister Justin Trudeau in January. An election means Parliament is dissolved and will not sit again until a new government is formed.

The announcement of an election is generally left to a party leader, but Wednesday evening multiple Liberal MPs appeared to have jumped the gun and sent out invitations to their “campaign launch” to supporters via email or social media.

Toronto candidate and former senior Liberal staffer Leslie Church, Toronto MP Julie Dzerowicz and Ottawa Centre MP Arif Virani were among those who sent out emails to supporters yesterday inviting them to campaign launch events this Sunday.

Some even posted the event on the Liberal party’s website. For example, newly minted Minister of Democratic Institutions Arielle Kayabaga shared an invitation for her campaign launch on social media before rebranding the event as an “open house” (though the event URL still says campaign launch).

It is still unclear if the vote will occur on the earliest possible date under the Elections Act, Monday April 28, or the following week on May 5, though most observers believe Carney will want to surf on the wave of popularity he’s seen in recent polls and hold the shortest campaign possible.

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This week’s Leger poll for National Post suggested the Carney-led Liberals hold a three-point lead over Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives. It’s the first time the Liberals have a lead over the Poilievre’s troops since early 2023 amid a “remarkable comeback” by Carney, said Leger executive vice-president Andrew Enns.

What is certain is that U.S. President Donald Trump’s ongoing tariff war with Canada will be front and centre throughout the campaign as each party leader tries to convince voters they are the best choice to push back against the Americans.

Leaders have already started making campaign-style announcements. Poilievre, for example, has made two policy promises in the last two days including a six-minute video posted online in the morning followed by a press conference.

Thursday, he promised to create “shovel-ready zones” that would be pre-approved for development before applications are even submitted in order to speed up infrastructure projects.

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Carney’s first move after being sworn-in as prime minister last week was to bring the consumer carbon tax amount to $0 by April 1 as part of his promise to eventually abolish the tax implemented by his predecessor altogether.

He also travelled to Europe earlier this week to shore up the country’s relationship with France and the U.K. as the country seeks to quickly diversify its trade and security partners amid Trump’s aggressive rhetoric towards Canada.

National Post

cnardi@postmedia.com

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