Ottawa:
Canadian Election 2025 LIVE: Canadians are set to vote today (Monday) to decide whether to extend the Prime Minister Mark Carney-led Liberal Party’s decade in power or hand over the country’s control to Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives. The initial results of the poll race will start coming after 7:30 pm EST (5:00 am IST), after voting ends in the four Atlantic provinces. The clear picture will emerge after 9:30 pm EST (7:00 am IST), when voting ends in most of the country, including in seat-rich Ontario and Quebec.
This time, Canadians are not just electing their next Prime Minister, but the polls are also seen as a referendum of sorts on someone who isn’t even Canadian– US President Donald Trump. The Liberal Party looked set to lose easily to the Conservatives until Trump won a second term and began threatening Canada’s economy and sovereignty, even suggesting the country should become the 51st state.
The American President’s truculence not only infuriated many Canadians but also put Poilievre and the Conservative Party on the back foot due to his similarities with Trump.
Forty-five-year-old Poilievre is a career politician who campaigned with Trump-like bravado. During campaigning, he tried to keep the focus on domestic concerns that made Trudeau deeply unpopular toward the end of his decade in power, especially soaring living costs.
However, final polls indicate a tight race, but Carney has emerged as a favourite. Carney, 60, has never held elected office and had a lucrative career as an investment banker before serving as the central bank governor in both Canada and Britain. He only replaced Justin Trudeau as prime minister last month.
But, surveys have consistently shown voters view the ex-central banker as the best candidate to deal with Trump.
If the Liberals win today, it would mark one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history. Public broadcaster CBC’s poll aggregator on Sunday put the Liberals’ national support at 42.8 per cent, with the Conservatives at 38.8 per cent.
