Canadian PM Secures Majority Government04/14 06:15

   

   TORONTO (AP) -- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney secured a majority 
government with special election wins Monday night, allowing his Liberals to 
pass legislation without the support of opposition parties.

   Voters cast ballots for three vacant seats of the 343 districts represented 
in Parliament. In Toronto, Liberal candidate Danielle Martin won the election 
for the district of University Rosedale and Liberal Doly Begum won the district 
of Scarborough Southwest. The result for a Quebec district was expected later.

   The Liberal Party could stay in power until 2029 after Monday's results.

   Carney won Canada's election last year, fueled by public anger over U.S. 
President Donald Trump's annexation threats, and he has vowed to reduce 
Canada's reliance on the U.S.

   Since then, five defections from opposition parties, including four from the 
main opposition Conservative party, put Carney's Liberals on the cusp of the 
majority.

   One of those defectors referenced Carney's speech at the World Economic 
Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as helping in his decision. In that speech, Carney 
condemned economic coercion by great powers against smaller countries and 
received widespread praise for his remarks.

   Carney, the 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.

   Carney congratulated Martin and Begum in social media posts but did not 
comment on winning a majority.

   "As of tonight, Mark Carney and our entire incredible Liberal team have 
earned an even more powerful mandate to continue building a better Canada," 
Martin said.

   Daniel Bland, a political-science professor at McGill University in 
Montreal, said the Liberals also had a shot at winning the Quebec seat.

   Bland said the deterioration of Canada-U.S. relations under the second 
Trump presidency has convinced many Canadians, including people who do not 
identify as Liberal, to rally behind the prime minister.

   "Mark Carney entered the political arena about 15 months ago, but he is 
proving himself to be an astute politician," Bland said. "He remains popular 
nearly a year after leading his party to victory in late April 2025 and, with 
the help of a series of floor-crossings, he is now at the helm of a majority 
government that provides more stability and greater capacity to move forward 
with his economic and policy agenda."

   The Liberal majority and the recent defections are another blow to 
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who lost the previous national election 
last year and even his own seat. He has since rejoined Parliament.

   Poilievre won a party leadership review earlier this year, but continues to 
have problems controlling his lawmakers.

   Poilievre said in a social media post Monday night that he "will continue to 
lead that fight every day and in every way in Parliament, across the country 
and in the next election, when Canadians will reclaim the country we know and 
love."