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. Liberal candidate Danielle Martin won the election for the Toronto district of University Rosedale and Liberal Doly Begum won the Toronto 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 with 171 members of Parliament in the House of Commons.
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.
“Congratulations to Danielle Martin, new Member of Parliament for University-Rosedale,” Carney posted on social media. “Danielle has spent her career building better public health care for Torontonians and all Canadians. Now she’s bringing her experience and determination to the House of Commons, and our country will be stronger for it.”
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Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said the Liberals also had a shot at winning in the seat in Quebec.
Béland 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.
“Carney has thus far proved that he is an astute politician, despite the fact that 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.”
Carney’s 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 in Parliament. He has since rejoined Parliament.
Poilievre won a party leadership review earlier this year, but continues to have problems controlling his lawmakers.
