TORONTO (AP) — The Liberal Party has won the federal election in Canada, culminating a process marked by U.S. President Donald Trump threats on a trade war and of making the country the 51st American state.
With this result, the Liberal Party’s leader and current prime minister, Mark Carney, will remain in the job, and will form a new government with a new cabinet.
It’s still unclear if the liberals will have a majority in the Parliament or whether they will need to look for alliances with other parties.
Here’s what to know and what comes next:
Who did Canadians vote for?
Canadians voted for all 343 member of the House of Commons, one for each constituency.
The winning candidates were those who finished first, whether or not they won a majority of the votes.
A party needs 172 seats in Parliament for a majority.
When will Canada have a new prime minister?
The prime minister is chosen by parliament rather than elected directly by the voters.
Historically, the party that assembles a majority in the House of Commons — either alone or with the support of another party — forms a government. That’s expected to happen in coming days.
The leader of the party forming the government will be the new primer minister, who then has to pick a cabinet.
The current liberal leader is Carney, who was sworn in on March 14 as prime minister after Justin Trudeau resigned. Now, he won a full term as the head of the government.
What challenges will the new government face?
The next primer minister and his government will have to address both external and internal challenges.
Externally, the main one will be to manage a recently tense relationship with the United States, after President Donald Trump has been threatening Canada with steep tariffs and demands that Canada should become the 51st state.
Internally, the new government will still have to deal with issues like rising food and housing prices and a surge in immigration.
What is Carney’s experience?
Carney, a 60-years-old economist educated in the U.S. and England, had no experience in politics until he succeeded Trudeau as prime minister in March.
He was a Goldman Sachs executive for more than a decade, until he started working in the Central Bank of Canada in 2003, as deputy governor.
He was then the head of the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013 and headed the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020.
Now, after voters gave liberals the victory, Carney will be guiding Canada.
