OTTAWA, April 30 (Xinhua) — Mark Carney’s Liberal Party has won Monday’s parliamentary elections in Canada, preliminary results from Elections Canada showed.
As of 03:30 a.m. EDT (0730 GMT) on Tuesday, the Liberals had won or were leading in 167 out of 343 ridings. Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives are set to remain in opposition, with 145 ridings so far. Parties need 172 seats to form a majority.
Carney, expected to remain prime minister, won a seat in Parliament for the first time in Ottawa’s Nepean riding.
“America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country,” Carney repeated in his victory speech. “These are not idle threats. (U.S.) President (Donald) Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. That will never, ever happen.”
He mentioned Canada-U.S. relations several times during the speech, reminding Canadians of the challenges posed by the United States.
“The system of open global trade anchored by the United States, a system that Canada has relied on since the Second World War, a system that, while not perfect, has helped deliver prosperity for a country for decades, is over,” said Carney. “These are tragedies, but it’s also our new reality.”
“We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” he said.
He reiterated his promise to make the Canadian economy less dependent on the United States and to reduce interprovincial trade barriers.
Poilievre has conceded defeat to the Liberals in the election. He congratulated Carney on his win, and said he and his caucus would continue to fight to hold the government to account.
