Canada’s new Prime Minister, Mark Carney, who took over after Justin Trudeau’s ouster, has called for snap election in the country on April 28. The ruling Liberal Party of Canada will be up against the main opposition party – the Conservative Party of Canada.
Prime Minister Carney said he has called for a snap election in order to ensure that his country gets a government with a stronger mandate than the Liberal Party currently has. This is important keeping in mind the trade war with neighbouring United States and President Trump’s repeated threat to annexe Canada to make it the 51st state of the US – which Canadians outrightly reject.
“I’ve just requested that the Governor General to dissolve parliament and call an election for April 28. She has agreed,” Prime Minister Carney said, referring to King Charles III’s representative in Canada, a member of the British Commonwealth.
During the sudden announcement, the prime minister said that Donald Trump “wants to break us, so America can own us. We (Canada) will not let that happen.” Claiming that the threat is serious, he said that to take bold decisions, his country must aim to provide a stronger mandate.
It has been just over one week that Mr Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, stepped down due to mounting pressure from within his party as well as Canada’s opposition, led by Pierre Poilievre. Mr Carney and an entirely new cabinet were sworn in on March 14.
Canada was originally scheduled to go to polls in October this year.
The Liberal Party, which has been in power for a decade, had slid into deep unpopularity over Justin Trudeau’s leadership. Carney, who replaced Trudeau as prime minister and party leader, will now hope to capitalise on the wave of patriotism across the nation due to Trump’s takeover threats.
President Trump, who had repeatedly called Canada the “51st state” and former PM Trudeau as “Governor”, has already imposed heavy tariffs, which experts say, could have a vastly damaging impact on Canada’s economy.
Suddenly, issues such as cost of living, inflation, and immigration no longer are the biggest polling agendas – Trump, tariffs, and saving the nation are.
Donald Trump has said clearly that “I don’t care who wins up there,” he will go ahead with the plans he has.
On April 28, Canadians will elect 343 members of parliament to the House of Commons, an increase of five compared to the 2021 vote, reflecting the country’s growing population. Seats are won based on the first-past-the-post system.
Several parties can run candidates in an electoral district, also known as a ‘riding’. The candidate with the most votes wins, regardless of whether they secured an absolute majority of votes.
If a party wins 172 seats, they secure a majority government. If no individual party wins a majority, the party with the most seats is typically given the chance to form a government, which requires having “the confidence of the house.”
(Inputs from AFP)
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