Mark Carney said Canada needed humility, determination and a clear understanding of what this moment demands after his Liberals swept three byelections on Monday evening and turned a minority mandate into a parliamentary majority.
Shortly after midnight, Carney said, “This is a time to come together so we can build a Canada strong for all.” He added: “We will build a Canada that is not just strong, but good; not just prosperous, but fair; not just for some, most of the time, but for all, all of the time.”
The Liberals now hold 174 of 343 seats in the House of Commons, up from 171 before Monday’s special elections. Five of those 171 seats had come from lawmakers who defected from other parties, meaning Carney’s government reached majority territory through a mix of byelection wins and cross-party switches just more than a year after he took power.
Danielle Martin won in University-Rosedale. Doly Begum captured nearly 70% of the vote in Scarborough Southwest. Tatiana Auguste won the Montreal-area riding of Terrebonne after a close battle. The Conservative vote share dropped by double-digits in all three ridings, a sharp sign of how much ground the party lost in contests it had hoped could show some momentum.
The numbers leave the House with the Liberals on 174 seats, the Conservatives on 140, the Bloc Québécois on 22, the NDP on six and the Greens on one. An election is now likely three years away, giving Carney a clearer runway than the minority he inherited last year when voters first handed his Liberals a governing mandate.
The result matters beyond the three ridings because Carney’s support has been bolstered by concern over Donald Trump’s protectionist trade policies and their unpredictable implementation, while the Conservatives had been on the cusp of a historic majority government less than two years ago. Instead, the Liberals converted that opening into control of the chamber without a general election.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre disputed the legitimacy of the breakthrough, saying the Carney Liberals did not win a majority government through a general election or Monday’s byelections. “Instead, it was won through backroom deals with politicians who betrayed the people who voted for them,” he said. He added: “Liberals expect Canadians to give up, get complacent and go away, so Carney can have total power without any accountability. That will not happen. Our country and its people are worth fighting for.”
Carney’s task now is not getting to majority status. It is proving he can use it. Canadians have given him the numbers, and the next three years will show whether he can turn them into a government that holds together under the pressure that brought him here.