Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney calls snap election, asks for mandate to tackle Donald Trump

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney calls for snap elections, hoping to capitalise on a recovery by his Liberal party after Donald Trump began threatening Canada and Justin Trudeau announced resignation

New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Sunday (March 23, 2025) called a snap election for April 28, 2025, saying he needed a strong mandate to deal with the threat that U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs pose to the economy.

Although the next election was not due until October 20, 2025, Mr. Carney is hoping to capitalise on a remarkable recovery by his Liberal party in the polls since January, when Mr. Trump began threatening Canada and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation.

“We are facing the most significant crisis of our lifetimes because of President Trump’s unjustified trade actions and his threats to our sovereignty,” Mr. Carney said.

“There is so much more to do to secure Canada. To invest in Canada, to build Canada, to unite Canada. That’s why I’m asking for a strong positive mandate from my fellow Canadians. I’ve just requested that the Governor-General to dissolve Parliament and call an election for April 28th, and she has agreed,” Mr. Carney told reporters after the Governor-General — the personal representative of King Charles, Canada’s head of state — approved his request for an election.

Mr. Carney, a former two-time central banker with no previous political or election campaign experience, captured the Liberal leadership two weeks ago by persuading party members he was the best person to tackle Mr. Trump.

Now he has five weeks to win over Canadians. Polls suggest the Liberals, who have been in power since 2015 and badly trailed the official opposition Conservatives at the start of the year, are now slightly ahead of their rivals.

“We moved from an election where people wanted change to an election that’s really much more about leadership,” said Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs. “The ability of the Conservatives to attack the Liberals has been greatly diminished, because people are focused on the here and now and the near term future, not on what happened over the last 10 years,” he said by phone.