Canada elections results LIVE: Liberals clinch early lead as polling closes
Polling stations across Canada that spans six time zones have started to close, with results from smaller eastern provinces trickling in
Dorothy Globally, a supporter of Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, reacts at the Liberal Party election night headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada April 28, 2025. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Votes are being counted on Monday (April 28, 2025) in a Canadian election that will decide if new Prime Minister Mark Carney will extend the Liberal Party’s decade in power or the opposition Conservatives’ populist leader Pierre Poilievre will lead the country. The election has shaped to be a choice for a leader to confront Donald Trump’s trade war and annexation threats, which the U.S. President renewed in an election day message.
Polling stations across the vast country that spans six time zones have started to close, with results from smaller eastern provinces trickling in.
The winner will face a cost-of-living crisis and Trump’s threat to impose sweeping tariffs on Canada, which sends more than 75% of its exports to the U.S. A record 7.3 million Canadians cast ballots before election day.
As polls close across Canada, the country’s media has begun projecting winners and have declared Mark Carney-led Liberal Party to form the next government.
Both CTV and CBC have made this prediction based on the party maintaining strong trends. However, it is not clear whether the party will form a majority or minority government.
Voting has now closed across Canada, with the British Columbia being one of the last ridings (constituency) to close off polls.
Trends continue to suggest a lead of the Liberal Party.
Voters in each of Canada’s 343 federal electoral districts are only electing their local representative to the House of Commons.
The leader of whichever party wins a majority of seats in the House of Commons will form a new government and serve as prime minister.
If no party wins a majority, a party — usually the one with the most seats — can form a minority government but must rely on support from some opposition members. In rare cases, two or more parties might reach a formal agreement to form a coalition government together.
In a close race, votes in a few electoral districts, called ridings in Canada, could make all the difference in who is prime minister.
BURNABY CENTRAL, BRITISH COLUMBIA
The result here could help show whether the left-leaning New Democrats, who compete with the Liberals for the center-left vote, have a future. Burnaby Central is a new riding, replacing Burnaby South. This was held by NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, who kept former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority Liberal government in power for more than two years in return for more social spending.
Singh, who is the NDP candidate, says Canadians benefited because as a result of the deal, Liberals passed legislation increasing access to healthcare. But polls suggest he is running third in the new riding as left-leaning voters coalesce behind the Liberals.
2021 election result in Burnaby South – NDP 40.3%; Liberal 30.4%; Conservatives 22.4%.
AURORA—OAK RIDGES—RICHMOND HILL, ONTARIO
Key to any victory is the so-called Golden Horseshoe, a riding-rich crescent that sits on Lake Ontario and includes Toronto as well as other cities. The Conservatives held Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill from 2018 to 2021. If they are to take advantage of unhappiness over living costs, immigration and a housing crisis – factors that dominated politics before U.S. President Donald Trump began threatening tariffs and annexation - the riding is a key target.
2021 election result – Liberal 45.2%; Conservatives 42.1%.
Any party wishing to win power must also perform well in Quebec, which has the second-largest number of seats in the House of Commons. It is the only province with its own party, the Bloc, which is seeking independence for the province and whose fortunes can swing wildly. Trois-Rivieres is one of several in Quebec where three (and sometimes four parties) contend for the vote. The 2021 result was tight, with the Bloc winning by just 83 votes of the 58,110 that were cast.
2021 election result – Bloc Quebecois 29.5%; Conservative 29.4%; Liberal 28.6%.
EDMONTON SOUTHEAST, ALBERTA
The Liberals have traditionally fared poorly in the western oil-producing province of Alberta, thanks to former Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who introduced unpopular energy policies in the 1980s. Some of this enmity rubbed off on his son, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who at best only won a handful of Alberta seats. Now that Justin Trudeau is gone, the Liberals have a chance to repair their reputation. Ex-Liberal cabinet minister Amarjeet Sohi is running in the new riding of Edmonton Southeast, and if he wins, it will be a sign the party can succeed even in hostile territory.
CUMBERLAND-COLCHESTER, NOVA SCOTIA
The four provinces in Atlantic Canada, which contain a total of 32 seats and report their results first, often offer an early indication as to how the election might go. The region is politically volatile and results can swing broadly. The Liberals won Cumberland-Colchester by a few hundred votes in 2019 but lost it to the Conservatives in 2021.
2021 election result - Conservatives 46.0%; Liberals 34.2%; NDP 12.3%.
BURLINGTON, ONTARIO
This Ontario riding southwest of Toronto is the ultimate in Canadian bellwethers, having elected a legislator from the winning party for 12 consecutive elections going back to 1984.
2021 election result - Liberals 45.7%; Conservatives 37.3%; NDP 10.9%
