Canadians are voting today to decide who will lead the country for the next few years. The two main competitors are the Liberal Party, led by Mark Carney, and the Conservative Party, led by Pierre Poilievre. Polls have opened across Canada, and the last ones are set to close at 10 PM EDT (7:30 PM IST). Early results may start coming in by early Tuesday morning.
The race has tightened over the past few weeks, but experts claim that the Liberals remain narrowly ahead. On CBC’s polling tracker, the Liberal Party has the average lead of 42% against the Conservatives at 39%. While the Liberals’ lead has decreased since the campaign began, the pollsters are confident the Liberals are still in a better position to win the elections.
In Canada’s “first-past-the-post” electoral system, it’s not the sum of the votes that counts — it’s the winning of more districts. Even if the Conservatives are strong across the country, their votes are largely held in areas like Saskatchewan and Alberta, where there are fewer seats available. Meanwhile, the Liberals are doing much better in Ontario and Quebec, two provinces that have more seats than the rest of Canada combined.
A record 7.3 million people had already voted in polls before election day, according to Elections Canada. There are 28.9 million eligible voters.
HOW TRUMP CHANGED THE MOOD OF THE ELECTION
Only a few months back, it seemed the Conservatives would win hands down. Canadians were dissatisfied with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after almost a decade of Liberal domination, and the polls indicated the Conservatives were leading by more than 20 points.
But it all changed when US President Donald Trump took aggressive steps against Canada, including initiating a trade war and even claiming that Canada would be made the “51st state” of America. These remarks offended many Canadians and slightly changed public perception.
WHO ARE THE FAVOURITES TO WIN THE ELECTIONS?
When Mark Carney took over the leadership of the Liberals from Trudeau in March, he surged ahead quickly. Carney, a seasoned chief of Canada’s central bank as well as Britain’s, is regarded as one who can hold firm against Trump and also steer the economy well.
Polls conducted recently also indicated that Canadians have more trust in Carney and the Liberals when it comes to matters like US-Canada relations, economic growth, and affordability.
Online sites providing betting, including Canada Sports Betting, have the Liberals at 83% to form the next government and the Conservatives at 23%. Despite the tight race, the Liberals appear to remain the favourites to form the next government.
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