Mark Carney, Canada’s new prime minister, is on Sunday expected to call a federal election for April 28.
Carney will announce the poll less than a fortnight after replacing Justin Trudeau as head of Canada’s Liberal party, which has seen its popularity soar in response to threats of annexation and punitive tariffs from US President Donald Trump.
“April 28 is the likely date,” a senior government official said on the condition of anonymity. “But it will be confirmed officially when the governor-general agrees.”
The election campaign will pit Carney against Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre.
The Conservatives had been on track to win the next general election, enjoying a comfortable lead in the polls until Trump’s inauguration, with popular discontent over the cost of living and housing affordability undermining support for the Liberals under Trudeau.
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But the US president’s threats against his northern neighbour have forged a newfound patriotism and anti-US sentiment that has seen the popularity of Poilievre, who had links to figures in Trump’s Maga movement, fall, sparking a remarkable turnaround for the Liberals.
Most polls show the contest will still be close, with Carney having a slight edge over the Conservative leader.
An Angus Reid Institute poll earlier this month found that 43 per cent of Canadians thought Carney was best to face off against Trump, compared with 34 per cent who chose Poilievre.
Poilievre, a 45-year-old career politician, has accused Carney of being the “most conflicted prime minister in our country’s history” in a series of attacks on the Liberal leader’s personal wealth from his time as chair of Brookfield Asset Management, trying to portray him as representing big corporations rather than ordinary voters.
But Carney’s record as governor of both the Bank of Canada and Bank of England, as well as his time on Wall Street, appears to resonate with voters, who see him as a steady hand to manage the economy during a period of turbulent relations with the country’s biggest trade partner.
An Ipsos poll on Tuesday found that if a federal election was held this week, the Liberals would secure 42 per cent of decided voter support, compared with 36 per cent for the Conservatives — a seven-point increase in just three weeks.
Data visualisation by Martin Stabe
