Canadians will head to the polls on April 28 after Prime Minister Mark Carney formally met with the Governor-General to dissolve the 44th parliament, bringing an end to the longest-running minority government in Canadian history.
Carney visited Gov. Gen. Mary Simon on Sunday one day before parliament was supposed to return after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prorogued it in January.
The April 28 date is the earliest possible day to send Canadians to the polls under the Elections Act, one day longer than the minimum 36 days required by law.
At the time of dissolution, the Liberals held 153 seats, the Conservatives held 120, the Bloc Quebecois had 33 seats, the NDP had 24, the Green Party held 2 seats and there were three independents.
Carney was elected as Liberal leader to succeed Trudeau on March 9 and was sworn in as prime minister along with his new cabinet on March 14.
The Liberal party confirmed Saturday that Carney will run for a seat in the House of Commons in the Ottawa riding of Nepean, which has been held by Liberal MP Chandra Arya for the last decade. Arya, who was told two months ago his candidacy for the leadership of the party would not be accepted, was informed this past week that his nomination to run in the Ottawa riding had been revoked.
Carney will be running in a riding adjacent to his main rival, Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre, who is seeking re-election in Carleton.
Poilievre spoke to the media before the official election call, saying he plans to restore the promise of Canada and tackle affordability issues that he blames on elites.
The election comes at an opportune time for Carney’s Liberals, who – for the first time since 2022 – have surpassed the Conservatives in several polls.
While domestic policies will play a large part in this race, Canadians’ anxieties about U.S. President Donald Trump and his trade war and sovereignty threats loom over this campaign. Trump has become a clear ballot box question for voters, who will be choosing who they believe will be the best party and Prime Minister to stand up to his tariff threats, negotiate a potential deal with him, expand Canadian markets and improve the economy to cushion workers and businesses from the economic storm the country is facing.
The parties have been busy nominating candidates and organizing leaders’ tours; to date, the Liberals have nominated only about half of a full slate of candidates. The Conservatives, NDP and Green Party each have nominated candidates in more than 200 of the 343 ridings.
Carney has managed to snag some big names to run for the Liberals in recent days including former Canadian television journalist Evan Solomon and Carlos Leitão, a former Liberal finance minister in Quebec.
The Conservatives have a sizable war chest for the election after a banner fundraising year, having raised almost $41.8 million in 2024.
The Liberals raised about $15.2 million and the NDP took in close to $6.3 million in donations over 2024 — though the Liberals are likely to see a sizable influx of cash in the wake of their leadership race, which saw Carney alone raise more than $4.5 million in less than two months.
Files from Cormac Mac Sweeny and The Canadian Press were used in this report
