Well, it’s all over but the crying, as they say in sports. The whirlwind federal election has come and gone, leaving more questions than answers.
Sure, the Liberals pulled off a miracle in retaining government, but the party was held to a minority. Without a strong majority mandate, it’s going to be difficult for Prime Minister-elect Mark Carney to come up with a new deal for Canadians that all regions can accept. It also leaves him in a weaker position when it comes to U.S. President Donald Trump and the impending renegotiation of the USMCA free trade agreement.
The NDP was essentially gutted in this election with its seat total reduced to single digits and its leader tendering his resignation, but by a strange quirk of fate it might still hold the balance of power in Ottawa.
However, the party with probably the most regret in this election is the Conservatives. On one hand, the party picked up more seats and expanded its popular support across the country but it failed to form government despite poll numbers that once seemed so promising.
And to add insult to injury, party leader Pierre Poilievre failed to hold on to his own seat in Carleton.
As Poilievre prepares to run in a byelection in rural Alberta, the new Carney government will likely have some breathing room for the next few months. Similarly, the NDP will be in no hurry to see the Liberals fail for the next year or so while it searches for a new leader.
For all three major parties, and even the lesser ones like the Greens and People’s Party, this election can probably be viewed as the “no winners election,” reflecting the polarizing times and, perhaps, Canadians’ frustration with the national political process as a whole.
