Carney says Canadians trust his plan after he wins majority

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says the country's voters have demonstrated trust in his government's plan, after his Liberal Party secured a slim majority in the House of Commons.

The Liberals are projected to have won all three by-elections that took place on Monday. These are on top of gains made over the last year through five opposition members of parliament defecting to Carney's party.

The PM will now be able to pass legislation without relying on support from opposition benches, and he could stave off a federal election until 2029.

Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre said Carney had relied on defections to win his majority, in an attempt to gain "power without any accountability".

The by-elections took place in two Toronto-area ridings, or constituencies - Scarborough Southwest and University-Rosedale - as well as in the Quebec riding of Terrebonne, where the contest was closely fought.

Through the night, Canadian media projected wins for the Liberal candidates in each place.

Carney congratulated all three winning Liberal candidates, who were Doly Begum, Danielle Martin and Tatiana Auguste respectively.

In a statement posted on X, the PM wrote that the various candidates from all parties who had contested the elections had "strengthened our democracy at a decisive moment for Canada".

He went on to say: "Tonight, voters have placed their trust in our new government's plan. We accept that support with humility, determination and a clear understanding of what this moment demands."

Liberals will now hold 174 of the 343 seats in the House of Commons, giving Carney more latitude with his political agenda.

Carney has focused that agenda on boosting Canada's economy, notably in the face of a challenging trade relationship with the US, the country's largest trading partner.

He will face new pressure to also deliver on significant domestic promises, including major investments in housing construction and on national defence, and making Canada an "energy superpower".

"The time for delays or excuses will have passed and with it the expectations will rise across multiple policy arenas," wrote Scotiabank analyst Derek Holt last week on the expected Liberal gains.

On Tuesday morning, Carney said voters "placed their trust in Canada's new government's plan".

"We accept their support with humility, determination and a clear understanding of what this moment demands for our country."

He said he would move quickly to deliver on his commitments at a news conference where he announced a temporary suspension of federal fuel tax on diesel and petrol, similar to a proposal that had been pushed by the Conservatives as fuel prices rise due to the Iran conflict.

He also defended getting his majority mandate in part through defectors from other parties, saying "we're fortunate to have them and we're moving together with them".

The Toronto-area seats were left vacant after former Liberal Defence Minister Bill Blair was appointed to be Canada's High Commissioner to the UK and Chrystia Freeland, who served as deputy prime minister under Trudeau, became an adviser to Ukraine.

Auguste, the victor in Terrebonne, also won that riding by a single vote in the last election - but the result was later thrown out by the country's Supreme Court over a clerical error on a mail-in ballot.

The majority marks a significant turnaround of fortunes for the Liberals, who were expected to lose last year's federal election before former leader Justin Trudeau ended nearly a decade in power by resigning in January of that year.

That paved the way for Carney to successfully run to lead the party, and in April 2025 he led the Liberals to a minority government win as support surged around the party in response to aggressive rhetoric from US President Donald Trump.

This is the first time in Canada that a majority has been formed through a combination of by-elections and defections to the governing party.

Trudeau was the last prime minister to form a majority government after he swept the 2015 federal election, but his government was later reduced to a minority.

Before Monday's by-elections, Carney had already been able to shore up his bench in the House of Commons with five defectors - four Conservatives and one member of the left-wing New Democratic Party - over the last five months.

Canadian media have reported in recent days that a handful of other MPs are also being courted by the Liberals to cross the floor.

"The Carney Liberals did not win a majority government through a general election or today's by-elections," Poilievre, the Conservative leader, wrote on X on Monday night. "Instead, it was won through backroom deals with politicians who betrayed the people who voted for them."

Poilievre added: "Liberals expect Canadians to give up, get complacent and go away, so Carney can have total power without any accountability. That will not happen. Our country and its people are worth fighting for."