Liberal Party Prevails In Canadian Elections

In nationwide elections last week, Canadian voters returned the country’s Liberal Party to power for a fourth consecutive term with political outsider Mark Carney as their leader. Though the victory was clear, Prime Minister Carney still will lead a minority government since the Liberal Party won just 169 seats, three short of the 172 needed to govern without support from a smaller party.

As CNN reported, though he has never held elected office, Carney pitched himself as an experienced professional from the political center who can steward Canada’s economy through a period of turbulence. “I understand how the world works,” Carney told podcaster Nate Erskine-Smith in October. “I know people who run some of the world’s largest companies and understand how they work. I know how financial institutions work. I know how markets work … I’m trying to apply that to the benefit of Canada.”

Carney and his fellow party members will not get to work fulfilling their campaign promises. These initiatives include:

• Beginning trade discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump;
• Tabling a budget that would implement the proposed middle class tax cut, deliver on commitment to unleash internal free trade by Canada Day, eliminating all federal barriers to interprovincial trade and labor mobility, and removing all federal exceptions under the Canada Free Trade Agreement;
• Implementing a spending bill that would focus on made-in-Canada defense and infrastructure spending;
• Identifying critical infrastructure projects his government would prioritize and fast track to minimize economic damage from tariff war; and
• Implementing a $2 billion “Strategic Response Fund” to help the auto sector, establish a Canadian auto manufacturing network, and leverage government funding to prioritize Canadian-built vehicles.