Canada PM Carney Says Majority-Government Status Reflects Trust in Economic Plan -- Update
NWSA
Published on 04/14/2026 at 09:33 am EDT
By Paul Vieira
OTTAWA--Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Monday night's victories in three special elections, vaulting his administration to majority status from a minority, reflect the trust the public has in the Liberal government's plan to rebuild the country's economy.
"We accept that support with humility, determination and a clear understanding of what this moment demands," Carney said Tuesday morning in a statement posted on social media, after securing a majority government.
Results tabulated in the three polls, intended to fill vacancies in the federal legislature, show the Liberals winning by sizable margins in two Toronto districts, and emerging victorious in north Montreal in a closely fought race. Those three electoral victories, combined with five defections to the Liberal Party caucus over the past six months, give the Carney-led Liberals 174 of the 343 seats in the national legislature.
That cushion should give Carney a freer hand to aggressively pursue a policy agenda aimed at rebuilding a struggling Canadian economy, through increasing exports to non-U.S. markets, accelerating infrastructure and resource projects, and stabilizing public finances.
Further, the governing Liberals can pass legislation without cutting side deals with opposition parties and can wait until 2029 to call an election.
"This is a time to come together so we can build a Canada strong for all," Carney added. He's scheduled to hold a press conference later Tuesday morning, at which time he's expected to provide financial relief to households amid sharply higher energy prices stemming from the war in Iran.
The Liberals have a comfortable lead in nearly all Canadian public-opinion polls. "Carney's personal popularity, cultivated in large part from his opposition to President Trump, has enabled him to govern from a position of strength even without a majority," said Giles Alston, senior analyst at global-risk firm Oxford Analytica, adding the political defections have weakened Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party, the main opposition.
Oxford Analytica, like The Wall Street Journal, is owned by News Corp. unit Dow Jones.
Write to Paul Vieira at [email protected]
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-14-26 0932ET