Canadian Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre has lost his own seat in the country’s Parliament following his party’s defeat in its federal elections Monday.
Poilievre’s Conservatives had been the favorite for months to win the Canadian elections after a decade of Liberal Party rule and growing opposition to now-former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. But the Liberals under Prime Minister Mark Carney pulled off a victory and Poilievre also lost his own seat he’s held for 20 years.
Liberal Bruce Fanjoy was projected by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to defeat Poilievre for the seat by about 3,800 votes, based on preliminary results. He claimed just over a majority of the vote in the rural Ottawa area.
The results from Monday’s election show a major turnaround from what had been expected at the start of the year.
Polling throughout much of 2024 and into 2025 showed the Conservatives favored to take power and Poilievre likely to become prime minister. But that changed after President Trump took office and implemented wide-ranging tariffs on many countries, including Canada.
He also irked many Canadians with repeated calls to make Canada the 51st state, saying as recently as last week that he isn’t “trolling” with his statements about it.
The Liberals sought to portray the election as about which leader will stand up most strongly to Trump and argued that Poilievre wouldn’t adequately do so. Poilievre has pushed back on comparisons to Trump, but critics have argued similarities exist with his “Canada First” approach and support for placing some limits on immigration levels.
But defenders have noted that Poilievre is more liberal on a number of issues, including support for Canada’s current health care system and abortion rights.
Carney, who took over following Trudeau’s resignation and has now won his own term as leader, warned in remarks after his victory that Trump is “trying to break us,” but that will not happen.
Despite the Liberals’ win, whether the party will win a majority in the Parliament of have a minority government requiring them to work with other parties is uncertain as remaining votes are counted. The party would need to win 172 seats in the 343-seat body for a majority.