Imogen James
Live reporter

Image source, Shutterstock

Mark Carney used his first news conference since winning the Canadian federal election on Monday to announce a raft of key dates:

May 6: the prime minister will be in Washington DC to meet with US President Donald Trump

May 12: the new Cabinet will be sworn in during this week

May 26-27: King Charles III and Queen Camilla will visit Canada, where they will preside over the opening of the new Parliament

July 1: Carney pledged to to put more money in Canadian pockets by delivering a tax cut by Canada Day

Aside from his upcoming plans, Carney spent much of his speech defending Canada, describing it as a diverse nation with strong democracy.

He also remained steadfast in his position that Canada will never become a US state, telling citizens: "I will fight for the best deal for Canada."

That's all from us for now, but you can read more about his comments in our news story here: Canada's Carney offers strategic invite to King ahead of Trump meeting

Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

During the news conference this morning, Canadian Prime Minister Carney was asked about the future of Pierre Poilievre, his rival in the just-ended election.

The Conservative Party leader lost his seat in an Ottawa-area riding to the Liberal Party candidate, and as such will not be in the new Parliament which opens May 27. If he attends the session, he will have to watch from the public stands.

A way around this would be for one of his own party members to gave up their seat and for Poilievre to run in a by-election triggered by that resignation.

Canadian election rules do not require candidates to personally live in the constituency where they run, so theoretically, a by-election could be shoe-in for Poilievre if he runs in a Conservative Party stronghold. One elected Conservative MP in Alberta has already volunteered to step down.

The prime minister could further facilitate Poilievre's return as the official Leader of the Opposition in Parliament by asking his Liberal Party not to run a candidate against him in the by-election.

Carney said at the press conference, if Poilievre and the Conservatives chose this path, he would "ensure that it happens as soon as possible... no games, nothing, straight," he said.

This move is seen as an olive branch from Carney to his rival and with the federal election put to bed, he could be seen as leading by example after he called for Canadians to set aside partisan politics and unite in the face of US tariffs and threats to its sovereignty.

"We are in a once-in-a-lifetime crisis, it's time come together put on our Team Canada sweaters and win big," he said. "Now is the time for ambition, to be bold, to meet this crisis with an overwhelming positive force that is a united Canada."

The New Democratic Party's Jagmeet Singh also lost his Vancouver-area seat and resigned as leader of his party. The Green Party's co-leader Jonathan Pedneault also resigned after failing to win his Montreal-area riding.

From disappointed to excited, Canadians across the country react to the Liberals' election victory on Monday night.

Carney's invite to the King is a declaration of Canada's sovereigntypublished at 17:44 British Summer Time 2 May

17:44 BST 2 May

Nadine Yousif
Reporting from Toronto

Image source, Getty Images

In his first news conference after a historic election win, Prime Minister Mark Carney has set the tone of his government ahead of talks with US President Donald Trump.

Notably, he announced that King Charles III, Canada’s formal head of state, will open the country's 45th Parliament later this month.

This will be the first time that a monarch opens a Canadian parliament in 48 years. The last time it happened was in 1977, when Queen Elizabeth was celebrating her Silver Jubilee.

The rare gesture is not just symbolic, but a strategic move to assert Canada's sovereignty as Donald Trump continues to express his hopes that the country be absorbed into the US to become the 51st state instead.

Canada's choice to maintain its status as a constitutional monarchy, with ties to the Crown - even as the country has sought independence - are a defining feature that set its national identity apart from that of the US.

Both countries are former British colonies, but Canada's neighbour to the south is a constitutional republic that decisively severed all formal connections to the Crown nearly 250 years ago.

In inviting the King - of whom Trump is notably a fan - Carney is commanding respect, and communicating that Canada is different from the US - and prefers it that way.

Imogen James
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

While Canada is an independent country, it is a members of the British Commonwealth with King Charles III as the official head of state.

And as the head of state, he has been invited to open parliament and give the "speech from the throne".

This is a rare occurrence for the royals.

Queen Elizabeth II was the only royal to have opened Parliament in person twice.

The last time she did was in 1977, and before that in 1957.

Typically, instead of the royals attending, the governor general takes up the role and delivers the speech from the throne as the representative of the Crown in Canada.

King Charles has visited Canada 19 times previously, most recently with Queen Camilla in 2022.

Image source, Getty Images

In case you missed it, here is what we learned from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's first news conference since his Liberal Pary won the election on Monday:

• Carney will meet Donald Trump on Tuesday at the White House in Washington
• Canada's new cabinet will be sworn in the week of May 12
• King Charles III will visit Ottawa to open Parliament and lay out the new government's formal agenda in a May 27 speech
• Carney, who will head a minority government, will not seek official support in a formal governing pact from the New Democratic Party's MPs
• Carney is open to a by-election that could allow Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre to be elected in a different constituency. Poilievre lost his seat on Monday.

Image source, Getty Images

King Charles III - who is also the head of state of Canada, in addition to Britain - and Queen Camilla have confirmed via a post on X that they will visit Ottawa from May 26-27.

Whilst there, they will attend the state opening of Canadian Parliament, where it's expected King Charles will make a speech.

Just before the news conference ended, Carney was asked if his next cabinet might be larger, and whether François-Philippe Champagne would remain as the finance minister?

He said he is committed to an efficient cabinet with gender parity, but that final decisions on appointments had not yet been made.

As a reminder, Carney said his cabinet will be sworn in on May 12.

Image source, Reuters

The huddle of reporters try and ask more questions of the prime minister, but they are cut off by the moderator.

Carney says they "have to respect" the rules of the news conference.

"We'll remember that," a reporter shouts. Carney makes a joke and heads out the door, signalling the end of the news conference.

We'll bring you more updates and analysis, so stay with us.

Carney is asked why he thinks his party lost seats in Ontario, and if those seats cost him the majority.

He says arithmetically yes, but the Liberals lost other seats that went various ways.

They will reflect on it, he tells reporters, but says voters have clearly chosen the Liberals to deal with issues such as affordability and the US relationship.

Image source, Reuters

Carney says his Liberals will not pursue a formal governing pact of any kind with the New Democratic Party.

When asked why, he says the Liberal Party received the "highest number of votes in Canadian history", and in order to do "what we need to do" they will need to work in partnership with all the provinces.

Carney is asked if he expects good faith negotiations in Washington after Trump has repeatedly called for Canada to be the 51st state of the US.

He says we should not be expecting "white smoke" out of that meeting but the high-level dialogue indicates seriousness of the conversation. Trump respects strength and the electoral results reflect that Canadian want that, he says.

Carney is asked if President Trump said or insinuated that Canada should be the 51st state during their second call, a comment he has made multiple times in recent months.

"He did not," Carney says.

The reporter then asks if Carney has seen respect from the Trump administration towards Canada.

"It's always important to distinguish want from reality," Carney says.

The reality is that Canada becoming a US state will "never ever happen", he adds.

Carney says when he meets Trump, he is not "pretending those discussions will be easy... I will fight for the best deal for Canada".

Later, he says in French that the discussions about tariffs will be complex, and that he does not want to negotiate in public.

Carney is asked what he wants out of his first meeting with US President Trump.

Carney confirms he will head to Washington DC on Tuesday to meet with Trump.

When there, he says there are two sets of issues to discuss: the immediate tariffs and the broader relationship.

He will want to address both sets of issues, he says, and it has always been his intention to address this immediately.

"Canada has what everyone wants," Carney says.

He describes it as a confident, diverse nation, that practices free speech and respects the law.

It has a "vibrant democracy", he says.

He tells Canadians abroad that there has "never been a better time to come home".

Carney is outlining some specific goals for his government now.

He says the middle class tax cut will take affect by Canada Day, July 1, "putting more money" in people's pockets.

They will expand the Canadian dental care plan, protect programmes like Pharmacare, and cutting the Goods and Services Tax on new homes under Can$1m.

He says these tax measures will "provide immediate relief", but to make housing affordable again, they will have to build more homes.

Canada is currently being rocked by a housing affordability crisis.

Image source, Reuters

Carney is outlining his government's priorities, though he says more details will come later.

First on the list is the US. He says the old relationship with his country's southern neighbour is over.

Now the question is how we will move forward and uphold other relationships including with France, Europe, the UN, Japan, Ukraine, and others, Carney says.

The new cabinet will be sworn in on the week of May 12, Carney tells reporters, and the recall of Parliament is on May 26.

The "new path for Canada" will be set out when the cabinet is sworn in, he adds.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will attend on May 27, with the king delivering a speech from the throne then.

Carney calls this "an historic honour".

In opening remarks, Carney says Canadians made their voices heard, including to stand up to Donald Trump.

He also praised Canada's democracy.

"We disagreed agreeably" and everyone accepted the results, he says. As democracy is under threat around the world, Canada's remains strong, he adds

Image source, Reuters

Prime Minister Mark Carney says he has invited King Charles III to formally open Canada's 45th Parliament later this month.

The King is Canada's head of state and is represented in Canada by Governor General Mary Simon.

After an election, the new parliamentary session is usually opened by the governor general who reads The Speech from the Throne on behalf of the prime minister. The speech, read in Canada's senate, sets out the government's agenda.

While it is not unprecedented, the last time this happened was in October 1977 when Queen Elizabeth II read the speech for the second time.

Carney says the king's visit will be a great 'honour'.