Summary

Media caption,

Carney: Lessons must be learned after 'American betrayal'

  1. Liberals on track for victory, but may fall short of majoritypublished at 04:16 British Summer Time

    The Liberals are on track to win 156 seats, according to Canada's national broadcaster CBC News.

    The Liberals could be the largest party in the House of Commons, but may still fall short of the 172 required for a majority. The most likely scenario if this happens is that they form a minority government with Mark Carney as prime minister, where they strike deals with the other parties to survive no-confidence votes and pass legislation in parliament.

    The Bloc Quebecois - which only has candidates in Quebec - is currently ahead in 25 seats.

    The NDP is leading in 10 ridings, and could fall short of the 12 needed to qualify for official party status in the House of Commons.

    The Greens are on course to win two seats.

    These numbers are changing quickly, so stay with us for the latest updates.

    A chart showing the Liberals predicted to win 156 seats, the Conservatives 147, the Bloc Quebecois 25, the NDP 10 and the Greens 2.
  2. Liberals predicted to win key ridingpublished at 04:07 British Summer Time

    Nadine Yousif
    Reporting from Liberal headquarters in Ottawa

    Cheers have erupted again here at the Liberal Party HQ when CBC showed on the big screen that the party is poised to win the riding of Toronto-St Paul's.

    That constituency has been a sore point for the Liberals. The party had controlled it for three decades until it flipped by a narrow vote to the Conservatives in a by-election last summer.

    That loss stung Liberals, and indicated that the party was losing significant support. In many ways, the defeat ratcheted up pressure on former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and he resigned nearly six months later.

    If the Liberals do indeed manage to win Toronto–St. Paul's, it could be further proof that Mark Carney has breathed new life into the party.

  3. Traditionally red riding predicted to return to Liberalspublished at 04:05 British Summer Time

    Two signs for the Conservative candidate Don Steward and Liberal candidate Leslie ChurchImage source, Getty Images

    Liberal candidate Leslie Stewart is projected by CBC News to win the Toronto-St Paul's riding, less than a year after the Conservatives triumphed in a by-election in the traditional Liberal stronghold.

    Don Stewart's victory for the Conservatives in June 2024 was seen to signal the beginning of the end of the Liberal era under Justin Trudeau.

    Toronto-St Paul's had been red for the Liberals for 30 years.

  4. WATCH: 'The energy has shifted' at Conservative headquarterspublished at 03:52 British Summer Time

    The BBC's Nada Tawfik is reporting from Conservative Party headquarters, where she saw supporters' dismayed reaction as a Liberal victory was projected.

    Watch below as she describes the deflated energy in the room.

    Media caption,

    'The energy has shifted' - BBC correspondent describes dismay at Conservative Party

  5. WATCH: The moment Liberal supporters cheer their projected winpublished at 03:49 British Summer Time

    The BBC's John Sudworth is at Liberal headquarters, where supporters erupted in cheers as the party was projected by the CBC to form a government.

    Watch as he describes the moment below.

    Media caption,

    BBC correspondent describes reaction at Liberal Party HQ after projected win

  6. Mark Carney projected to win his ridingpublished at 03:40 British Summer Time
    Breaking

    Mark Carney - whose party is projected to form a government - is now projected to win his riding, according to CBC News.

    Carney, who has never been elected to parliament, ran in Nepean, near Ottawa.

  7. Analysis

    Liberal win made possible, in part, by Trumppublished at 03:35 British Summer Time

    Anthony Zurcher
    North America correspondent

    Mark Carney and the Liberal Party are projected to win a majority in the Canadian election – and it appears to have come with a big assist from Donald Trump.

    The US president’s constant badgering of America’s northern neighbour coincided with a dramatic reversal in fortune for the Liberal Party. But no one should expect the Liberals to say thank you – or for Trump to soften his rhetoric, even though last month he said he preferred a Liberal prime minister.

    Instead, more of the same is the likely result – more pointed quips about Canada becoming the 51st US state, more threats of a trade war and more willingness to cast longstanding ties and agreements with America’s northern neighbour into doubt.

    Although Trump doesn't appear to have the same distaste for Carney that he clearly held for former Prime Minster Justin Trudeau, his political and policy interests and those of Canada appear destined to continue to diverge. Already there are indications that Canada is looking more toward Europe as a reliable partner, rather than Trump’s America – a move that is sure to irk the American leader.

    It will prove a formidable challenge for Carney as he fully settles in to power after his relatively sudden ascent to power in Canadian politics.

  8. Analysis

    A political turnaround for the Liberalspublished at 03:34 British Summer Time

    Jessica Murphy
    BBC News, Toronto

    This is a stunning political turnaround for the Liberals - though it’s still unclear if they can secure a majority government.

    Just a few months ago the Liberals were considered dead and buried. Now they are headed for a fourth term in office, helped by a collapse in the vote for the NDP and the Bloc Québécois.

    This victory came after a series of shockwaves early this year upending Canada’s political landscape: Justin Trudeau's resignation, Carney's subsequent rise to prime minister; and the return of Donald Trump to the White House with the threats and tariffs that followed.

    The departure of the deeply unpopular Trudeau was the first turning point for the Liberals, who had been polling behind the Conservatives by some 20 points for months.

    And with Trump now in the White House, the ballot box question turned away from the Liberal record to who might be the best leader to shepherd Canada through the coming economic storm.

    Carney and his team took advantage of the circumstance, running a careful frontrunner campaign and anchoring their message on Trump.

    This will be a bitter loss for the Conservatives, who only months ago had a clear path to victory and will now need to figure out a way forward after a series of electoral defeats.

    The Liberals have received 48% of votes counted across Canada so far, compared with the Conservatives' 39%. Both parties are up since 2021, from 33% and 34% respectively. This is based on around 14% of polls reporting (1 in 7).

  9. All smiles at the Liberal Party headquarterspublished at 03:29 British Summer Time

    Nadine Yousif
    Reporting from Liberal headquarters in Ottawa

    People are smiling from ear to ear here at the Liberal Party headquarters as CBC projects a win for the party.

    Supporters cheered even louder when the big screen projected that Mark Carney was leading in his Ottawa riding of Nepean.

    For 20-year-old Luka Jovic, who works for the Liberals, this result was unthinkable just four months ago.

    "Four months ago it wasn't cool to be a Liberal supporter," Jovic says. Now, the party can claim "the biggest come-back of political history in this country."

    I asked him what changed. "Our leader," he says. "Mark Carney has done a fantastic job."

    Jovic says that, to him, Carney is a leader who "embodies true Canadian spirit." He notes that the former central banker had a comfortable job in the private sector before plunging into politics.

    "He didn't need to do this. But he stepped up at a time when Canada needed it, and that's important."

  10. Conservative voters disappointed, confusedpublished at 03:27 British Summer Time

    Nada Tawfik
    Reporting from Conservative headquarters

    Two women sit, one wipes tears away from her faceImage source, Reuters

    The mood here has now soured as CBC projects a Liberal government.

    There are rows of disappointed faces and the energy has shifted with little for them to cheer about.

    Supporters tell me they are unsettled, very disheartened, and don't understand the result.

    They are still holding out hope that the Liberals won't have a parliamentary majority.

  11. Celebrations at HQ as Liberals and Mark Carney projected to form next governmentpublished at 03:26 British Summer Time

    Nadine Yousif
    Reporting from Liberal Party headquarters in Ottawa

    Supports bathed in red light celebrate with Carney signs.Image source, BBC / Nadine Yousif

    Loud cheers have erupted at the Liberal Party headquarters after the CBC called a Liberal government.

    It is still unclear whether it will be a majority or minority. But what seems certain is that Mark Carney will stay on as prime minister.

  12. Liberals projected to win election - CBCpublished at 03:18 British Summer Time
    Breaking

    Mark Carney's Liberal Party is expected to win enough seats in the House of Commons to form a government, Canada's public broadcaster CBC News projects.

    It is still too early to know whether they will win a majority of the 343 seats up for grabs, the CBC says.

  13. Could strategic voting influence the results?published at 03:11 British Summer Time

    Jenna Moon
    Live editor

    Man stands at podiumImage source, Getty Images

    As Canadians face the threat of Donald Trump's tariffs and the president's oft-repeated claim that he could turn Canada into the "51st state", an election that just a few months ago appeared to be a sure thing for the Conservative Party has turned into a much tighter race.

    That could be due to strategic voting in some areas - meaning that voters cast ballots not necessarily for the party they back, but specifically to prevent a candidate they dislike from winning. This time around, the Liberals appear to be siphoning off NDP voters who are concerned about Trump and wary of a possible Conservative government.

    In the 2015 general election, which saw a Liberal sweep under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, grassroots organisations pushed strategic voting, external for the Liberals in an attempt to end a decade of Conservative rule.

    Left-leaning Canadian voters will be familiar with calls to vote strategically. The country’s first-past-the-post electoral system means that it’s possible to win a tight race without a majority of the popular vote due to vote-splitting amongst left-wing parties.

    In 2019, as many as a third of Canadians reported voting strategically.

    It’s impossible to know just yet whether strategic voting will have a major impact on the election results this time around. Regardless of the outcome, Trump has riled up Canadians enough to potentially tip the scales.

  14. Too early to say who will win, expert tells BBCpublished at 03:07 British Summer Time

    Nadine Yousif
    Reporting from Liberal headquarters in Ottawa

    Canadian political scientist Laura Stephenson, chair of the political science department at Western University in London, Ontario, tells me the results we've seen so far are largely unsurprising - though she cautions it is still too early to infer how the night will go overall.

    Support for the Liberals in Atlantic Canada is traditionally higher, she says, and that has held true.

    Conservatives are leading in a few more seats than polls predicted, but Stephenson says it is a hallmark of the difficulty of doing surveys in that part of Canada, where the population is lower than the rest of the country.

    What she - and much of the country - is watching for now is how votes in Quebec will shape up. Polls have just closed there.

    "Pay attention and see what happens in Quebec," she tells me. Specifically, she is keeping an eye on how many seats the Bloc Quebecois, a separatist party that only runs candidates in the French-speaking province, will pick up tonight.

    The more seats they win, the more difficult it is for the Liberals or Conservatives to form a majority government.

  15. Final polls close in Canada's federal electionpublished at 03:02 British Summer Time
    Breaking

    The last of the polls in Canada's federal election have now closed at 19:00 local time in Yukon and the remainder of British Columbia.

    That means across all of Canada right now, vote counting is underway. Stay with us.

  16. Conservative Party HQ buzzing over early resultspublished at 03:00 British Summer Time

    Nada Tawfik
    Reporting from the Conservative Party headquarters in Ottawa

    Two women wearing 'Canada First' t-shirts
    Image caption,

    Sharon Scharf and Eleanor Sparling say Canada cannot afford term under a Liberal government

    Supporters have started filing in to the Conservative headquarters at the Rogers Convention Centre here in Ottawa.

    The drinks are flowing from the bar and people are absolutely glued to the screens displaying the results as they pour in. Cheers and chants of "Take it home!" erupt as results are reported.

    The populist sentiment is on full display.

    I spoke to two women in Canada First shirts who told me they never believed the polls showing shrinking Conservative support, and were confident in a win tonight.

    Indeed, early indications from Atlantic Canada have many buzzing, as many Conservatives had feared a Liberal landslide.

    Sharon Scharf and Eleanor Sparling believe the country can't afford to stay under Liberal leadership.

    "I'm not a globalist, I'm more of a nationalist. Take care of us first and then if we got anything extra, we can help," Eleanor says.

    Mike Sammon doesn't believe Mark Carney is any different from from previous Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

    In fact, he doesn't think Carney is a "true Canadian". As far as he’s concerned, Sammon thinks Carney was more interested in globetrotting and now finds it convenient to come back and run the country.

  17. Analysis

    What can we learn from voting in Atlantic Canada?published at 02:45 British Summer Time

    Jessica Murphy
    BBC News, Toronto

    It’s still early in the night, but we are getting some hints about how Canadians are voting and what it might mean for the overall results.

    We are seeing that both the Liberals and the Conservatives have increased their vote shares in the Atlantic region - at the expense of the NDP in particular, as well as the Greens (though neither party held seats in the region).

    So we will be watching whether support continues to be siphoned off from those smaller parties to the front-runners.

    We're also seeing Conservatives are projected to hold on to a number of seats in the region - and even pick up one seat - suggesting it is still a tight race.

    The shifts are illustrated below - but these changes in vote share are provisional and subject to change. They are based on around 90% of polls reporting in Newfoundland and Labrador, 70% in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and 60% in New Brunswick.

    Graphic showing changes in vote share by party in the Atlantic provinces
  18. Canadian election authority website restoredpublished at 02:39 British Summer Time

    After some technical difficulties, the Elections Canada website - where election information and vote counts are posted online - seems to be mostly back up.

    Some users were unable to access the website, which gives voters the ability to look for information about their riding, or constituency, by postal code.

    A banner on the website says they are aware of the issue and that some of the site's services are still unavailable.

  19. Analysis

    What to look for in eastern Canada resultspublished at 02:35 British Summer Time

    Jessica Murphy
    BBC News, Toronto

    Polls have just closed across a significant part of the country, included in Ontario and Quebec, which together account for 200 of the 343 seats in the House of Commons

    Now we’ll get a good idea of whether the rest of Canada will follow the trend seen in Atlantic Canada, where the Conservatives are projected to have managed to hold off a Liberal sweep of the region - even gain a seat - suggesting it could be a tight race.

    As we bring you results from eastern Canada, here are a couple of things to watch for as they come in:

    • Quebec is often a wildcard in Canadian elections. The Liberals have been polling ahead of the Bloc Québécois there, though the sovereigntist party has shown some late momentum. Can the Liberals hold on to their 33 seats or make gains in the province?
    • In Ontario, one of the key battlegrounds is the so-called “905” region, a horseshoe of about 30 ridings around Toronto. Like any battleground, it can swing from election to election. The Liberals won all but four seats there in the last federal election in 2021. Conservatives need to make gains there to fend off the Liberals.

  20. More polls closepublished at 02:31 British Summer Time
    Breaking

    Polls in Ontario, Quebec and Nunavut, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and parts of British Columbia have just closed.

    That means polls in most of Canada are now closed.