Dear oh dear. Canada’s election results came in early this morning, revealing that – despite only being leader of the Liberal party for two months – ex-Bank of England governor Mark Carney wiped the floor with Conservative rival Pierre Poilievre. And not only did Poilievre’s party lose the election, he even lost his parliamentary seat. Talk about a double whammy…
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, excitement heightened among Canada’s Liberals as Carney’s party was projected to soar to victory in the election. As James Heale wrote for Coffee House this morning, what the economist has pulled off is nothing short of exceptional. At the start of the year, the Liberal party was languishing behind the Conservatives in the polls and even in the lead up to the vote, Carney and Poilievre were neck-and-neck. But as polling day neared and Donald Trump’s attitude towards Canada soured, Carney’s centrist lot managed to gain the upper hand – and currently the Liberals are within touching distance of securing a majority. Golly!
There was no elation in Conservative HQ however as the numbers came in. Just months ago, Poilievre was on track to lead a supermajority Conservative government. Now, he has been turfed out of parliament altogether, after more than two decades, in his very own Portillo moment. Conceding defeat this morning through gritted teeth, Poilievre lamented to his supporters: ‘Change did not get over the finish line tonight. Change takes time.’ Well, after twenty years in frontline politics, he should know eh?
Watch the clip here:
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