Canada Election 2025 Live: Voting Under Way as Trump Told to ‘Stay Out of Our Election’
Canadians across the country are heading to the polls to cast their votes to decide who will form the next government. The two clear frontrunners are the Liberal party, led by Mark Carney, and the Conservative party, led by Pierre Poilievre.
According to The Guardian, polls have opened nationwide with the last polls expected to close at 10pm EDT. Preliminary results are likely to come in tonight or early Tuesday morning.
The Guardian reports that a record 7.3 million people had already cast their ballots in advance polls before election day, according to Elections Canada. Canada has 28.9 million eligible voters.
The Liberals are the "clear frontrunners" of this election with an 83% chance of victory, according to Canada Sports Betting. The Conservative party is still trailing behind with a 23% chance of winning, it says.
Donald Trump’s aggressive posture towards Canada has scrambled the stakes of the election. Until February, the Conservatives enjoyed a 25-point lead over the Liberals.
Trump once again threatened Canada’s independent sovereignty on the eve of the election, describing the border between the two nations as an "artificially drawn line from many years ago". In a Truth Social post, the US president urged Canada to become the 51st state of the US, claiming it would bring tax cuts, and increased military power.
Poilievre responded to Trump’s threat by urging him to "stay out of our election". "Canada will always be proud, sovereign and independent and we will NEVER be the 51st state," the Conservative leader posted on X.
Carney, also in an apparent reference to Trump, said "this is Canada – and we decide what happens here." In a video posted on X, the Liberal leader referred to a "crisis" in the US and reminded voters of the threat to Canada’s economy posed by Trump’s tariffs.
The Guardian notes that Canada’s federal election is really 343 separate elections across the country held simultaneously. Those parliamentary elections in Canada are normally held every four years and under federal law, an election is required by October 2025 at the latest.
Using a parliamentary system stems from the British or Westminster tradition, the party with the most seats typically forms government. If either the Liberals or the Conservatives win 172 or more seats, they will have a majority government. Anything less than that and they will be required to work with other parties to pass legislation.
Five political parties were represented in parliament before the election was called: the Liberal party, led by Mark Carney; the Conservative party, led by Pierre Poilievre; the Bloc Québécois, led by Yves-François Blanchet; the New Democratic party, led by Jagmeet Singh; and the Green party, led by Elizabeth May.
But this election is essentially a two-man race between Carney, the current prime minister, and Poilievre.
Carney, 60, is the former governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England. He became prime minister, replacing Justin Trudeau, after winning the race to lead the country’s federal Liberal party last month.
Poilievre, 45, has taken his Conservative party from the conventional right to the populist flank. He has been compared to Donald Trump, promising to put Canada first by rebuilding the military and by taking back control of Canada’s borders.
As recently as January, Canadian pollsters and political pundits struggled to find fresh ways to describe the bleak prospects for the then prime minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party, which seemed on track for a catastrophic blowout. The party trailed the rival Conservatives by as many as 27 points in some polls.
However, Trump’s interventions into Canadian politics have fundamentally reshaped how many feel about their southern neighbour and heavily influenced how Carney, the former central banker who inherited control of the Liberal party in mid March, has shaped his electoral bid.
The Bloc Québécois leader, Yves-François Blanchet, has been pictured casting his vote in Chambly, Quebec. Blanchet said he expected close battles in Quebec and that it would be "a very interesting evening for people who like politics as much as others like golf or football."
Polls show Bloc Québécois in second place in Quebec with 28% support, after the Liberals at 42% support, according to CTV.
The Guardian reports that some voters in Windsor, Ontario, are being redirected to a new polling location after a fire forced the shutdown of a recreation centre that was serving as a federal election polling station.
Elections Canada is urging voters who plan to head to the polls after work or around dinner time to consider going a little earlier or later.
Voters who have a flexible schedule should consider heading to the polling station before lunch or early in the afternoon when polls are typically less busy, it says.
Both Liberal prime minister Mark Carney and Conservative Pierre Poilievre are still doing some last-minute campaigning on social media.
In a short video posted on X, prime minister Mark Carney referred to a "crisis" in the US and reminded voters of the threat to Canada’s economy posed by Trump’s tariffs. Carney says in the video: "I know people are anxious right now. The crisis in the United States doesn’t stop at their borders."
Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre, along with his wife, Anaida Poilievre, have cast their votes at an Ottawa polling station in Ontario, Canada.
As the final results come in, one thing is clear: the 2025 Canadian federal election will be a defining moment in the country’s history, with the very notion of Canadian sovereignty hanging in the balance.
