Your World Tonight - Liberals win a minority, Poilievre loses his seat, Singh resigns, and more

Episode Date: April 29, 2025

The Liberals under Mark Carney have won a fourth consecutive term. With another minority government the Liberals will need to find allies to pass their legislative agenda.For the Conservatives... the dust is still settling. They had some big breakthroughs where they needed them, and they got the largest share of the popular vote in the party's history. But they failed to form a government. And leader Pierre Poilievre lost his own seat.The New Democratic Party will be looking for a new leader, after Jagmeet Singh lost his own seat and announced his intention to resign. The NDP suffered a historic defeat, losing official party status.Plus… Trump marks 100 days in office, and more.

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When debts got you, you've got us. Give Credit Counseling Society a call today. Visit NoMoreDets.org. This is a CBC Podcast. I was hoping for change. Thought it was time to move on. Huge disappointment. Oh, I am delighted with the results.

It's great for the country. Canadian first. I'm disappointed that Jadmink Singh lost his seat. The biggest losers may be the third and the fourth parties. We became a little bit more polarized. Canadians unpacking the results of an election that will launch the country into a new era of federal politics led by Mark Carney who positioned himself as the best choice to defend Canada's sovereignty. But after a tighter than expected race,

Carney will take on Donald Trump with a minority government. Welcome to Your World Tonight. It is Tuesday, April 29th, just before 6 p.m. Eastern. I'm Susan Bonner. Change is hard to come by. And that's why we have to learn the lessons of tonight so that we can have an even better result the next time the Canadians decide the future for the country. In many ways, it was a breakthrough vote for Pierre-Paul Liev and the Conservatives,

just not where it mattered most. The party added seats, flipped ridings, increased its share of the popular vote, but fell short of the ultimate goal of forming government. And when Parliament resumes, the Conservative leader won't have a seat. New Democrats built this country. We've built the best of Canada. And we aren't going anywhere.

And for the NDP, it's soul-searching after a historic loss. With a leader stepping down the party marches on into an uncertain future. We have extensive election coverage tonight what all the major parties are planning next as Canada's new federal government takes shape and how it will shape this country. Tom Perry begins our coverage from Ottawa. After a long night and not much sleep, Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived at his office this morning, getting down to work,

after laying out his vision to supporters last night in Ottawa. As we come here after this consequential, most consequential election, let's put an end, let's put an end to the division and anger of the past. Carney says he'll work with all parties and as the final votes are counted it's clear he'll have to. The Liberals have come up just shy of a majority. They'll need to rely on the handful of New Democrats who survived their party's implosion, the Bloc Québécois or even the Conservatives to enact their agenda. Quebec Liberal MP Stephen Guilbeault says not all that long ago the Liberals looked destined for defeat, so to him a win's a win.

If it is the will of the Canadian population that we have a minority government, I've been elected since 2019, I've only worked in minority parliament, I've been able to pass four bills, a number of regulations to fight climate change, to fight plastic pollution, a right to a healthy environment. It's more complicated, but we can do that, and if that's what Canadians are asking us to do, we will definitely do that. The latest count shows Carney's Liberals and Pierre Poliev's Conservatives taking roughly 85 percent of all votes cast with a less than 3 percent margin between them.

Marcy Serks, a Liberal strategist, says right now Canadian politics looks similar to the American model where two parties dominate, which could mean a couple of things. It either tells you that we're more divided than ever before along clear liberal conservative party lines that there are two visions for the country, or you could look at it from a different perspective, which is that the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party, in terms of policy, are actually not that far apart, not under the leadership of Mr. Carney. CERC says if that's true, there could be more room for cooperation in a minority parliament.

The conservatives say they're willing to work with the liberals on the biggest issue facing the country, its relationship with the U.S., with Carney today making another move on that file. The prime minister's office says Carney spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump, that Trump congratulated Carney on his win, and that the two leaders agreed on the importance of Canada and the U.S. working together as independent sovereign nations and agreed to meet in person in the near future. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. Along with his call with Trump, one of Carney's first actions today was to speak with French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron says he congratulated Carney on his election and they discussed joint projects between the two countries.

Other world leaders have also congratulated Carney, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the former US President Joe Biden. For the Conservatives, the defeat stings even more after the party increased its share of the popular vote and made major inroads in key regions. But the race was marred with rumours of party infighting that some suggest may have cost leader Pierre Pauliev his seat. Kate McKenna has more on what's next for the Conservatives as they try to recover from another loss. You know it's been amazing.

Election night had one more surprise, an 11th hour upset. Liberal candidate Bruce Van Joy beat Pierre Pauliev in the Conservative leaders Ottawa area riding. We're very excited and I'm mostly just filled with gratitude for the amazing job that our volunteers did. That means Pauliev won't be back in the House of Commons for now. But last night he told supporters he wants to keep his job. Every single day our Conservative caucus and I will be holding the government to account on behalf of the millions of Canadians

who believed in the message of change. Poliev's Conservatives made significant gains, especially in Ontario, where they picked up a dozen new seats. The Conservatives got the biggest share of the popular vote in the party's modern history. But it wasn't enough to form government. Well, I think what the leader has done and it's, I think it's a remarkable thing,

but he hasn't as energized and engage the younger generation all across the country. Ontario conservative MP Scott Aitchison was reelected in Perry Sound, Muskoka. He's one of several MPs already getting behind Poliev's continued leadership. He's absolutely earned the right to take a moment to sort out what happens next. I think he absolutely must stay on as our leader. But there are already signs of a bumpy road, fractures between the federal

conservatives and Ontario's progressive conservatives or on full display. After winning re-election, Conservative MP Jamil Javani took swipes at Ontario Premier Doug Ford's repeated interventions in the federal campaign, criticizing Poliev for not being tough enough on tariffs and US president Donald Trump. When it was our turn to run an election, he couldn't stay out of our business. Always getting his criticisms and all his opinions out, distracting our campaign, trying to make it about him.

This morning Ford brushed off Javani's remarks. Anyways, I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about Ontario. But didn't stick up for the Conservative leader. He didn't directly answer whether Poliev should stay on. That's going to be up to Pierre Poliev. It's going to be up to the federal party. I'm focused on Ontario.

Four months ago it looked like Poliev's Conservatives would form a majority government. Today's result is very different. He'll need a by-election to get back into the House of Commons Poliev's conservatives would form a majority government. Today's result is very different. He'll need a by-election to get back into the House of Commons. Without a seat, opposing the government will come with challenges. And if the Liberals are able to convince opposition MPs to join their ranks and form a majority, staying on may become harder for the conservative leader. Kate McKenna, CBC News, Ottawa. Losing so many seats overnight, losing its leader and losing

official party status. That is the situation tonight for the NDP. The party didn't just bleed support to the liberals but to conservatives too. Evan Dyer reports. It was an emotional Jagmeet Singh who announced his resignation as leader last night after the loss of his own seat and the defeat of more than two-thirds of his caucus. Singh said the party had achieved big things, including dental care and farmer care. I know that people are concretely better off because of our work over the last eight years and no election result will ever diminish that. So thank you so much.

Well, it was a very polarized election and I think people were legitimately scared about what was going to happen to the country. Anne McGrath is the NDP's former national director. I think NDP supporters lent their votes to Mark Carney and the Liberals. I don't think that they did it with any sense of joy. Certainly that's not what we were hearing. Longtime NDP strategist Carl Bélanger helped engineer the NDP's orange wave election in 2011. He says that Singh himself contributed to NDP voters' flight to the liberal camp.

Voters heard him loud and clear. We have to do everything to stop the conservatives. So they did. And the NDP paid the price. But the NDP also lost seats to the conservatives. Devastating. Very, very difficult election. It was almost from the beginning. Longtime New Democrat Nathan Cullen says voters were lured away not only by Carney's promises to protect sovereignty, but also by Poliev's message on affordability. We could see the squeeze of fear and frustration, fear of Mr. Trump, and on the other side, a lot of Mr. Trump and on the other side a lot of frustration

particularly younger people who Are afraid that they will not experience the same quality of life or opportunity as their parents NDP strategist Brad Levine says New Democrats have been losing blue-collar voters over the last number of cycles The Conservative Party of Canada has attempted to attract blue-collar predominantly predominantly white, working-class men between the ages of 18 and 34 in particular, as a cohort. Levine says those defections may explain conservative gains in blue-collar writings in places like Windsor and Winnipeg. Do we want to not fight for those voters anymore? We have to speak to their

issues, we have to speak to their day-to-day, so that they see us as their voice. With fewer than 12 seats, the NDP will lose official party status and the resources that come with it, which include a stipend for its leader and research money for MPs. That also likely means fewer questions in question period. But although reduced in size, New Democrats could still have influence on Parliament since the Liberals would likely have to look to the NDP or the Bloc Québécois to help pass legislation. Evan Dyer, CBC News, Ottawa. To help us understand where these political shakeups leave the country,

I'm joined by Catherine Cullen, host of CBC Radio's The House. Catherine, these are some remarkable results. And yet still a liberal minority government. How much does this change the political landscape? There's no questions, Susan. It is a big shift and quite frankly, it's a mixed bag for the two main parties. It's a real anomaly that the liberals could still form government after 10 years in power and quite a political feat by Mark Carney, who likes to point out that he's new to politics. But that will be at least one of the tricky parts here for the Liberals.

Minority governments are highly political. There's a lot of negotiating to get things done. As we saw in the last parliament, there can be roadblocks too, like the filibusters that kept the House of Commons pretty much in deadlock for months. So how will Carney deal with those kinds of circumstances? We're definitely going to watch to see if the Liberals try to reach across the aisle to bolster their numbers. Could there be a floor crosser? Maybe more than one? Not impossible, but perhaps a tough sell given the gulf between the Liberals and the Conservatives in particular. The Conservatives

are as powerful an opposition party as we've seen in modern memory with these kinds of numbers and Carney will perhaps be helped by the fact that the conservatives now need a seat for their leader and the NDP need a new leader altogether making both parties unlikely to trigger another election soon. Okay so on to the Conservatives. Powerful opposition, yes, but with a leader with no seat in the House. Yeah, and it's such a strange moment for the Conservatives, Susan. In the fall, they seemed to have a lock on a majority government, then that slipped from

their grasp when former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stepped down. Mark Carney came along, and I think a lot of conservatives were prepared for a Carney majority yesterday. So this burst of support in Ontario, it's a pleasant surprise for them. And it seems like right now, conservatives are prepared to give Poliev the chance to stay on as party leader despite losing the election, though he's going to want to find a conservative MP willing to give up their seat so he can get back into the House of Commons. The Liberals though would decide when a by-election is called and they have some leeway. They could drag this process out for months. Also Susan, it's perhaps a sign of what a strange times we're in. We went from having the first ever Prime

Minister who has never sat in the House of Commons to now having a leader of the official opposition who has been elected many times, yet he won't be in the House of Commons to now having a leader of the official opposition who has been elected many times, yet he won't be in the House of Commons when Parliament does reconvene. It is interesting and it will be busy. Mark Carney's to-do list, Catherine, how does it look? Long. He's got to negotiate with Donald Trump first and foremost. He's got to choose a new cabinet. His first still had a big Justin Trudeau element to it. Now he's got some new MPs. So we'll see what a truly Mark Kearney cabinet looks like.

He's got to create and pass a budget. He's hosting the G7 in Cananaskis. Donald Trump will be there. That's in June. Plus he's got to figure out how to address affordability, that issue that was so pressing for so many Canadians and government for people across the country. So busy times for Mark Carney. And possibly meeting with Trump even before, Ken Anaskis, we shall see.

Indeed. Thanks, Catherine. Thank you. Host of CBC Radio's The House, Catherine Cullen in Ottawa. Coming up on the podcast, the Liberals could not have won government without the strong showing in Quebec. The grumbling about Western alienation intensifies after the vote, plus 100 days of Donald Trump. Quebec is an important part of this election story and key to the Liberal's success.

The Bloc Québécois lost seats but maintains a presence in the province and will be the third largest party in the new parliament. Sarah Levitt reports. I voted with my heart says Claudine Legault. The Montrealer voted Bloc Québécois, but the Liberals won in her writing. Le Bloc, c'était important pour moi. Legault says the Bloc is important to me. Her writing, La Salle, émarre Verdun, is perhaps emblematic of the rise of Liberal fortunes at the expense of the Bloc.

Historically, a red stronghold, citizens here have gone to the polls twice in seven months. A by-election in September saw the bloc win. Half a year later though, it's red again and decisively propelled by the ongoing threat of US President Donald Trump and his trade war. In the province, Carney's Liberals took home even more seats than Justin Trudeau's majority win in 2015. It's a very interesting moment I think in Canada's history. Antonia Nyekarini is a political analyst.

She says the ballot box question of who can best take on Trump hurt the Bloc. It was very hard for the Bloc Québécois to talk about anything else, immigration, agriculture and the specific economic sectors in Quebec. They were able to avoid a catastrophe but they have some loss that they need to analyze. Block leader Yves-François Blanchet saying today the priority now is collaboration and stability in parliament in facing Trump. I am absolutely certain that we must first in the federal parliament deal with the negotiation. And it won't be a matter of years, it will be a matter of months. As for the issue of Quebec independence, the backbone of the Bloc Québécois' very existence,

Blanchet is saying that can wait. Those who fought for this result want us to go on with independence as soon as possible, but I'm sure that they understand the population of Quebec said we might be back, but now fix this thing. Blanchet adding though. If Canada wants to be strong, it also needs us. In Montreal's South Shore, voter Nicolas Poirier weighs in. I voted for Bloc, so eh, you know, it is what it is. But he says the Bloc still has seats and represents Quebecers.

Defend our interests and speak up when laws are going against pretty much Quebec's culture, you know. We have a kind of different economy, different culture here regarding the rest of Canada. As long as they keep just fighting for us that way they're doing their job. This time though with far fewer MPs. Sarah Levitt, CBC News, Montreal. For many conservative voters another liberal win is a major disappointment and there are many conservative voters in Western Canada.

It's a region where we saw renewed debate during the campaign about Western alienation, separatism and warnings about how that movement could accelerate during a fourth liberal term. Julia Wong has more. That's not green peppers in that omelet. At this diner in Morneville, about 40 kilometers northwest of Edmonton, Corey Brennis is processing the election results. I think Carney's going to be all right. You know, I really do.

So I don't feel doom and gloom. No gloom from this conservative voter, her community, a conservative stronghold. While Brennis doesn't mind Prime Minister Mark Carney, she wants to see more respect for Alberta. I want it to be listened to and that people here matter and what our livelihoods are staked on here. You know, yeah, just if they listen, treat us fairly, like treat Alberta fairly.

That's how fellow diner Matthew Brister sees it too. It would be nice if there was a greater degree of respect for our ownership of the resource and the development of the resource. During this election, Reform Party founder Preston Manning said a vote for the liberals would be a vote for Western secession. Not so fast, says Brister. I don't know that we would be better off in that case. But that sentiment does exist. In a statement today, Manning says consultations are being held on options for Western Canada, ranging from a fairer position within Federation to

what he called independence-oriented proposals. Peter Downing wants to see Alberta separate from the rest of Canada. The founder of the Alberta USA movement is organizing to put a referendum on the ballot in Alberta, adding there's little that can change his mind. Again, for me as a person with the state state position, I look at what Trump's offering. So go ahead beat that offer. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith isn't going that far, but says she will hold Carney to changing resource development policies. Because if it is the case that there's a consensus now about getting our energy to market,

getting our resources to market, finding new markets, these are kind of the baseline to reset the relationship with Alberta. A new relationship may also be in the works for Saskatchewan, Premier Scott Moe. I want to work alongside this federal government to build a strong and growing Saskatchewan. Carney has said he will represent all Canadians, but he may need to shift focus to work with the West. Brendan Boyd is a political science professor at McEwen University. Carney has to think about whether he wants to do big national programs where he tries to brokerage all of the provinces and territories and get them on board. Or does he want to

sort of maybe do one-offs and work with Alberta on specific issues, work with Saskatchewan on specific issues? Back at the diner, Expectations for the new federal government and how Western provinces deal with it are high. Matthew Brister. I don't expect there's gonna be any honeymoon period here. Julia Wong, CBC News, Mournville, Alberta. [♪upbeat music playing -♪)] U.S. President Donald Trump is offering some tariff relief tonight aimed at American automakers.

The move will offset some tariffs on auto parts that go into American-made vehicles. The measure comes as Trump marks 100 days in office with a rally in the heart of the auto industry. CBC's Paul Hunter is there. USA! USA! USA! Outside a sports arena in Macomb County, Michigan, just north of Detroit, they'd been lining up to see Donald Trump since early Sunday. Up near the front of the line, Blake Marnell, a kind of Trump super fan, typically as he is today, wearing a suit

made to look like a U.S.-Mexico border wall, his bright red ball cap reading 100 days. A hundred days hat, so we're here at a rally to commemorate the first, well, to mark the first hundred days of President Trump's second term. On the issue that has turned global trade on its ear, Trump's tariffs on just about everything, Marnell, like so many of the hundreds joining him in line, is all good with tariffs if they bring jobs to the U.S. over time, even if it means prices go up for now. I understand that in the short term, it's not something you want.

We need to do this, and the best time to do it is now. Standing not far off, Sara Azar in a red Trump t-shirt from nearby Shelby Township. So, Donald Trump, 100 days, report card, go. Oh, I love it, 100 days, what he's done. I enjoy, I like the tariffs, because maybe it's gonna be a little rough for us right now, but for my four grandkids

and the generations after, I believe it will be good for them. Lost on no one here, Canada. With Trump's suggestion it become the 51st state and the effect of Trump's tariffs. Anthony Hudson is in line with the rest of them and he's also running for Michigan governor. You know Canada needs to pay attention to who they're dealing with. We don't need them as much as they need us so they need to be a little more respectful as to what's going on all trump wants to do is even the playing field particularly close to countless in this part of the u s the auto industry

itself threatened in canada by trumps tariffs even on a day with troup on route to michigan for the rally he announced a directive to use them a little bit for now you know we just giving them a little chance, because in some cases, they can't get the parts fast enough. So this is just a little transition. Brian Pennebecker with the group Auto Workers for Trump could hardly wait to weigh in.

The vehicles that are being sold in the United States, we want to build them here in the United States. And that's what Trump's trying to do. And what happens to the industry on the other side of the river? You know, what happened to our industry when for 30 or 40 years our jobs were going to Mexico or Canada or China or some other country. It's been happening for too long.

Trump knows it. He's fighting for us. And that's why we support him 100 percent. Rock solid support for Trump at a rally for the president should not be a surprise. Even at a time polls suggest millions of Americans feel otherwise. In this lineup on this day it's all Trump all the time. 100 days in. Paul Hunter, CBC News, Macomb County, Michigan. Finally tonight as millions of people exercised their right to vote yesterday

thousands of young Canadians were practicing for when it's their turn. So this is the student vote. They're going to tell me their first and their last name. You can go over there, vote it, come back and then put it over here. And if you want, you can go and collect a donut. Your vote really matters because at the end of the day, your vote could be the one that makes the person win. Climate change, housing prices, crimes within our city.

This vote can really help. That's students at Toronto's Central Technical High School participating in Student Vote Canada, a nationwide vote to coincide with the federal election, giving students a chance to research the issues, the parties and their platforms, and then cast ballots for the candidates running in their local ridings. I think it's important that everybody votes.

We have shockingly low voter turnout in this country and yeah, I think that that's kind of the first step in getting your voice heard in this society and can't really say anything if you haven't voted. More than 900,000 elementary, intermediate and high school students took part in the vote in every electoral district in the country and the results are in. Like the real thing, it was very much a two-horse race. But in the student vote, the Conservative Party was able to form a minority government,

with the Liberals finishing in second place. Thank you for joining us. This has been Your World Tonight for Tuesday, April 29th. I'm Susan Bonner. Talk to you again.