Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to call a spring federal election on Sunday for an April 28 vote, launching a high-stakes campaign just weeks after taking office as Canada deals with rising tensions with President Donald Trump and his trade war.
According to the Globe and Mail and Radio-Canada, the decision, set to be announced on March 23, would kick off a 36-day race putting Carney, a former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor with no prior political experience, up against Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
If defeated, Carney could become Canada’s shortest-serving prime minister, beating Sir Charles Tupper’s 69-day stretch in 1896.
Carney, who succeeded Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader on March 9 and was sworn in as prime minister five days later, is seeking to leverage a recent polling surge for the Liberals.
Surveys show the Liberals now statistically tied with the Conservatives after trailing by double digits two months ago.
Analysts attribute the shift to a wave of Canadian nationalism sparked by Trump’s renewed threats to impose tariffs and his repeated remarks about making Canada the “fifty-first state."
The election call would come just before Parliament’s scheduled return on March 24, avoiding the awkward scenario of Carney leading a government without a House of Commons seat.
All major parties have already booked campaign planes and buses, with Liberals recruiting high-profile candidates including former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson, ex-CTV host Evan Solomon, and former Quebec finance minister Carlos Leitao.
The campaign’s early days will likely focus on US-Canada relations after Trump openly praised Carney during a Fox News interview on Thursday, calling him “easier to deal with” than Poilievre.
“The Conservative that’s running is stupidly no friend of mine,” Trump told host Laura Ingraham, dismissing Poilievre’s criticism of his trade policies.
“I think it’s easier to deal, actually, with a Liberal.”
Poilievre, campaigning in Sudbury, ON, seized on the Trump comments to frame Carney as weak.
“Trump wants Liberals in power because they’ll keep Canada weak,” Poilievre told supporters, also attacking Carney’s former role as chair of Brookfield Asset Management, which moved its headquarters from Toronto to New York in 2024.
“Mark Carney moved jobs to Trump’s hometown,” said Poilievre.
“That’s exactly the kind of conflicted leadership Trump wants.”
Carney’s team called Brookfield’s shift a technical change that did not affect Canadian operations.
With Trump threatening to scrap the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal over “cheating,” both major parties are pitching plans to diversify Canada’s economy.
Liberals have emphasized strengthening European and Asian trading relationships, while Conservatives propose aggressive energy sector expansion and tax cuts.
The NDP, polling in a distant third, is expected to focus on affordability and healthcare.
Carney’s rapid rise from central banker to prime minister in under three weeks has drawn comparisons to Kim Campbell’s brief time as Prime Minister in 1993.
But allies argue he’s uniquely positioned to manage economic turbulence.
“Canadians know him as a steady hand during the 2008 crisis,” said Leitao, the Liberal candidate in Montreal.
“That experience matters now.”
If elected, Carney would face immediate pressure to address Trump’s threats while uniting a party still adjusting to Trudeau’s exit.
Polls suggest the race remains too close to call, setting the stage for one of Canada’s most unpredictable campaigns in decades.
