The shape of the next Liberal government is becoming clearer as ballot counting continues after a historic election day in Canada.
Canadians still won’t know until later Tuesday whether Mark Carney’s Liberals have won a majority or minority mandate from voters.
Elections Canada decided early Tuesday morning to pause the marathon counting of special ballots with a handful of ridings still too close to call.
One of those outstanding seats was the Ottawa riding of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, but The Canadian Press decision desk has now projected Liberal Bruce Fanjoy’s win over Poilievre.
The tallying of votes resumed at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Special ballots are cast by mail or at Elections Canada offices by voters who are away from their ridings during the election.
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The Liberals were leading or elected in 168 seats when the counting was paused, four short of a majority. Elections Canada estimated that the uncounted votes could affect the results in about a dozen ridings.
A majority government would allow the Liberals to pass legislation without the support of other parties. If the final result remains a minority, the Liberals would need help to pursue their agenda.
In his victory speech, Carney pledged to unite a divided country in the face of ongoing tensions with the United States. He promised to lead a government that represents all Canadians and said the country works when Canadians pull together.
“Let’s put an end to the division and anger of the past,” Carney said. “We are all Canadian, and my government will work for and with everyone.”
Poilievre said during his speech that he would stay on as Conservative leader despite his party’s loss. He hushed some booing from the crowd when he congratulated Carney on his win.
“No, no, we’ll have plenty of opportunity to debate and disagree. But tonight we come together as Canadians,” Poilievre said.
“We have to learn the lessons of tonight so that we can have an even better result the next time.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh lost his Vancouver-area seat and announced he would be resigning as party leader once the party selects an interim replacement.
“We may lose sometimes and those losses hurt,” Singh said, fighting emotion as he stood beside his wife on a stage in Burnaby, B.C.
“We’re only defeated when we believe … those that tell us that we can never dream of a better Canada, a fairer Canada, a more compassionate Canada.”
At least a dozen New Democrat MPs lost their seats, and preliminary results show it may be difficult for the NDP to maintain official party status, which gives a party access to research funding and more opportunities to make queries during question period.
Carney is expected to meet soon with U.S. President Donald Trump.
He held his first phone call with Trump during the first week of the election campaign. The two agreed that they would immediately launch discussions on a new trade and security pact following the election.
Trump loomed large over the campaign with his tariff threats and calls for Canada to become a U.S. state.
