Canadians are watching the federal parliamentary results roll in as the polls close time zone by time zone across the country.
Both Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party and Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party are holding events in the capital city of Ottawa tonight.
There is excitement within each party about the so-far narrow race, but the night is still early.
Liberals had won 11 seats and were leading in 11 additional districts shortly after 9 p.m. Eastern time. The Conservatives had won five seats of their own, with significant leads in an additional five districts.
Bloc Québécois was currently leading in one Quebec province. The New Democratic Party had yet to make it on the board.
Conservatives scored the first projected flip of the night in the Long Range Mountains riding of Newfoundland, previously held by the Liberal Party.
On its own, it’s only a minor shift, but Conservatives are hoping that it is a sign of a broader trend of right-leaning voters under-reporting their intentions in the polls — the oft-asserted “shy Tory” phenomenon.
Liberals are hoping to establish a more fortified position early in the night. Liberal candidates are considered strongest on the Atlantic coast and in Ontario.
Western Canada is a geographically large but underpopulated Conservative stronghold.
As poll closings move from the Atlantic provinces and toward British Columbia, the Conservatives are expected to find more consistent victories.
The next round of polls is scheduled to close at 9:30 p.m. Eastern. The final polls in British Columbia will be shut down at 10 p.m.
The party that receives the most votes will be able to select the prime minister. If they do not win an outright majority, they will need to form a coalition with other parties to establish their government.
BLOC QUEBECOIS WANTS TO FREE QUEBEC FROM ‘ARTIFICIAL COUNTRY’ OF CANADA
President Donald Trump took a final shot at Canadian politicians as the country’s voters headed to the polls for the federal parliamentary election.
Trump, whose shadow looms over the country as the premier economic threat, wished “good luck” to the “great people of Canada” and took a moment to weigh in on who they should vote for.
“Elect the man who has the strength and wisdom to cut your taxes in half, increase your military power, for free, to the highest level in the World, have your Car, Steel, Aluminum, Lumber, Energy, and all other businesses, QUADRUPLE in size, WITH ZERO TARIFFS OR TAXES, if Canada becomes the cherished 51st State of the United States of America,” Trump said on Truth Social.