Canada Liberals sweep bypolls as Carney gains backing in Trump trade row

Canada's ruling Liberals won all three special elections as Mark Carney faced Donald Trump's trade pressure. The sweep strengthens Carney in Parliament and signals public backing for his US strategy.Stock photo used for illustrationCanada's ruling Liberals won all three special elections held on Monday, in a result that suggested support for Prime Minister Mark Carney's handling of the dispute with US President Donald Trump. The Canadian Press projected Liberal victories in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord in Quebec, Beaches-East York in Toronto, and North Vancouver-Capilano in British Columbia.Carney said the results were a sign of support for his government's approach. "At this consequential time for Canada, voters have placed their trust in our government's plan," he said in a statement. The Liberal sweep would take the party to 173 seats in the 343-seat House of Commons, strengthening its position in Parliament.The biggest shift came in Quebec, where Liberal candidate Daniel Gobeil was projected to win comfortably in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord, a seat held by the opposition Conservatives since 2018. The region is home to aluminium producers, dairy farms and other industries affected by the escalating trade war. "This victory means we can maintain Canadian unity all across the country," Gobeil said.The other two seats were already held by the Liberals. In British Columbia, Carney's former deputy chief of staff Braeden Caley won North Vancouver-Capilano. Liberal MP Hedy Fry told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp: "The United States is getting a message tonight. Our leader has the support of the Canadian people." US-Canada trade talks collapsed on August 21 after the two sides failed to reach a deal, and Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs on about USD 20 billion in Canadian goods. Canada responded with plans for tariffs on US products. Trump has stepped up his attacks on Canada since the talks failed. He signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America", while US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that Canada had limited leverage in the dispute because the US economy is about 13 times larger. Trump has also repeatedly spoken about making Canada the 51st state. Carney has stepped up efforts to deepen economic ties with Europe and other partners.The special elections were held after the MPs who previously represented the three seats resigned earlier this year. Daniel Beland, a political science professor at McGill University, said the Liberal sweep showed Carney retaining strong support across regions, with the Quebec result standing out the most. He said the clear win in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord likely reflected, in part, support in Quebec for Carney's August 21 decision "to pull the plug on trade negotiations with the White House". Beland also said the Conservative slide in the seat was bad news for leader Pierre Poilievre, with the party falling from 34 per cent of the vote last year to about 13 per cent and third place on Monday. "These numbers do look bad," he said. Carney, who won Canada's election last year amid public anger over Trump's annexation threats, has said he wants to reduce Canada's reliance on the US. Monday's results gave his party a stronger position in Parliament and underlined support for its current approach to the US dispute.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 1, 2026 11:30 IST