Thursday May 1, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC [Posted at 9:55 am PT | Updated 10 am]
Political analysis by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Election results: Liberal 168 | Conservative 144 | Bloc 23 | NDP 7 | Green 1
Prime Minister Mark Carney has to move quickly to establish relations with the US President and activate his plans to build both a new Canada-US relationship and diversify Canadian trade both interprovincially and internationally.
He is already doing both to some degree … a meeting with Trump is apparently in the works for next week and most premiers across this country are primed and on board for to facilitate inter-provincial trade.
Carney as Liberal leader also has to sort out his own house by appointing a cabinet as soon as possible so that the work of the country can continue with the stamp of Liberal campaign promises (including protecting national sovereignty) and so that he can focus on a House of Commons strategy for the next 12 months (a period that the Bloc Quebecois has granted him in a collegial fashion before internal strife sets in).
Will he keep the tried-and-true old guard of the Trudeau Liberal cabinet and where, from there, will he branch out? By doing both he will signal support for what worked and what now needs to be done better.
Conservative journey:
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre loses some stature (perhaps only symbolically) by having to move out of the Official Opposition Leader’s residence in Ottawa.
There is no Official Opposition Leader at the moment, as Poilievre did not get re-elected in his home riding in the April 28 general election. He remains leader of the Conservative Party and for now continues to have support of key leaders within the party including former leader Andrew Scheer and previous co-house leader Melissa Lanstman.
Liberals and Conservatives:
In all of that is an odd dynamic between the Liberals and Conservatives. Two-step progress.
Poilievre by berating former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and bashing away at the carbon tax for two years removed the very obstacle that he would have rallied votes around in the 2025 election; that allowed Carney to gain momentum for the Liberals. The Liberals (supporters thereof) instigated a 91-candidate ballot in Poilievre’s riding of Carleton and got him out of the way in the House of Commons for possibly up to a year (a by-election doesn’t need to be called for six months after the House sits again starting May 26).
So Trudeau and the tax were removed, and Poilievre has been pushed aside — one for each team, and presumably better for Canadians too, if either or both of those scenarios are considered positive. Trudeau had a vision for Canada but after 10 years the country needed to refocus on basic economic concerns. And few people will miss the bombastic rhyming critiques by Poilievre in the House of Commons, even though the die-hard Conservative flank feels that made progress for their party.
The House that will convene for the 45th Parliament on May 26 will be missing leaders for both the Conservatives and the NDP.
NDP journey:
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh will be stepping aside as soon as an interim leader is chosen, as he announced on election night. The remaining small number of NDP MPs (seven) are meeting this week to determine their course of action.
A tight core of legislative fighters remain in the NDP after April 28 including Heather MacPherson, Don Davies, and Gord Johns incumbents who were re-elected. Canadians chose well — these are among the strongest get-down-to-business NDP MPs. Among them, Don Davies was endorsed by BC NDP Premier David Eby just days ahead of the election.
The new NDP caucus will need to present a united front of being ‘the conscience of parliament’ as the next session gets rolling — not only because of the inherent need for such a force or component in Canadian politics but also to assure they maintain a profile of being seen as relevant most especially for NDP supporters who voted Liberal out of Trump-fear.
The NDP will need to decide if they want to pursue the road to governance (that was temporarily sparked by the late Jack Layton) or develop a keen dynamic effective presence as the core of new thought for the Canadian political system and work with any larger governing party to effect positive change for Canadians.
Greens down to one:
The Green Party is down to one (their original) MP, Elizabeth May. In the recent election she was co-leader of the party, but now with Jonathan Pedneault resigning she again stands alone to lead the Party in 2025.
The Bloc Quebecois remains intent on serving Quebecers first. But the level of political insight that their leader Yves-Francois Blanchet brings to the federal scene is like a nutritious tonic. He keeps ideas alive and moves forward with programs that as he says will benefit Quebecers and all Canadians (lately that being better economic realities for seniors).
Canadians got the whole package:
All in all, Canadians got what they wanted (or needed) in the results of Election 2025. They got their economic ‘savior’ in Mark Carney, they see a strengthened Conservative party as a counter-balance to the governance-loving Liberals, they maintained a core of the NDP people-first component of the system, and their see the Bloc still contributing to the broader whole. The Greens through Ms May will need to continue proving their need to be given such an outsized presence in the bigger scheme of things.
It is the singularly stellar abilities and experience of Elizabeth May that could serve Canadians well (she talks now of perhaps being Speaker of the House). But overall, the Greens have fractured the progressive vote and Canadians may not tolerate that well in future years as the country ‘gets down to business’ in reshaping this country with vigor and new cultural vibrancy.
===== RELATED:
- BC Premier congratulates prime minister-elect Carney and thanks outgoing NDP leader Singh (April 29, 2025)
- Election 2025: Special & advance ballots delayed final results (April 29, 2025)
- Election 2025 results will roll out Monday night (April 27, 2025)
- Consequences of strategic & single-issue voting in Election 2025 (April 26, 2025)
- Vote for the candidate or the party (April 20, 2025)
- NEWS SECTIONS: CANADA-NATIONAL | CANADIAN FEDERAL ELECTION 2025 | VANCOUVER ISLAND | LIBERAL PARTY | CONSERVATIVE PARTY | FEDERAL NDP | GREEN PARTY OF CANADA
===== ABOUT THE WRITER:
Mary P Brooke has been a writer of political analysis on south Vancouver Island since 2008, with her work published through a series of publications: MapleLine Magazine (2008-2010), Sooke Voice News (2011-2013), West Shore Voice News (2014-2020) and Island Social Trends (2020 to present).
In 2025, Ms Brooke was awarded a King Charles III Coronation Medal for her service to community through journalism. In 2023, she was nominated for a Jack Webster award that recognizes community contribution through journalism by a professional woman journalist.