After months of backroom political intrigue, Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada on Monday gained a majority in the House of Commons after special parliamentary elections, solidifying the Liberal Party\u2019s hold on power.<\/p>\n
Since late last year, five members of opposition parties have joined the Liberals, one as recently as last week<\/a>, bringing Mr. Carney within a single vote of the 172 needed for a majority. CBC News projected on Monday night that Liberal candidates won all three elections, giving Mr. Carney a majority.<\/p>\n With his newfound control, Mr. Carney will have broader latitude with his legislative agenda, which is focused on reducing Canada\u2019s dependency on the United States<\/a>, and give him a stronger footing with which to deal with President Trump, especially on trade.<\/p>\n During his keynote speech to about 4,000 delegates at a Liberal Party convention in Montreal on Saturday, Mr. Carney indirectly spoke about the floor crossings.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not the time for politics as usual, for petty differences, for political points scoring,\u201d Mr. Carney said as the partisan crowd rose to its feet and cheered. \u201cUnited, we will build Canada strong. A Canada for all. A Canada strong that no one can ever take.\u201d<\/p>\n A Tenuous Hold on Power<\/p>\n In the federal election<\/a> last April, the Liberals retained power under Mr. Carney, a former central banker in Canada and England who was in his first campaign. But the party fell short of a majority in the House of Commons, Parliament\u2019s lower house, which has 343 seats. (The Senate in Canada is appointed.)<\/p>\n As the head of a minority government, Mr. Carney has always been at risk of suddenly losing power if some members of other parties defeated the government on confidence motions or on its budgets.<\/p>\n The Perks of Control<\/p>\n Winning just one of the three special votes on Monday would have left the Liberals technically in control, but with constraints. The speaker of the House of Commons, who is drawn from the Liberal ranks, can vote only to break ties and traditionally can only support the government on confidence matters.<\/p>\n The Liberals will enjoy significant advantages, however, from winning all three of the votes, which will give them an unqualified if narrow majority. In particular, they will eventually be able to take control of the House of Commons committees. The opposition parties have used committees to slow the progress of much of Mr. Carney\u2019s legislation \u2014 such as bills on bail reform, cybersecurity and border security. They have also combined their voting power on committees to hold special hearings intended to embarrass the government.<\/p>\n The clear majority also means that Mr. Carney will no longer have to tailor bills to make them acceptable to his opponents.<\/p>\n Mr. Carney had been careful not to declare victory before the elections. So it remains unclear what new measures he may now propose.<\/p>\n Special Votes<\/p>\n Two of the special votes are in Toronto constituencies in which Liberal members of Parliament have resigned. One of them was vacated by Chrystia Freeland<\/a>, who became the most prominent member of Justin Trudeau\u2019s cabinet during his time in office. Her resignation as finance minister<\/a> in December 2024 set off the chain of events that included Mr. Trudeau stepping down and Mr. Carney entering politics. The CBC projected that the Liberals had won that vote, as well as another election in Toronto.<\/p>\n The third election, in a Montreal suburb, was ordered by the Supreme Court of Canada after a Liberal candidate won it by a single vote last year. Early Tuesday, the CBC projected that the Liberal candidate had won that one also. <\/p>\n Backroom Deals<\/p>\n Four of the five members of Parliament who left their parties to bring Mr. Carney\u2019s so close to a majority were Conservatives.<\/p>\n The other defector, Lori Idlout, came from the New Democratic Party, which fared badly in the last election.<\/p>\n Conservative Turmoil<\/p>\n