Canada votes on new leader in tumultuous moment

The first polls have closed in Canada in a deeply consequential election that will decide the country’s next leader, its response to President Donald Trump’s threats and the shape of its economic future at a time of global turmoil. More polls will close across the country over the coming hours, with results expected late Monday.

Preelection opinion surveys showed the Liberal Party led by Prime Minister Mark Carney with a slight advantage over the Conservative Party and its leader, Pierre Poilievre, as voters headed to the polls to elect their parliamentary representatives. The leader of the party that wins the most seats will become prime minister.

Three more parties, all projected to secure small numbers of seats in the country’s parliament, the House of Commons, are in the fray: the left-wing New Democratic Party, the Greens, and the Bloc Quebecois, which is focused on gaining sovereignty for Quebec.

Just three months ago, the Conservatives had been leading polls by more than 25 percentage points and Poilievre appeared all but certain to become Canada’s next prime minister. Justin Trudeau and the Liberals had led the country for a decade, becoming increasingly unpopular.

But Trudeau’s resignation in March and Trump’s tariffs and sovereignty threats against Canada upended the race. With Carney as the party leader and prime minister, the Liberals rapidly gained support as the ones to better handle Trump.

In Canada’s parliamentary system, voters choose who they want to represent their electoral district, known in Canada as a riding; the candidate who has the most votes wins, and the party that has the most seats becomes the ruling government, even if they do not control the majority. There are 343 seats in parliament.

But the two leaders vying to become Canada’s next prime minister are central to the choice Canadians are making Monday, and they offer different personalities, experiences and visions for the nation at a critical juncture.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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