Summary
- In his first public appearance since his Liberal Party won a fourth term in Canada’s federal election earlier this week, Prime Minister Mark Carney says he he will meet US President Donald Trump on Tuesday in Washington DC
- Carney also says King Charles III to deliver a speech from the throne in Canada’s Parliament on 27 May
- Having the King attend Parliament’s return “underscores the sovereignty of our country”, says Carney
- His election campaign focused on standing up to Trump’s tariff plans and threats to make Canada the 51st US state, which Carney has said will “never ever” happen
- The Liberals won 168 seats out of 343 in Canada’s House of Commons in Monday’s election, enough to form a minority government but falling short of the 172 necessary for a majority
The rare history of royal Parliament openings in Canada
While Canada is an independent country, it is a members of the British Commonwealth with King Charles III as the official head of state.
And as the head of state, he has been invited to open parliament and give the “speech from the throne”.
This is a rare occurrence for the royals.
Queen Elizabeth II was the only royal to have opened Parliament in person twice.
The last time she did was in 1977, and before that in 1957.
Typically, instead of the royals attending, the governor general takes up the role and delivers the speech from the throne as the representative of the Crown in Canada.
In case you missed it
In case you missed it, here is what we learned from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first news conference since his Liberal Pary won the election on Monday:
- Carney will meet Donald Trump on Tuesday at the White House in Washington
- Canada’s new cabinet will be sworn in the week of May 12
- King Charles III will visit Ottawa to open Parliament and lay out the new government’s formal agenda in a May 27 speech
- Carney, who will head a minority government, will not seek official support in a formal governing pact from the New Democratic Party’s MPs
- Carney is open to a by-election that could allow Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre to be elected in a different constituency. Poilievre lost his seat on Monday.
Royals confirm visit to Canada to open Parliament
King Charles III – who is also the head of state of Canada, in addition to Britain – and Queen Camilla have confirmed via a post on X that they will visit Ottawa from May 26-27.
Whilst there, they will attend the state opening of Canadian Parliament, where it’s expected King Charles will make a speech.
Carney discusses cabinet plans
Just before the news conference ended, Carney was asked if his next cabinet might be larger, and whether François-Philippe Champagne would remain as the finance minister?
He said he is committed to an efficient cabinet with gender parity, but that final decisions on appointments had not yet been made.
As a reminder, Carney said his cabinet will be sworn in on May 12.
News conference ends
The huddle of reporters try and ask more questions of the prime minister, but they are cut off by the moderator.
Carney says they “have to respect” the rules of the news conference.
“We’ll remember that,” a reporter shouts. Carney makes a joke and heads out the door, signalling the end of the news conference.
We’ll bring you more updates and analysis, so stay with us.
Carney defends lost majority
Carney is asked why he thinks his party lost seats in Ontario, and if those seats cost him the majority.
He says arithmetically yes, but the Liberals lost other seats that went various ways.
They will reflect on it, he tells reporters, but says voters have clearly chosen the Liberals to deal with issues such as affordability and the US relationship.
No formal pact with the NDP
Carney says his Liberals will not pursue a formal governing pact of any kind with the New Democratic Party.
When asked why, he says the Liberal Party received the “highest number of votes in Canadian history”, and in order to do “what we need to do” they will need to work in partnership with all the provinces.
Can Carney expect good faith discussions with Trump?
Carney is asked if he expects good faith negotiations in Washington after Trump has repeatedly called for Canada to be the 51st state of the US.
He says we should not be expecting “white smoke” out of that meeting but the high-level dialogue indicates seriousness of the conversation. Trump respects strength and the electoral results reflect that Canadian want that, he says.
Did Trump repeat 51st state comment when speaking with Carney?
Carney is asked if President Trump said or insinuated that Canada should be the 51st state during their second call, a comment he has made multiple times in recent months.
“He did not,” Carney says.
The reporter then asks if Carney has seen respect from the Trump administration towards Canada.
“It’s always important to distinguish want from reality,” Carney says.
The reality is that Canada becoming a US state will “never ever happen”, he adds.
Carney says when he meets Trump, he is not “pretending those discussions will be easy… I will fight for the best deal for Canada”.
Later, he says in French that the discussions about tariffs will be complex, and that he does not want to negotiate in public.
Carney will meet Trump in Washington on Tuesday
Carney is asked what he wants out of his first meeting with US President Trump.
Carney confirms he will head to Washington DC on Tuesday to meet with Trump.
When there, he says there are two sets of issues to discuss: the immediate tariffs and the broader relationship.
He will want to address both sets of issues, he says, and it has always been his intention to address this immediately.
‘Canada has what everyone wants’ – Carney
“Canada has what everyone wants,” Carney says.
He describes it as a confident, diverse nation, that practices free speech and respects the law.
It has a “vibrant democracy”, he says.
He tells Canadians abroad that there has “never been a better time to come home”.
Carney presents economic plans for tax cuts, housing crisis
Carney is outlining some specific goals for his government now.
He says the middle class tax cut will take affect by Canada Day, July 1, “putting more money” in people’s pockets.
They will expand the Canadian dental care plan, protect programmes like Pharmacare, and cutting the Goods and Services Tax on new homes under Can$1m.
He says these tax measures will “provide immediate relief”, but to make housing affordable again, they will have to build more homes.
Canada is currently being rocked by a housing affordability crisis.
Carney outlines government’s priorities
Carney is outlining his government’s priorities, though he says more details will come later.
First on the list is the US. He says the old relationship with his country’s southern neighbour is over.
Now the question is how we will move forward and uphold other relationships including with France, Europe, the UN, Japan, Ukraine, and others, Carney says.
Parliament to sit later this month
The new cabinet will be sworn in on the week of May 12, Carney tells reporters, and the recall of Parliament is on May 26.
The “new path for Canada” will be set out when the cabinet is sworn in, he adds.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla will attend on May 27, with the king delivering a speech from the throne then.
Carney calls this “an historic honour”.
Canadians made their voices heard – Carney
In opening remarks, Carney says Canadians made their voices heard, including to stand up to Donald Trump.
He also praised Canada’s democracy.
“We disagreed agreeably” and everyone accepted the results, he says. As democracy is under threat around the world, Canada’s remains strong, he adds
Carney says King Charles to formally open Parliament on May 27
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he has invited King Charles III to formally open Canada’s 45th Parliament later this month.
The King is Canada’s head of state and is represented in Canada by Governor General Mary Simon.
After an election, the new parliamentary session is usually opened by the governor general who reads The Speech from the Throne on behalf of the prime minister. The speech, read in Canada’s senate, sets out the government’s agenda.
While it is not unprecedented, the last time this happened was in October 1977 when Queen Elizabeth II read the speech for the second time.
Carney says the king’s visit will be a great ‘honour’.
Carney begins first speech outlining government’s priorities
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is now speaking at a news conference, as he is set to outline the priorities for his new government.
It’s his first news conference since Monday’s election. You can follow along by clicking watch live at the top of this page, and we’ll bring you text updates here.
Stay tuned.
Rumours swirl of Carney-Trump meeting next week
This morning reports have emerged in US media that Mark Carney will head to the White House on Tuesday next week, to meet with US President Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, Trump told the media he would be meeting Carney within the next week.
We haven’t been able to independently confirm the meeting on Tuesday, but the BBC has reached out to the prime minister’s office for comment.
We’ll be watching to see if Carney confirms this news this morning, and bring it to you then.
Trump disliked Trudeau – why Carney may fare better
The victory-party din for Mark Carney and his Liberal Party had only just faded when Donald Trump chimed in with a less than ringing endorsement of the winners.
“It was the one that hated Trump, I think, the least that won,” the US president said on Wednesday of Carney, whose party had just retained power by winning a near outright majority of the seats in Canada’s general election.
The Canadian prime minister may accept being the lesser of two evils in Trump’s mind, however. The US president also said that he thinks the former Bank of England governor “couldn’t have been nicer” in the first post-election phone conversation.
The two men are expected to meet at the White House sometime within the next week.
For Trump, politics is often personal. Trump’s distaste for former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was palpable practically from the US president’s first day in office in 2017.
Carney heads into his first full term in office with a somewhat cleaner slate in dealing with the US president, but it will still be a precarious situation.
“We will have a partnership on our terms,” Carney told the BBC on Tuesday. “I would distinguish between what the president wants and what he expects.”
Carney went on to say that Trump’s “territorial views” on his country are “never, ever going to happen”
What will Canada’s new parliament look like?
To win an outright majority, Carney and his Liberal Party needed 172 seats out of the 343 in Canada’s Parliament.
But after Monday’s election, the party has 168, falling short by four. As such, the Carney minority government will need support from other parties to pass major legislation.
Here is what it will look like when Parliament is reconstituted on May 26:
- Liberal Party – 168 seats
- Conservative Party – 144 seats
- Bloc Québécois – 23 seats
- New Democratic Party – 7 seats
- Green Party of Canada – 1 seat