People wait in line to register to vote at a polling station for Canada's federal election, in Toronto on April 28.Arlyn McAdorey/Reuters
On Wednesday, Apr. 30, Globe reporters Emily Haws and Nojoud Al Mallees, and producer Kasia Mychajlowycz answered reader questions on the Apr. 28 federal election.
Throughout the campaign, our reporters have been following the party leaders and travelling coast to coast to speak to Canadians about the issues that matter most to them.
Readers asked about the voter concerns that defined the election, how a Liberal minority government will work, what will happen to the NDP after losing party status and the next steps for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre after losing his seat. Here are some highlights from the Q+A.
Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.
What was important to Canadians
What were the biggest issues for Canadians this election?
Nojoud Al Mallees: That really depended on demographics. Older Canadians were quite concerned about our relationship with the U.S. and trade. Young people were much more concerned about the cost of living (think, housing). I wrote a story about this generational divide you can check out here.
Another issue that was top-of-mind for some communities, including in the GTA, is crime.
We’ll still need to unpack how all of these issues came into play in the election results.
Were Canadians in different provinces voting for different reasons? Or were they all rallying behind the same ideas?
Kasia Mychajlowycz: I found that different regions had different priorities, which makes a lot of sense in such a vast country. This information is anecdotal, based on my trip across the country, but I heard a lot more about housing affordability in small towns and cities within the commuting orbit of Halifax, Nova Scotia, than I did in Saskatchewan, for example. Concern about the oil and gas industry was top of mind for those in the Prairies who felt their towns’ health relies on the industry, but didn’t get mentioned in interviews I did elsewhere.
How many people voted in the election?
Emily Haws: Elections Canada’s preliminary results indicate that more than 19.5-million people voted in this election, which is a new record high. The preliminary voter turnout estimate is 68.7 per cent.
More than 19 million votes cast in federal election, Elections Canada says.
This felt like a two-issue election: affordability and Trump. Why weren’t climate, health care or Indigenous issues addressed?
Mychajlowycz: I can’t speak to why these issues weren’t more front-and-centre in the campaigns, but I can say that I spoke to many people who felt the same way. Joris Ekering in Spences Bridge, B.C., and I had a conversation about climate change. He lives in a very small community that has been endangered by both flooding and wildfires, but Joris told me he couldn’t seem to get his fellow voters interested in climate change issues.
In Petitcodiac, New Brunswick, Dan Pollock and others worried that their new health centre was 18 years in the making but still not done. A family physician in Moosomin, Saskatchewan, explicitly told me what others had implied: that health care in a town or small city makes it a hub for the area.
In Brandon, Manitoba, Eileen Moody spoke to her concern that there weren’t enough social services provided to people affected by discriminatory underfunding of First Nations Child and Family Services.
All this to say, you’re not alone with those concerns, but I did also hear from many people about the trade war and affordability.
Are people really as divided as they seem online? Is there any middle ground between supporters of different political parties?
Mychajlowycz: On my cross-country (mostly road) trip, I found a lot more middle ground than the most divisive rhetoric I’ve seen on social media, which I found really heartening. People’s political opinions were informed by the things that happen in their daily lives, so even if you don’t agree with how they voted, you can see where they’re coming from.
I got to have longer, more in-depth conversations with people than you’d ever (want to) have online, and people often told me they could see the other side of the argument. I talked to people who voted differently from the rest of their friends or family, or even the group of guys that met every day at the Tim Hortons (shout-out to the coffee crew of Dauphin, Manitoba!) who could still speak respectfully with each other.
So, my answer would be: No, people live side-by-side with people they disagree with politically all the time without resorting to the kind of toxic rhetoric we sometimes see on social media or elsewhere online.
What will happen to Pierre Poilievre?
Must Pierre Poilievre resign now that he has lost his seat?
Al Mallees: No, he can stay on as Leader of the Conservative Party. If he decides to stay on, though, he’ll have to find a riding to run in so he can become an MP again (and resume his role as Leader of the Opposition). Mr. Poilievre hasn’t addressed his seat loss yet, so we don’t know what’s going to happen.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks to supporters on election night in Ottawa on April 29.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
With Mr. Poilievre not elected but staying on as Leader of the Conservative Party, will he be allowed to sit in Parliament and vote?
Al Mallees: No. If he decides to stay on as leader, he will have to find a riding to run in (and conversely, a newly elected Conservative willing to give up their seat). Until he is elected as an MP again, Mr. Poilievre will not be allowed to sit in the House of Commons or vote.
Mr. Poilievre severely restricted media access during the election. Did it affect his campaign?
Al Mallees: Not sure how it affected his campaign, and I don’t know if it made a difference in the results. But Mr. Poilievre has focused more heavily on social media to reach Canadians directly, a strategy that bet on the Conservatives’ ability to circumvent traditional media. We saw the other parties do that to a lesser extent (there were very few interviews with national media). However, older Canadians still get their news from traditional media, so it would be interesting to know to what extent the election results were influenced by that.
The Liberals’ fourth term
What is the difference in governing power between a majority and a minority government? Does it make any difference that the Liberals were so close to being a majority?
Al Mallees: Had the Liberals won a majority government, they could pass legislation without the support of other parties, giving them the ability to move forward with their agenda more smoothly. It would also give the Liberals more control over when Canadians go to the polls. However, with the Liberals only forming a minority government, they will have to work with other parties and likely compromise on their agenda to get legislation passed. Parliament will also be less stable, and opposition parties could decide at some point to bring down the government (by voting non-confidence), which would send Canadians to the polls again.
Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives on stage at his campaign headquarters in Ottawa on April 29.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
What options exist for the Liberals to ensure they have continuing support for their minority government and won’t be defeated as Parliament reconvenes?
Haws: The Liberals have a few options:
- They could try to get other MPs to cross the floor and join the Liberal Party, to secure a majority government of 172 Liberals.
- They could gain votes one-by-one per vote by reaching out to specific MPs.
- They could work with party leadership to secure support vote-by-vote.
- They could develop a confidence and supply agreement, where a party agrees to support the government on confidence issues more long-term in exchange for progress on specific priorities. That is what happened in the last Parliament between the Liberals and the New Democrats.
- They could propose a coalition government, which is similar to a confidence and supply agreement but opposition-party MPs would actually sit in cabinet as ministers.
The future of the NDP
What was the main reason for the NDP collapse in this election?
Al Mallees: The federal election campaign really turned into a two-party race, meaning all other parties saw their support decline dramatically. That reflected the framing of the election by Mr. Carney and Mr. Poilievre: stable leadership to deal with the U.S. vs change. While some progressive voters shifted their support to the Liberals, the Conservatives also made gains in NDP ridings. Mr. Poilievre made a concerted effort over the last couple of years to build bridges with private-sector unions and blue-collar workers. Those efforts appear to have paid off in ridings like Windsor West, where the Conservatives took out long-time NDP MP Brian Masse.
The NDP has lost official party status. What does that mean?
Al Mallees: By losing party status, the NDP will lose some privileges in the House of Commons, including spots on committees and extra time during Question Period. There’s also a monetary impact, since parties with official status are allocated additional allowances.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh alongside his wife Gurkiran Kaur Sidhu at his election night headquarters in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada April 28, 2025.Chris Helgren/Reuters
Who do you think the contenders are for the next NDP leader, and what is the timetable for their election?
Al Mallees: The NDP will have to select an interim leader before running a leadership race. Among the re-elected New Democrats, Edmonton Strathcona MP Heather McPherson has long been rumoured to have leadership aspirations. We could also see a provincial New Democrat put their name in the hat (which would mean having a leader that isn’t a sitting MP). Here’s a story about what’s next for the NDP.
What surprised you the most about the election?
Mychajlowycz: I was surprised that I didn’t find a single person who told me they weren’t going to vote.
People all told me how important their vote was to them, and we saw that reflected in the record number of those who chose to vote early, and a higher voter turnout generally than recent elections.
Al Mallees: Pierre Poilievre losing his seat. Despite the Conservatives losing the election, they still expanded their support across the country, including the party’s seat count. But Mr. Poilievre still lost his seat. Curious to find out more about what happened in that riding and what Mr. Poilievre does moving forward.
Haws: What surprised me most was seeing people who were adamantly against Justin Trudeau and the Liberals being open, and in some cases, very enthusiastic, about Mark Carney. The idea of having a fourth Liberal government that is so close to a majority was unthinkable a year ago.
This election was far more polarized between the Liberals and Conservatives than the last two elections I’ve covered. It was also far less focused on environmental and climate issues.