Democrat lawmakers celebrate Carney’s Liberal win, most Republicans remain silent

Former U.S. president Joe Biden speaks at a conference in Chicago on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. AP-Nam Y. Huh

WASHINGTON — Democrat lawmakers in the United States applauded the Liberals' election win under Mark Carney on Tuesday — while most Republican lawmakers stayed silent about an election campaign that turned into a rebuke of U.S. President Donald Trump's taunts and tariffs.

Trump and Carney spoke Tuesday, according to a readout of the call released by the Prime Minister's Office. The PMO said the president congratulated the Liberal leader on the election and they agreed to meet in person in the near future.

Trump and Carney agreed on "the importance of Canada and the United States working together — as independent, sovereign nations — for their mutual betterment," the readout said.

In a statement issued earlier Tuesday, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said the election "does not affect President Trump's plan to make Canada America's cherished 51st state."

With a daunting lead in the polls, the Conservatives under leader Pierre Poilievre looked to be in line for a majority win not long ago — before Trump's return to the White House upended Canadian politics.

Trump first threatened last November to impose economywide tariffs on Canada, linking the duties to the illegal flow of people and deadly fentanyl across the border. U.S. government data shows a very small volume of drugs cross the U.S.-Canada border but Ottawa still responded with a boosted security plan.

The looming tariffs were accompanied by Trump's repeated calls for Canada to become a U.S. state and his habit of referring to then-prime minister Justin Trudeau as a "governor."

Trump ultimately went ahead with the duties last month, before partially walking them back a few days later. Trump also implemented tariffs on automobiles, steel and aluminum.

Trudeau announced his resignation in January, triggering a rapid race to choose a new Liberal leader. Carney, a two-time central banker and political neophyte, became prime minister briefly before calling the election.

Trump continued to goad Canadians as Carney and Poilievre each made their pitch to lead the country through an unprecedented crisis in relations with its most important ally and trade partner.

Poilievre was unable to shake claims that he had aped Trump's policies and style. When Carney killed the consumer carbon tax, the Conservative leader lost one of his most valuable points of attack on the Liberals.

Many Democrats took the Canadian election result as a much-needed win as Trump attempts to realign global trade and alienates longtime American allies.

"I congratulate Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Liberal party on their success in Canada's election," former president Joe Biden posted on social media. "I'm confident Mark will be a strong leader for the fundamental values and interests Canadians and Americans share."

Jim Himes, a Democratic congressman for Connecticut, posted on social media that he went to school with Carney.

"If I had said to him, 'Mark, someday Donald Trump will be President of the United States, and he is single-handedly going to make you Prime Minister of Canada,' he would have called campus security to take me home," Himes said.

In a post on social media directed at the president, Sen. Bernie Sanders pointed out how Trump infuriated many Canadian voters during the election campaign.

"Two months ago, your conservative friends were 25 points ahead in the polls. Yesterday, they lost," Sanders wrote.

"It only took 100 days for you to convince Canadians that the far right has no place in government. Americans will say the same in our next election."

Democrat Rep. Don Beyer posted that Carney will lead with "grit and grace," while senators like Amy Klobuchar and Michael Bennet sent their congratulations. California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on social media that "California looks forward to strengthening our partnership with our northern neighbours."

Former U.S. ambassador to Canada David Cohen praised Carney and said Canadians gave Carney a mandate to "rationally and forcefully" take on Trump and "his ill-advised tariff 'policies' and anti-Canadian rhetoric."

There was little sign on social media that Republican lawmakers and governors were weighing in on the Canadian election. Among the outliers was Rep. Don Bacon from Nebraska, who told POLITICO that the Liberals were "losing big until our president kept mocking Canadians, our neighbours and close friends."

"He made Canadian Liberals great again," Bacon said.

Trump's top diplomat in Canada officially took his post in Ottawa Tuesday and offered congratulations to Carney and the Liberals. United States Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said he is "committed to engaging with Canadians from all walks of life to build on the foundation of collaboration and partnership that our countries enjoy."

"We’ve got a big job ahead of us — reviewing and strengthening our strong trading partnership, securing our borders, confronting the deadly threat of fentanyl to our citizens, building our national security co-operation, and fulfilling our alliance commitments," Hoekstra said in a news release.

"We must also invest in defending North America economically and militarily for the next century."

— With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2025.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press