Elections Canada resumes vote counting after morning pause

A sign directs a voter to a polling station to cast their ballot in the federal election in Calgary, Monday, April 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

OTTAWA — Elections Canada decided early Tuesday morning to pause the marathon counting of special ballots with a handful of ridings still too close to call.

One of those outstanding seats was the Ottawa riding of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. The Canadian Press decision desk has now projected Liberal Bruce Fanjoy has won the seat.

The tallying of votes resumed at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Special ballots are cast by mail or at Elections Canada offices by voters who are away from their ridings during the election.

The Liberals were leading or elected in 168 seats when the counting was paused - four short of a majority. Elections Canada estimated that the uncounted votes could affect the results in about a dozen ridings.

Later in the day, with counting nearly done, the Liberals were determined to be three seats short of winning a majority.

A majority government would have allowed the Liberals to pass legislation without the support of other parties. With the final result a minority, the Liberals will need help from other parties’ MPs to pursue their agenda.

In his victory speech, Carney pledged to unite a divided country in the face of ongoing tensions with the United States. He promised to lead a government that represents all Canadians and said the country works when Canadians pull together.

“Let’s put an end to the division and anger of the past,” Carney said. “We are all Canadian, and my government will work for and with everyone.”

Poilievre said during his concession speech that he would stay on as Conservative leader despite his party’s loss. He hushed some booing from the crowd when he congratulated Carney on his win.

“No, no, we’ll have plenty of opportunity to debate and disagree. But tonight we come together as Canadians,” Poilievre said.

“We have to learn the lessons of tonight so that we can have an even better result the next time.”

Poilievre’s loss in Carleton after holding the riding for 21 years leaves him on the outside of the next Parliament. The seat flipped following a concerted push by the Liberal party and Fanjoy to get out the vote in the Ottawa-area riding.

Former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper congratulated Carney and wished the next government “success as they navigate our country forward during these challenging times.”

“I also want to congratulate Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Party of Canada on making significant gains, both in seats and popular vote, and bringing an entire new generation of Canadians to the Conservative Party,” he said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who became a divisive figure for the Conservatives during the campaign, also congratulated Carney and said he was ready to work with the new government. He encouraged the prime minister to help accelerate natural resource development and other projects in the province.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said Tuesday he plans to speak with the other party leaders about “what we have in common.”

The last thing the people of Quebec want “is instability in the federal Parliament,” he said at a press conference in Montreal.

Blanchet indicated any talk of Quebec sovereignty must take a back seat to dealing with the threat of Trump’s tariffs through trade negotiations.

“I am absolutely certain that we must first in the federal Parliament deal with the negotiation,” he said

The Bloc Quebecois is projected to lose as many as 10 of the seats it held before the election but is set to retain its status as the third largest party in the House of Commons.

Blanchet, who noted the NDP also lost seats, cautioned the party against propping up a Liberal minority as it did in the last Parliament.

“I’m not sure, if I were them, that I would try that another time,” he said.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh lost his Vancouver-area seat and announced he would be resigning as party leader once the party selects an interim replacement.

“We may lose sometimes and those losses hurt,” Singh said, fighting emotion as he stood beside his wife on a stage in Burnaby, B.C. after the results were in.

“We’re only defeated when we believe ... those that tell us that we can never dream of a better Canada, a fairer Canada, a more compassionate Canada.”

At least a dozen New Democrat MPs lost their seats and preliminary results show it may be difficult for the NDP to maintain official party status, which gives a party access to research funding and more opportunities to make queries during question period.

Carney is expected to meet soon with U.S. President Donald Trump.

He held his first phone call with Trump during the first week of the election campaign. The two agreed that they would immediately launch discussions on a new trade and security pact following the election.

Trump loomed large over the campaign with his tariff threats and calls for Canada to become a U.S. state.

-- with files from Jim Bronskill

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press

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