After a five-week sprint campaign, more than 19.5 million Canadians cast their ballots in the 2025 federal election, ultimately choosing to elect a Liberal minority government led by Mark Carney.
But how does Parliament work when there’s a minority government, and what comes next for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and the NDP? Here’s what you’ve been asking us, and what you need to know.
A minority government means none of the parties got more than 50 per cent of the seats in the House of Commons. That means the Liberals will need the support of at least one other party to pass legislation.
The Liberals won 169 seats, but they needed 172 for a majority (there are 343 seats in the House). Either the Bloc Québécois, who have 22 seats, or the New Democrats, who have seven seats, could give the Liberals enough support to pass legislation.
The Conservatives have 144 seats and could also vote with the Liberals on some measures, but they might be less likely to support the government on a regular basis.
While the Liberals only need three votes, MPs are expected to vote along party lines. In the history of Canada’s Parliament, free votes are rare.
In the last Parliament, which also had a minority government, the NDP agreed to keep the Liberals afloat in exchange for legislative commitments on NDP priorities.
In September 2024, the NDP ended that agreement but continued to support the government on critical votes that, if lost, would have likely triggered an election. The seven New Democrats have not committed to pursuing a similar agreement.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet told reporters on Tuesday he’d like to see a “truce in which the Liberals would refrain from being offensive” over immigration as well as Quebec’s language and secularism laws that are being challenged in court.
Blanchet also said in French he does not see “any scenario happening other than collaboration” for a year or more.
Members of Parliament are typically affiliated with a federal party. But none of them are required to stay with that party for their entire term — they can switch their affiliation at any time, which is called “crossing the floor.” It’s rare, but possible.
Since the Liberals are only a few seats shy of a majority, they could try to invite a few NDP MPs to join them.
NDP MP-elect Jenny Kwan told CBC News on Tuesday that crossing the floor is “a very interesting thought” but argued “the best outcomes [have] been a minority government with the NDP holding the balance of power.”
“New Democrats will be in the House of Commons bringing a strong voice representing everyday people. We will be there fighting for them,” Kwan said.
On Wednesday afternoon, Kwan clarified in a statement that “I’m a proud member of the NDP caucus. I always remain open to working collaboratively with other parties on public policy solutions but I am a New Democrat and will remain a New Democrat.”
The NDP took a crushing blow this election. Only seven of the party’s candidates were elected, meaning the NDP has lost “recognized party” status. Leader Jagmeet Singh also lost his riding and swiftly announced he would step down from his post once there’s an interim leader in place.
According to the Parliament of Canada Act, a political party needs at least 12 elected members to be recognized in the House of Commons, which comes with financial allowances and funding for their research groups.
Members of recognized parties can also sit on parliamentary committees and ask more questions to the government during question period. So without party status, it’ll be more difficult for the NDP to get its voice heard.
The Liberals pulled off a major upset this election by beating Poilievre in his Ontario riding of Carleton. Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy beat Poilievre by more than 3,000 votes.
Because Poilievre does not have a seat in the House of Commons, he can’t be leader of the Opposition, according to the House of Commons website. But he remains leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
It’s not clear what Poilievre will do with Stornoway, the government-owned residence reserved for the Opposition leader. But whoever is picked by the Conservative caucus as the party’s interim parliamentary leader may defer to Poilievre and allow him and his young family to stay in the home.
Poilievre could return to the House of Commons before the next federal election by winning a seat in a byelection. A Conservative MP could resign from their post and the party could have Poilievre run in that riding.
When Parliament resumes, Poilievre’s MPs could choose to use the Reform Act to give themselves the power to remove him as leader. He also faces a leadership review at the next Conservative convention because he failed to win government.
Fresh off a big win, Carney will need to hit the ground running on several essential tasks and make headway on some of his top election promises.
The prime minister may decide to choose a new cabinet and a speech from the throne will be drafted to open a new session of Parliament. The government will likely also look to pass a new budget soon, since a budget wasn’t presented this spring.
The throne speech — which outlines the government’s priorities — as well as the budget are considered confidence votes. Carney will need the Bloc or NDP to back those two items or Canada could head into another election.
A senior government source told CBC News on Wednesday that Parliament will need to be recalled to pass a budget.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) told CBC News that Carney’s priorities are negotiating with U.S. President Donald Trump and getting rid of interprovincial trade barriers by Canada Day.
Trump said Wednesday afternoon that Carney will likely meet with him at the White House within the next week. The PMO has not yet commented on Trump’s timeline.
Trump and Carney had already agreed the countries would begin negotiations on a new economic and security deal, no matter who won Monday’s election.
