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It’s been quite a week here in Canada. The ruling Liberal Party trounced the opposition Conservatives well enough that even Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative leader, lost his seat in parliament.
American commentators are looking at the results and wondering if it’s a blueprint for Democrats to beat Republicans. But buyer beware: Conservatives overperformed expectations despite Poilievre’s defeat and, as The Economist notes, an American-style political realignment appears to be underway up north, with Liberals struggling to hold on to immigrant communities and Canadians without college degrees.
That could be a bad sign for Prime Minister Mark Carney, a former central banker who will now have to grapple with a long-stagnant economy, an affordability crisis, and even separatist sentiment in Alberta. His win is also accelerating a quiet but growing exodus of Jewish Canadians alarmed by rising antisemitism and a federal government they feel no longer has their back.
So let’s jump right in.