A simple guide to Canada's federal election
BBCMark Carney is due to be sworn in as Canada's next prime minister in the coming days, having won the race to succeed Justin Trudeau.
It means he will lead the governing Liberal Party of Canada in the next election - which is expected to be called soon.
Several political leaders had called for a vote after Trudeau announced he was resigning as leader of the Liberals in January.
But after US President Donald Trump imposed steep tariffs on the country, potentially sparking a trade war, calls have grown for Canada to go to the polls as soon as possible.
When is the next Canadian federal election?
By law, the maximum time between federal elections in Canada is five years. The next vote is officially scheduled for 20 October 2025.
However, there are a couple of scenarios in which an early election can be triggered:
- When the governor general accepts the prime minister's advice to dissolve government, or
- If the governor general accepts the PM's resignation after the government is defeated in a confidence vote in parliament
When Trudeau resigned in January, he suspended parliament so that the Liberal Party, which currently controls government, could have a leadership race to find his replacement.
Carney, announced as Trudeau's replacement on 9 March, could call an election early.
Pierre Poilievre, who leads the opposition Conservative Party, has already said he will call for a vote of no confidence once parliament returns, as has Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the New Democratic Party.
Who could be prime minister?
In the Canadian federal election - as in the UK's general election - voters do not cast a ballot directly for a prime minister.
Instead, the leader of the party with the majority of members of parliament (MPs) becomes PM.
That means Carney will be in the running, along with Poilievre and Singh.
Which parties will run candidates in the election?
Four main parties will contest the next election - the Liberals, the Conservatives, the New Democrats (NDP) and the Bloc Quebecois.
The Liberal Party has been in power since 2015, when Trudeau was voted in. It currently hold 153 seats.
The Conservatives are the official opposition with 120 seats.
The Bloc Quebecois, which only runs candidates in the province of Quebec, has 33 seats, and the NDP has 24.
The Green Party holds two seats.
During the latter stages of Trudeau's premiership, opinion polls consistently showed the Conservatives with a strong lead.
But the numbers tightened after Trudeau stepped down.
Trump's decision to introduce steep tariffs against Canada has raised expectations of a closer vote.
What do the polls say?
When Trudeau resigned at the beginning of 2025, he did so under significant pressure from his own party. It was felt that his personal unpopularity was damaging the Liberals' hopes of winning the next election.
National polling averages, shared by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), show how support for the Liberals weakened throughout 2023 and 2024.
At the same time, support for the Conservatives soared. On 20 January 2025 - the day of Trump's inauguration - the Conservatives were polling 44.8% while the Liberals were on 21.9%.
Since then, polls suggest that support for the Liberals has ticked back up. The latest averages indicate that 40.4% of Canadians back the Conservatives, while 30.8% support the Liberals.
In the process of regaining some support, the Liberals have attempted to draw comparisons between Poilievre and Trump.
After being announced as Trudeau's successor, Carney said regarding the trade war that: "Americans should make no mistake... Canada will win".
How does the Canadian federal election work?
There are 343 federal ridings - also called constituencies or electoral districts -across the country. Each has a corresponding seat in the House of Commons.
All the seats in the lower chamber, the House of Commons, are up for grabs during an election.
Members of the Senate, the upper chamber, are appointed and do not run for election.
Like the UK, Canada has a "first-past-the-post" electoral system.
The candidate who gets the most votes in each riding wins that seat and become an MP. They do not need to get the majority of all the votes cast in their area. Other parties win nothing in that area.
The leader of the party with the largest number of elected MPs normally forms the government. The second-placed party usually forms the official opposition.
If no party ends up with an overall majority of seats, the result is known as a hung parliament or a minority government.
Practically, it means the party with the most seats will not be able to pass legislation without the help of other parties.
Who can vote in the Canadian federal election?
To vote in a Canadian election you must:
- be a Canadian citizen
- be at least 18 years old, and
- have proof of your identity and address