How does the general elections of Canada work? A simple guide

Mark Carney must swine as the next Prime Minister of Canada in the next few days, after having won the race to happen to Justin Trudeau.

It means that it will direct the Liberal Government of Canada in the next elections, which is expected to be called soon.

Several political leaders had asked for a vote after Trudeau announced that he would resign as the liberal leader in January.

But after the president of the United States, Donald Trump, imposed tariffs pronounced to the country, potentially causing a commercial war, opposition parties have suggested that Canada should vote as soon as possible.

By law, the maximum time between federal elections in Canada is five years. The next vote is officially scheduled for October 20, 2025.

However, there are a couple of scenarios in which an early choice can be activated:

• When the governor general accepts the prime minister’s advice to dissolve the government, or
• If the general governor accepts the resignation of the prime minister after the government is defeated in a vote of confidence in Parliament

When Trudeau resigned in January, he suspended Parliament so that the Liberal Party, which currently controls the government, can have a leadership career to find its replacement.

Carney, announced as Trudeau’s replacement on Sunday, could call an early choice.

Pierre Poilievre, who leads the conservative opposition party, has already said that it will require a vote of confidence once the Parliament returns, just like Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the new Democratic Party.

In Canadian federal elections, as in the general elections of the United Kingdom, voters do not vote directly for a prime minister. Instead, he is the leader of the party with most members of Parliament (parliamentarians) who becomes PM.

That means Carney will be in the race, along with Pailievre and Singh.

Four main matches will play the next elections: liberals, conservatives, new Democrats (NDP) and Quebecois block.

The liberals have been in power since 2015, when Trudeau was voted. They currently have 153 seats.

Conservatives are the official opposition with 120 seats.

The Quebecois block, which only executes candidates in the province of Quebec, has 33 seats and the NDP has 24.

The Green Party has two seats.

During the last stages of the Premier League of Trudeau, the opinion surveys constantly showed the conservatives with a strong advantage.

But the numbers tightened after Trudeau resigned. Since then, Trump took office in the United States and introduced steep tariffs against Canada, which has increased expectations of a closer vote.

There are 343 best federals, also called constituencies or electoral districts, which are thickened by the country. Each one has a corresponding seat in the House of Commons.

All seats in the lower camera, the House of Commons, are at stake during an election.

The members of the Senate, the upper chamber, are designated and are not run for the elections.

Like the United Kingdom, Canada has an electoral system “for the first time.”

The candidate who obtains the greatest number of votes in each driving earns that seat and becomes MP. They do not need to obtain most of all votes cast in their area. Other parties do not win anything in that area.

The party leader with the largest number of parliamentarians elected will normally form the government. The second part generally forms the official opposition.

If none of the parties ends with the majority seats, the result is known as a hung parliament or a minority government. Practically, it means that the party cannot approve legislation without the help of other parties.

To vote in a Canadian election, someone must be a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years old, and have identity and direction evidence.