Carney calls Canada election for 28 April

At long last, we have a date. In just over a month’s time, Canadians will head to the polls to decide whether to end a decade of Liberal rule. Having succeeded Justin Trudeau as party leader on 9 March, Mark Carney has, predictably, opted not to play it long. By calling the election now, Carney conveniently does not have to face a hostile parliament – a showdown complicated by the fact that he does not actually have a seat in the House of Commons. Parliament had been due to return on Monday after being prorogued for two months. Instead, five weeks of campaigning now looms.

Carney’s strategy is obvious. He wants to depict himself as the statesman most able to stare down Donald Trump and his tariff threats. His first fortnight as Prime Minister included a trip to London to meet with Keir Starmer, with the former Bank of England Governor keen to sign up to the UK’s ‘coalition of the willing’ in Ukraine.