Toronto (Canada), 29 Apr (LaPresse/AP) – Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal Party has surprisingly won the Canadian federal election. It was the fourth consecutive term in office for the Liberals, who surprisingly overturned the eve's predictions that had favoured populist opposition leader Pierre Poilievre and attempted to turn the election into a referendum on former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose popularity declined towards the end of his decade in power due to rising food and housing prices. According to observers, the Canadian vote was weighed down by threats of annexation and a trade war announced by US President Donald Trump, which fuelled a wave of nationalism among voters that helped the Liberals overturn the result. In projections after the polls close according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster, the Liberals will take a relative majority of the 343 seats in Parliament over the Conservatives but it is not yet clear whether they will achieve an absolute majority, which would allow them to pass legislation without the need for alliance help from minor parties.