Mark Carney has won Canada’s election after a campaign dominated by the country’s relationship with the US under Donald Trump.

Carney’s Liberal party was on track to win the largest number of seats and the right to form a government. But it was still unclear whether it would be able to secure a parliamentary majority as counting continued.

The Liberals capitalised on a patriotic surge in the face of Trump’s tariffs on Canada and taunts about it becoming the US’s “51st state”, as Carney made defiance of Trump a campaign theme.

In a speech in the early hours of Tuesday, Carney hailed his victory and said he would resist any threats from the Trump administration.

“America wants our land, our resources, our water. But these are not idle threats, President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. That will never, ever happen,” Carney said in Ottawa.

“We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons. We have to look out for ourselves, and above all, we have to take care of each other.”

The Liberals were ahead in 165 seats in the 343-seat House of Commons and the Conservatives in 147, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, putting Carney’s party in a commanding position to form at least a minority government.

Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre conceded earlier on Tuesday and said Canadians have opted for “a razor-thin minority government, a virtual tie”.

Poilievre was behind his Liberal rival in his own Ontario seat as counting continued.

The result marks a stunning recovery for the Liberals, who were on course to lose power until Justin Trudeau, prime minister for almost a decade, quit as party leader this year and was replaced by Carney in March.

His victory will also be greeted around the world as a sign that centrist, internationalist politics can succeed electorally in the age of Trump.

Carney ran Canada’s central bank during the 2008 financial crisis and the Bank of England during Brexit, and cited his experience as preparation for handling the economic turmoil caused by the US president.

The former Goldman Sachs and Brookfield executive, who entered electoral politics for the first time in January, must now manage critical negotiations with Canada’s largest trading partner amid a global effort to limit the damage from Trump’s trade policy.

“This is a great night for the Liberal party, but even more importantly this is a great night for Canada,” said Chrystia Freeland, the former finance minister whom Carney defeated in the race to succeed Trudeau as the party’s leader this year.

“Because I really believe the ballot question has been: ‘Who can fight for Canada, who can stand up to Donald Trump, and who can defend our national economic interest, and who can seize this moment to build Canada?’ And Canadians have answered.”

Carney will enter parliament for the first time as an MP after winning in Ottawa’s Nepean constituency.

Poilievre, who led in polls for several years until Trudeau quit and the US president stepped up his attacks on Canada, struggled in recent weeks to shake Liberal efforts to paint him as a Maga-like populist who would be unable to confront the US president.

“We know that change is needed, but change is hard to come by. It takes time,” Poilievre said on Tuesday morning. “It takes work and that’s why we have to learn the lessons of tonight so that we can have an even better result the next time Canadians decide the future for the country.”

The New Democratic party, which had supported Trudeau’s minority government in parliament, suffered significant losses as voters moved to the two main parties.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh told supporters he would step down after losing his seat. Describing it as a “disappointing night”, Singh said: “I am hopeful for the party, we will chose hope over fear.”

But the NDP is likely to become a necessary partner in any Carney-led minority government. Support also fell sharply for the Bloc Québécois, the federal nationalist party from the majority French-speaking province.