Canadians are holding parliamentary elections today to determine who will lead their government: the Liberal Party under Prime Minister Mark Carney, a former banker, or the Conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre, a career politician on the party’s right.

One issue has consumed voters: President Trump. His tariff attack on Canada and his repeated calls for the annexation of the country as the 51st state have dominated the race.

To learn about what’s at stake, we reached out to Matina Stevis-Gridneff, our Canada bureau chief.

What are the biggest issues in the elections?

Canadians are thinking about the economy, and about Trump. The two are, to a great degree, intertwined: Canada’s economy is in a relatively weak spot as it’s getting hit by tariffs. Some voters want to punish the Liberal Party, which has been in charge for the past decade, and hold it accountable for leaving the country in a weakened spot.

Those voters are likely to cast a ballot for the Conservative Party. The Conservatives are promising change, smaller government, tax cuts and deregulation. But other voters — and polls suggest they may be the majority — are predominantly worried about how Canada stands up to the U.S. This relates to tariffs, but it extends beyond the purely economic, to the political and even existential spheres, given that Trump has threatened to annex Canada.

Voters motivated by that mind-set are likelier to pick the Liberal Party. Mark Carney is a seasoned international economic policymaker and private-sector executive, and his experience in economic turmoil has led many Canadians to believe he’s the right person to trust in this crisis.

What will you be watching for on Election Day, and what has stood out for you so far?

I’ll be looking to see if the Liberals win, as polls are predicting, and if they can secure a majority government. For me that will indicate that Trump is a potent factor in the politics of America’s allies, who are all reeling by the change of policy and attitude in the White House.

The sharp reversal of fortunes for the Liberal Party which, until early this year, seemed poised to face a crushing defeat, has been stunning to watch. And in that context, the rise of Carney from elite economist to prime minister in the blink of an eye, and with no previous political experience, has been really surprising.

Results: Most polls will close at 9:30 p.m. Eastern time today, and results will most likely come later in the evening. Here’s what else to know.

Point guard Stephen Curry went for a game-high 36 points, and the Golden State Warriors, despite missing injured Jimmy Butler III, rallied past the visiting Houston Rockets 104-93 to take a 2-1 lead in their National Basketball Association (NBA) first-round playoff series in San Francisco.

Warriors Take Lead in Series

The Warriors’ Gary Payton II saved nine of his postseason career-high 16 points for a late run, and Buddy Hield bombed five 3-pointers to account for a majority of his 17 points. Rookie Quinten Post, making his first postseason start, snatched a game-high 12 rebounds for the seventh-seeded Warriors, who can go up 3-1 in the Western Conference best-of-seven series with another home-court win on Monday.

“This series, no game is going to be pretty,” Curry said on Saturday night after the game on the ABC broadcast. “You just kinda have to grind it out. We had 22 points halfway through the [second quarter]. You wonder, how are we going to score? You just stick with it and make the right plays.”

The Warriors learned after the pregame warmup that Butler would not be able to go because of a glute contusion suffered in the Game 2 loss at Houston.

“Everybody just stepped up and played for Jimmy,” Curry said. “Hopefully, he’s back soon.”

Game Recap

After the Rockets held the Warriors to 18 points in the first quarter, Golden State scored the final 9 points of the second quarter to get within 49-46 at the break and set up a tightly contested second half.

A 3-pointer by Dillon Brooks with 5:47 minutes remaining in regulation gave the Rockets their last lead at 84-83 before Payton, who went scoreless in the Warriors’ Game 2 loss, shockingly took over the game.

With his Hall of Fame dad watching from the stands, Payton gave Golden State the lead with a layup, with 5:27 to go, then added another layup, a 3-pointer and a dunk in a personal 9-point run that opened a 92-86 lead with 3:42 to go.

Curry Leads the Way

Curry bottomed his fifth 3-pointer of the night, and Payton added a dunk down the stretch to help Golden State hold the visitors at bay.

Curry’s 30-point night was the 60th of his postseason career. He also found time for seven rebounds and a game-high nine assists.

“We’re not going to hold him to 3 points every time we play him. We have to understand that,” Houston’s Fred VanVleet said. “He’s one of the all-time greats. I thought our coverages were a little slow tonight. Some of the switching, some of the physicality, was a touch down from what we had it ramped up to last game.”

Curry and Hield each drilled five 3-pointers, helping Golden State outscore the Rockets 42-33 from beyond the arc.

Draymond Green contributed 7 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks to the cause, while Brandin Podziemski added 10 points.

VanVleet paced the second-seeded Rockets with 17 points, and Alperen Sengun had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Brooks scored 13 points, Jabari Smith Jr scored 12 and Amen Thompson scored 11. Jalen Green chipped in with 9 points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists.

Other Playoff Results

In earlier games on Saturday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder, fuelled by 38 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, held off the Memphis Grizzlies 117-115 to complete a 4-0 sweep in their NBA Western Conference playoff series and become the first team to reach the second round.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are on the brink of advancing, taking a 3-0 stranglehold on their Eastern Conference series with a 124-87 blowout of the Miami Heat.

The Denver Nuggets levelled their Western Conference series with a stunning 101-99 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, sealed by Aaron Gordon’s put-back dunk at the final buzzer.

Nikola Jokic air-balled a 3-pointer as the clock wound down, and Gordon leaped to catch the ball and released his dunk just before the red light came on the backboard. A replay review upheld the ruling and the basket allowed Denver to even the best-of-seven Western Conference series at two games apiece.

Game 5 is on Tuesday in Denver.

Introduction to Pope Francis

Pope Francis’ life took him from a modest upbringing in Buenos Aires to lead the Roman Catholic Church as the first Jesuit pontiff and the first from Latin America. Across his 12 years as pope, Francis consistently elevated the causes of migrants and the disenfranchised, and pushed the church to more forcefully confront its own history of scandal.

Early Life

Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on Dec. 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires. His parents were immigrants from Italy, and he was the eldest of five siblings. As a boy, he was intelligent, deeply religious and loved to dance the tango.

A Calling to the Priesthood

When he was 16, Jorge was rushing to meet friends but paused at the Basilica of St. Joseph in Buenos Aires, feeling an urge to go inside. In the sanctuary, it felt as though “someone grabbed me from inside,” he said, adding, “Right there I knew I had to be a priest.” He later joined a seminary.

Road to the Papacy

Ordination

After 13 years of study, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was ordained as a priest in 1969.

A Jesuit Leader

Father Bergoglio became the head of the Jesuits, an order of priests, in Argentina in 1973. At the time, the country was in the throes of a “dirty war,” when the ruling military junta tortured, killed or “disappeared” as many as 30,000 people.

Exile and Redemption

Father Bergoglio’s tenure as head of the Jesuits ended in controversy, with critics accusing him of having an autocratic management style. Church authorities sent him into de facto exile in Frankfurt, Germany, and then to Córdoba, Argentina, in 1979. However, his exile was interrupted when he was unexpectedly named an auxiliary bishop of the Buenos Aires diocese in 1992.

The Papacy

Election as Pope

Francis was elected pontiff after Pope Benedict XVI resigned, citing health concerns, in 2013. Francis tried to move the church away from divisive issues such as abortion and homosexuality, instead focusing on climate change, poverty and migration.

Addressing Sex Abuse

Francis established a commission to address the church’s clerical sexual-abuse scandals in 2014. It included victims of abuse and sought to hold bishops accountable, but the effort eventually fell apart.

Environmental Advocacy

Francis released “Laudato Si,” the first papal encyclical focused solely on the environment, in 2015. It called for protecting the environment and denounced the excesses of global capitalism in exploiting the poor.

Later Years and Legacy

A Push to Protect Minors

Francis issued the church’s most comprehensive response in decades to the sexual abuse crisis in 2019. It obligated church officials worldwide to report cases of sexual abuse, and efforts to cover them up, to their superiors.

An Effort to Include Women

Francis for the first time held a meeting of world bishops that included women and lay people as voting members in 2023. The synod broached some of the most sensitive topics in the church, including the role of women, celibacy and the marital status of priests.

Conclusion

Pope Francis died on Monday at 7:35 a.m., leaving a legacy of inclusion and activism, having often spoken in support of migrants, the marginalized and the environment. He had wrestled serious health issues in the preceding months, including a severe respiratory infection that had sent him to the hospital for weeks. Despite the challenges he faced, Francis remained committed to his values of compassion, justice, and mercy, inspiring countless people around the world.