His election campaign focused on standing up to Trump's tariff plans and threats to make Canada the 51st US state, which Carney has said will "never ever" happen. The Liberals won 168 seats out of 343 in Canada's House of Commons in Monday's election, enough to form a minority government but falling short of the 172 necessary for a majority. Carney's new cabinet will be sworn in the week of 12 May.

Off the top, Carney announced an upcoming visit from King Charles III and Queen Camilla, who will visit Canada  this month. "This is a historic honour that matches the weight of our times," he told reporters gathered in Ottawa. Carney says he had invited the King to formally open Canada's 45th Parliament on 27 May. That request is certainly strategic.

Carney said the King's visit "clearly underscores the sovereignty of our country" - a nod to Trump's 51st state remarks. Trump also has a well-known admiration for the Royal family. In February, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer used his trip to the White House to present Trump with a letter from King Charles offering to host a second state visit. The King is Canada's head of state and is represented in Canada by Governor General Mary Simon.

After an election, the new parliamentary session is usually opened by the governor general, who reads the Speech from the Throne on behalf of the prime minister. The speech, read in Canada's Senate, sets out the government's agenda. While it is not unprecedented for the Throne speech to be read by the head of state, the last time this happened was in October 1977 when Queen Elizabeth II read the speech for the second time. The first was in 1957. (BBC)