TORONTO (AP) — Canada's Liberals swept three special elections Monday in a result that showed voters backing Prime Minister Mark Carney for standing up against U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Canadian Press, Canada’s national news agency, projected Liberal victories in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord in Quebec, Beaches-East York in Toronto and North Vancouver-Capilano in British Columbia.
Carney said the results amounted to an endorsement of his government’s approach. “At this consequential time for Canada, voters have placed their trust in our government’s plan,” he said in a statement.
The Quebec result was the most dramatic shift. Liberal Daniel Gobeil was projected to win big in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord, a district held by the opposition Conservatives since 2018. The region is home to aluminum producers, dairy farms and other industries caught in the escalating trade war.
“This victory means we can maintain Canadian unity all across the country,” Gobeil said.
The other two seats were previously held by Liberals. In British Columbia, Carney’s former deputy chief of staff Braeden Caley won North Vancouver-Capilano.
“The United States is getting a message tonight. Our leader has the support of the Canadian people,” Liberal lawmaker Hedy Fry told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. in an interview.
U.S.-Canada trade talks collapsed Aug. 21 after the two sides failed to reach a deal, and Trump imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion in Canadian goods. Canada responded with plans for tariffs on U.S. products.
Trump has escalated his attacks on Canada since the talks failed. He signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America," and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that Canada had limited leverage in the dispute because the U.S. economy is roughly 13 times larger.
Trump has repeatedly talked about making Canada the 51st state.
Carney has accelerated efforts to deepen economic ties with Europe and other partners.
The Liberal sweep would bring Carney’s party to 173 seats in the 343-seat House of Commons, further strengthening its position in Parliament.
The special elections were called after the lawmakers who previously held the three seats resigned from Parliament earlier this year.
Daniel Béland, a political-science professor at McGill University, said the Liberal sweep showed Carney retaining strong support across regions, but called the Quebec result the most significant. He said the easy win in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord likely reflected, in part, the popularity in Quebec of Carney’s Aug. 21 decision “to pull the plug on trade negotiations with the White House.”
Béland said the Conservative collapse there was also bad news for leader Pierre Poilievre. The party won the riding with 34% of the vote last year but fell to about 13% and third place Monday. “These numbers do look bad,” he said.
Carney won Canada’s election last year, fueled by public anger over Trump’s annexation threats, and he has vowed to reduce Canada’s reliance on the U.S.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks as he announces a $11.3 billion contract for icebreakers at the Davie shipyard in Levis, Quebec on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. Quebec Premier Christine Frechette, right, looks on. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz was nervous. He was excited. Best of all, he was pain-free.
Alcaraz beat Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Monday, showing no problems with the right wrist injury that had sidelined the 23-year-old Spaniard since April.
“I don’t know how it looked from outside, but from inside, my feeling was that I was hitting normal,” Alcaraz said. “I was playing pretty normal, playing my style, and yeah, the arm, the wrist, everything felt great.”
In that case, don't rule out a run at a repeat.
Following fellow two-time U.S. Open champion Aryna Sabalenka onto Arthur Ashe Stadium, the No. 2-seeded Alcaraz appeared more comfortable as the match went on and delivered the all-around game that has made him a fan favorite in New York. He held his hand to his ear to encourage louder cheers and pumped his fist after a pretty volley winner in the final game of the match.
Forced to miss the French Open and Wimbledon, Alcaraz decided he was good enough to come back at the U.S. Open, stepping right back into Grand Slam tennis without a warmup event.
“I had more nerves than usual, but just happy, because, for me, my goal here is to compete, to enjoy, and let’s see how my body’s going to react after the matches, after the competition again,” Alcaraz said.
“I don’t know how far I’m going to go in the tournament. I didn’t know if I was going to lose this one, if I’m going to make the second round, final. I don’t know how far I’m going to go. But what I just really want to do is enjoy every time that I’m going to walk into the court feeling the energy from the people, feel the competition.”
No man has won consecutive U.S. Open titles since Roger Federer took five in a row from 2004-08. If Alcaraz stays healthy, the seven-time Grand Slam champion may quickly become a huge favorite with top-ranked Jannik Sinner sidelined by a knee injury and No. 4 Novak Djokovic losing in the U.S. Open’s first round for the first time on Sunday.
With the tournament thrown into shock by that result — Djokovic had been 19-0 in the first round at Flushing Meadows, where he won four of his men’s record 24 Grand Slam titles — Sabalenka brought back some normalcy.
Sabalenka beat Camila Osorio 6-4, 6-4 to begin her bid to be the first player to win three straight U.S. Open championships since Serena Williams from 2012-14.
She has been to the last three U.S. Open finals, rebounding from a loss to Coco Gauff in 2023 by winning in 2024 and then topping Amanda Anisimova last year to repeat.
“I feel like this is one of my favorite stadiums,” Sabalenka told the crowd afterward. “I really experienced the best emotions here in this stadium.”
Sabalenka changed up her look from last time she played on Ashe. Her orange Nike outfit was covered by orange mesh, rather than the black mesh of last week in her mixed doubles match with Djokovic that drew some criticism on social media. Sabalenka dismissed the comments, saying all that mattered was she loved it, and turns out the reason for the change was simple.
“To be honest, I didn’t know that I have a day dress,” she said. “I thought I have a black dress with orange underneath. I figured (out) when I went to Nike that I actually have day session and night session, which is just like black and orange for the day.”
She must have certainly been happier with the level of tennis she delivered Monday, after a series of poor events coming into the U.S. Open. She was knocked out in the fourth round in both Toronto and Cincinnati, after being ousted at the same point at Wimbledon.
That has left Sabalenka needing help to retain the No. 1 ranking, even if she wins again in New York. No. 2 Elena Rybakina will pass her if she reaches the semifinals, and won’t even need to win any matches if Sabalenka fails to win the title.
Past U.S. Open champions who advanced included No. 8 Iga Swiatek and 2017 winner Sloane Stephens, before two-time champ Naomi Osaka won in two tiebreakers in a look inspired by former NBA superstar Allen Iverson. Stan Wawrinka lost to Matteo Berrettini in the final Grand Slam match before the three-time major champion from Switzerland, who won the title in 2016, retires at 41.
“I’m going to miss it for sure. I’m going to miss it big time,” Wawrinka said.
Another top-10 seed followed Djokovic out when No. 10 Arthur Fils, coming off the title in Cincinnati, was ousted by Stefanos Tsitsipas 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1, 6-4. Tsitsipas, who is unseeded at the U.S. Open for the first time, was asked if he can regain the form that catapulted the Greek to the No. 3 ranking and two losses to Djokovic in Grand Slam finals.
“Why not?” Tsitsipas said.
No. 8 Ben Shelton recovered from a miserable start in which he was broken three times in a 28-minute first set and beat Tallon Griekspoor 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-2. No. 11 Frances Tiafoe rallied to edge fellow American Martin Damm in five sets.
Other winners included No. 6 Linda Noskova, the Wimbledon champion; No. 7 seed Karolina Muchova, who lost to her fellow Czech in the final at the All-England Club, and No. 10 Anisimova. Sara Bejlek, another Czech and the No. 28 seed who stunned Sabalenka in Cincinnati, fell in three sets to Cristina Bucsa.
No. 26 seed Emma Navarro outlasted Lois Boisson 7-6 (6), 6-7 (1), 6-3 in a first-round match that began Sunday but was not completed until Monday because of rain.
An ESPN camera captured the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat in one shot. As Navarro pumped her fist toward the crowd, Boisson could be seen behind her smashing her racket repeatedly to the court.
See AP’s full tennis coverage here
Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, reacts during a match against Roman Safiullin, of Russia, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Stefanos Tsitsipas, of Greece, celebrates winning a match against Arthur Fils, of France, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, returns the ball to Roman Safiullin, of Russia, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, follows through on a shot to Camila Osorio, of Colombia, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, celebrates after winning a match against Camila Osorio, of Colombia, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
