Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney called a snap election for the 28th of April on Sunday, the 23rd of March, saying he needed a strong mandate to confront the threat posed by US President Donald Trump, who “wants to break us so America can control us”, reports Reuters.
Relations between the US and Canada, two long-standing allies and key trading partners, have deteriorated since Trump imposed tariffs on Canada and threatened to annex it as the 51st state.
The next election was scheduled for the 20th of October, but Carney wants to capitalise on his Liberal Party’s big jump in the polls since January, when Trump started threatening Canada and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he would resign.
Carney became Prime Minister on the 14th of March and announced that he would work with Trump and respect him. But on Sunday he took a tougher line.
“Because of President Trump’s unjustified trade measures and his threats to our sovereignty, we face the most significant crisis of our lifetime,” Carney told reporters after the Governor General – the personal representative of Canada’s head of state, King Charles – approved his request for an election.
“OUR RESPONSE MUST BE ONE THAT BUILDS A STRONG ECONOMY AND A SAFER CANADA. PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYS CANADA IS NOT A REAL COUNTRY. HE WANTS TO BREAK US SO THAT AMERICA CAN OWN US. WE WILL NOT LET THAT HAPPEN.”
On the 6th of March, Trump suspended for 30 days a broad 25% tariff on some Canadian goods. Since then, he has imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports and threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs on additional goods from the 2nd of April, including Canadian dairy products and timber.
“The survey results show that Canadians are now most concerned about the potential negative consequences of Donald Trump and the threatened tariffs,” said Nik Nanos, chief data scientist and founder of Nanos Research, an opinion polling firm.
Carney may be “setting the stage for something much harsher on the 2nd of April,” said Nanos.
Carney, a former two-time central bank governor with no previous political or electoral campaigning experience, took over as Liberal leader two weeks ago, convincing party members that he was the best person to take on Trump.
Now he has five weeks to convince Canadians. On Sunday, Carney proposed a one percentage point cut in the lowest income tax rate.
Polls show that the Liberals, who have been in power since 2015 and were well behind the official opposition Conservatives at the start of the year, are now slightly ahead of their rivals.
THE CONSERVATIVES ARE TRYING TO PORTRAY CARNEY AS AN ELITIST WHO WILL CONTINUE THE TRUDO POLICY OF BIG SPENDING. THEY ALSO QUESTION THE TRANSPARENCY OF HIS FINANCES.
The key to victory will be a good performance in the mainly French-speaking province of Quebec, where Carney had difficulty answering one question in French, while Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, an experienced politician, is fluent in the language.
“What we have to do is put Canada first after change,” Poilievre said at a press conference on Sunday to launch his campaign, adding that his policies, including tax cuts and increased resource production, would restore investment, helping Canada become more self-sufficient and better prepared to face Trump.
A recent Angus Reid poll of 4 009 Canadians shows that 42% support the Liberals and 37% the Conservatives. The margin of error was around 1.5%.