Unelected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney launched his campaign to keep his position on Sunday after calling for a general election on April 28, centering his campaign on the alleged kinship between President Donald Trump and his main rival, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre.
Carney referred to Poilievre as “Canadian Trump” in his comments following the announcement that he had requested Governor General Mary Simon dissolve Parliament, opening the official campaign season. He described Trump’s threat of imposing onerous taxes on Canada – in response to Liberal former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s failure to secure Canada’s southern border and allowing human and drug trafficking to flourish – as “the most significant crisis of our lifetimes” and argued that Poilievre’s ideology was “uncannily familiar” to Trump’s.
Canadian law mandates that Parliament hold a general election by the end of October. Trudeau, who governed as a China-friendly radical leftist for a decade, announced in January that he would resign as polling showed Liberal support nosediving as a result of the border crisis, the decline in the Canadian housing market, multiple corruption scandals, a government healthcare system in a state of such severe dysfunction that it actively promotes euthanasia, and Trudeau’s inability to maintain a functional relationship with Trump. Trudeau notably traveled to Mar-a-Lago in late 2024, following Trump’s election, to discuss how to avoid Trump imposing tariffs on Canadian industry and returned home having done nothing to improve Ottawa-Washington relations.
Especially damaging to Trump’s popularity in Canada has been his claims that he hopes to annex the country. Trump mocked Trudeau as the “governor” of the “51st” state and has repeatedly stated that he believes Canada is destined to join the Union. Both Carney and Poilievre have vocally rejected annexation and made opposition to it a central theme of their campaigns.
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The removal of the unpopular Trudeau from the public eye and an emphasis in Canadian establishment media on the Trump tariffs have dramatically improved Liberal prospects in the upcoming election. Shortly after Trudeau’s resignation announcement in January, Conservatives were polling upwards of 25 percent higher than Liberals – and beating both the Liberals and the far-left New Democratic Party (NDP) – combined. Those polls, as of last week, now show Liberals and Conservatives now within the margin of error.
While railing against Trump, Carney notably omitted in his remarks on Sunday any mention of the fact that China has imposed tariffs on billions of dollars in Canadian goods this year and shameless admitted to the killing of at least four Canadian citizens since January, condemning Canadian officials for expressing concern about their execution.
Carney also failed to mention Trump’s personal preferences in the election, which he expressed in an interview with journalist Laura Ingraham last week.
“I think it’s easier to deal, actually, with a Liberal. And maybe they’re going to win, but I don’t really care. It doesn’t matter to me at all,” Trump said.
Trump was particularly critical of Poilievre, who he noted “said negative things” about Trump and denigrated as acting “stupidly.”
“I’d rather deal with a Liberal,” Trump said. “The Conservative that’s running is stupidly no friend of mine. I don’t know him, but he said negative things. So, when he says negative things, I couldn’t care less.”
Poilievre shared that interview immediately, asserting that Trump had “endorsed Mark Carney.”
“Why? Because, as Trump said, he’s “easier” to deal with, and knows that I will be a tough negotiator and always put Canada First,” Poilievre wrote in a statement on social media.
“Carney is weak and would cave to Trump’s demands, just like he did when he moved his company headquarters from Canada to New York City. Canadians don’t want a weak and conflicted leader. They want a strong Prime Minister who will put Canada First,” he asserted.
Carney is a longtime finance expert and served as the head of both the Bank of Canada and Bank of England before becoming prime minister. He has never held public office or been elected to any position, including prime minister. Conservatives have raised concerns that his significant financial ties to the American economy, including moving his company to New York, will create a conflict of interest that makes it impossible for Carney to fairly advocate for Canadian interests in any tariff negotiations.
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Carney faced questions about conflicts of interest a week ago and responded to reporters with vitriol.
“I follow the rules of the ethics commissioner. I’m following them well in advance of any of the requirements, as you know,” he told one reporter, before later scolding another: “Look inside yourself. You start from a prior of conflict and ill will.”
“I have served in the private sector. I have stood up for Canada. I have left my roles in the private sector at a time of crisis for our country. I’m complying with all the rules,” he angrily insisted.
Poilievre has made the potential conflict of interest a main focus of his criticism of Carney, though he too used his comments on Sunday, speaking in Quebec, to address concerns about Trump.
“I share your anger and I share the worry for our future, but I also draw great resolve in knowing that we can transform the anxiety and anger into action,” he told supporters.
“You can be respectful and firm, and I believe we have to be both. I will insist the President recognize the independence and sovereignty of Canada,” he continued. “I will insist that he stop tariffing our nation. And at the same time, I will strengthen our country so that we can be capable of standing on our own two feet and standing up to the Americans where and when necessary. That’s what it means when I say, ‘let’s put Canada first for a change.’ ”
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