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Key Points
- Canadian PM Mark Carney says Canadians are facing the most significant crisis of their lifetimes.
- He called a snap election for 28 April and asked for a strong mandate from Canadians.
- Carney also proposed cutting the lowest income tax bracket by one percentage point.
New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called a snap election for 28 April, saying he needed a strong mandate to deal with the threat posed by US President Donald Trump, who “wants to break us so America can own us.”
The comments showed the extent to which relations between the US and Canada, two long-time allies and major trading partners, have deteriorated since Trump imposed tariffs on Canada and threatened to .
Although the next election was not due until 20 October, Carney is hoping to capitalise on a remarkable recovery by his Liberal Party in the polls since January, when Trump began threatening Canada and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau .
Upon being , Carney had said he could work with and respected Trump. On Sunday (local time), however, he took a more combative approach.
“We are facing the most significant crisis of our lifetimes because of President Trump’s unjustified trade actions and his threats to our sovereignty,” Carney told reporters after the Governor General — the personal representative of King Charles, Canada’s head of state — approved his request for an election.
“Our response must be to build a strong economy and a more secure Canada. President Trump claims that Canada isn’t a real country. He wants to break us so America can own us. We will not let that happen.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Carney’s remarks.
Trump on 6 March delayed a broad 25 per cent tariff on some Canadian goods for 30 days. He has since imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and threatened reciprocal tariffs on additional goods, including Canadian dairy and lumber, on 2 April.
Laying the groundwork
“The polling suggests that the number one concern that Canadians have right now is the potential negative fallout of Donald Trump and the threatened tariffs,” said Nik Nanos, chief data scientist and founder of pollster Nanos Research.
Carney is “probably setting the groundwork for something a little more strident on April 2nd,” Nanos said.
Carney, a former two-time central banker with no previous political or election campaign experience, captured the Liberal leadership two weeks ago by persuading party members he was the best person to tackle Trump.
Now he has five weeks to win over Canadians. On Sunday, Carney proposed cutting the lowest income tax bracket by one percentage point.
Polls suggest the Liberals, who have been in power since 2015 and badly trailed the official opposition Conservatives at the start of the year, are now slightly ahead of their rivals.
The Conservatives have sought to portray Carney as an elitist who plans to continue the Trudeau-era policy of high government spending. They also accuse him of being less than clear about how he transferred his personal financial assets into a blind trust.
Carney bristled last week when asked about the trust, and accused the reporter asking of engaging in “conflict and ill will”. The prickly reaction could give hope to the Conservatives that Carney might stumble during what will be his first campaign.
Key to any victory will be a good performance in the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec. Carney had trouble at one press conference when asked to respond in French, first misunderstanding the question and then answering in English.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, on the other hand, speaks flawless French and is a seasoned politician who has fought seven elections.
“What we need to do is put Canada first for a 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 bring back investment, helping Canada become more self-reliant and better equipped to stand up to Trump.
Laura Stephenson, a politics professor at Western University in the Canadian city of London, said Carney’s inexperience might not be that important given the Trump factor.
“I have a feeling we’re going to see a little more grace extended than is usually given to politicians during this campaign,” she said.
An online Angus Reid poll of 4,009 people released last week put the Liberals on 42 per cent public support and the Conservatives on 37 per cent. Angus Reid said the margin of error was around 1.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
