Donald Trump’s trade war dominated the Canada election campaigns – but the US President saw Mark Carney and his Liberal Party claim a remarkable triumph on Tuesday
Mark Carney has vowed “Donald Trump will never break us” following the Canadian Liberals’ election victory.
Canada’s Prime Minister hailed his party’s impressive turnaround, although they fell short of winning an outright majority in parliament on Tuesday. Although they will have to seek help from another, smaller party, the Liberals were behind in the polls by double digits a few months ago.
Speaking in the wake of the win, Mr Carney, 60, said Mr Trump “is trying to break us so America can own us. That will never – that will never, ever happen.” He referenced the US President’s threats to Canada’s economy and its sovereignty, suggesting it should become the “51st state” of the US.
“We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” Mr Carney, who was governor of the Bank of England for seven years until 2020, added.
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Mr Carney’s victory will be seen as a stand of defiance by Canadians against Mr Trump following the 78-year-old politician’s continued threats against the country.
Leader of Canada’s Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, who had attempted to emulate the “MAGA” movement in Canada, saw his comfortable poll lead dramatically collapse after Mr Trump signed three executive orders in February imposing 25% tariffs on all goods from Mexico and Canada. This excluded oil and energy exports, which received a lower 10% tariff.
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Mr Trump has congratulated Mr Carney on the win, with both agreeing on the importance of Canada and the US “working together as independent, sovereign nations”, the Canadian prime minister’s office said.
Prior to the election though, Mr Carney suggested people north of the border should vote for him to make Canada the United States’ 51st state. Mr Trump wrote: “Elect the man who has the strength and wisdom to cut your taxes in half, increase your military power, for free, to the highest level in the World, have your Car, Steel, Aluminium, Lumber, Energy, and all other businesses, QUADRUPLE in size, with ZERO TARIFFS OR TAXES, if Canada becomes the cherished 51st. State of the United States of America.”
“America can no longer subsidize Canada with the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year that we have been spending in the past. It makes no sense unless Canada is a State!”
During his first 100 days of his second term as US President, Mr Trump has seen most of his presidential appointments sail through the GOP-controlled Senate, and has seen his agenda taken over the American government with shocking speed – helped, of course, by billionaire Elon Musk’s DOGE programme, which claims to have slashed billions from federal spending.