Canadians will go to the polls at the end of April to elect their new government, Prime Minister Carney officially announced on Sunday. In this snap election, the Liberal Party is running harder against President Trump than they are against their own Tories — and Canadian voters seem thrilled.
Mr. Carney, who was sworn in as prime minister just nine days ago, took charge after a stunning turnaround in the polls over the last two months and immediately began speaking out forcefully against Mr. Trump’s new tariffs and regular musing about turning Canada into America’s 51st state.
Speaking outside of the governor-general’s residence at Rideau Hall on Sunday, Mr. Carney announced that the next general election would take place on April 28. He said that his primary goal was to strengthen Canada’s economy. To do so, he said, he would have to “fight the Americans” and “deal with Donald Trump’s tariffs.”
“We are facing the most significant crisis of our lifetimes because of President Trump’s unjustified trade actions, and his threats to our sovereignty. Our response must be to build a strong economy and a more secure Canada,” Mr. Carney said. “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.”
“We’re over the shock of betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons — we have to look out for ourselves. We have to look out for each other,” the prime minister said.
According to CBC’s poll tracker, the Liberals now lead the Conservatives by about half a percent even though they were down by more than 20 points just in December. The broadcast service estimates that the most likely outcome of the election is the Liberal Party winning a majority of seats in the House of Commons, with the second most likely result being a Liberal minority government. The CBC seat projector gives Conservatives just a six percent chance of winning a majority government.
It’s clear that the prime minister will be running hard against Mr. Trump over the course of the next month. During his remarks outside Rideau Hall, Mr. Carney mentioned the president six times during his 30-minute public appearance. The prime minister also likened his chief rival, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, to Elon Musk, saying that Mr. Poilievre will cut foreign aid in the same way that Mr. Musk has with his Department of Government Efficiency.
The president is also mentioned by name in Mr. Carney’s first two English-language posts on X since he announced the April 28 election. “I am asking Canadians for a strong, positive mandate to deal with President Trump and build a stronger economy here at home,” the prime minister wrote in one post.
“We need to build the strongest economy in the G7. We need to deal with President Trump’s tariffs. Canadians deserve a choice about who should lead that effort for our country,” he wrote in another.
Mr. Trump has actually said he would prefer that Mr. Carney win next month’s election because the Liberal Party would be a better foil for him compared to Mr. Poilievre, who also has said negative things about the president.
“I’d rather deal with a Liberal than a Conservative,” Mr. Trump told Fox News on March 18. “The Conservative that’s running is, stupidly, no friend of mine. I don’t know him, but he’s said negative things, so, when he says negative things I couldn’t care less. I think it’s easier to deal — actually — with a Liberal.”
Mr. Poilievre was quick to respond, writing of Mr. Carney on X that, “as Trump said, he’s ‘easier’ to deal with, and knows that I will be a tough negotiator and always put Canada First. Carney is weak and would cave to Trump’s demands.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
