Trump’s own goal over Canada

New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s rush to the polls, with an election called for April 28, is no surprise. Only weeks ago his ruling Liberal Party, then led by the painfully woke Justin Trudeau, appeared headed for oblivion at the hands of populist Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives. But Donald Trump’s trade war against even longstanding close allies, with 25 per cent tariffs imposed on Canadian imports, his contemptuous dismissal of Mr Trudeau as no more than a “governor” and his repeated assertions that Canada should buckle down and allow itself to be annexed as America’s 51st state have turned Canadian politics on its head. A patriotic backlash has galvanised public opinion against the US.

Following the election of Mr Carney, a former head of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, to replace Mr Trudeau, polls indicate the Liberals are leading the Conservatives for the first time in years. Two months ago, polling aggregator 338Canada indicated the Liberals’ prospects were so bleak the party was likely to end up in third place. On Monday AEDT, 338Canada had the Liberals winning a fourth straight election and Mr Carney given a mandate to take on Mr Trump. “He wants to break us so America can own us … we will not let that happen,” Mr Carney said. “We’re over the shock of the betrayal (over tariffs and Canada’s sovereignty). But we should never forget the lessons. We are facing the most significant crisis of our lifetimes because of President Trump’s unjustified trade actions and his threats to our sovereignty.”

It remains to be seen whether Canadians sustain their outrage until polling day. Mr Poilievre, backed by Elon Musk, was valiantly making the case before Mr Trump’s ill-judged intervention. Jim Armour, a former senior aide to Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, said Mr Carney was “still pretty much driving the (same) dented old jalopy that Justin Trudeau drove into the wall. You can call yourself the Mark Carney party but eventually the election is going to be about 10 years of Liberal government”. Questions abound about Mr Carney’s record as a banker who became a global face of net zero and green schemes. But Mr Trump’s bullying and interference, and who is best equipped to deal with it, are the main issues. The Canadian Liberals’ recovery should remind Mr Trump about the risk to US interests of gratuitously lashing out at allies.