Canada PM Carney to call April 28 snap election

Canada PM Carney to call April 28 snap election

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a news conference on March 14, 2025 in Ottawa

New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to call a snap election for April 28, triggering an intense campaign dominated by how to react to President Donald Trump's trade war and demands to turn the close US ally into a 51st state.

Carney, who replaced prime minister Justin Trudeau just last week, is set to announce the election date on Sunday, two government sources told AFP Thursday on condition of anonymity.

The quick election announcement reflects Carney's wish to capitalize on a polling surge for his Liberal Party, driven in large part by the US tariffs and Trump's unprecedented and repeated statements that Canada should not remain an independent country.

At the start of the year -- just before Trump took office -- the Liberals had appeared headed for an electoral wipeout, with the opposition Conservatives on track to form the next government. 

Amid relentless pressure from Trump and internal party divisions, Trudeau announced his plans to resign after nearly a decade in power. 

However Carney, who overwhelmingly won the March 9 party vote to replace Trudeau, has succeeded in uniting the Liberals as they confront Trump and fears of trade-war-induced recession.

- Political novice -

After skating with the NHL's Edmonton Oilers Thursday, Carney told local City News: "These guys overcome adversity, always getting better... play as a team: It's a lesson for all of us, for me, for the country."

"We're gonna win, baby," he added. 

At a news conference later, he did not confirm the election timing, but said that "in this time of crisis, the government needs a strong and clear mandate. We're offering a positive vision for the country, a vision of action."

This will be the first campaign for Carney, a 60-year-old former central banker who has never held elected office.

He has argued that his experience leading the Bank of Canada through the 2008-2009 financial crisis and as head of the Bank of England during the Brexit vote makes him the ideal candidate to lead during a time of economic turmoil.

Carney has called Trump's United States a country Canada can "no longer trust" and warned Canadians that relations with Washington may be permanently altered.

After being sworn in last Friday, Carney quickly headed to Paris and London, arguing Canada needed to solidify its European alliances as ties with the United States deteriorate. 

"What is clear is that our trade and our security relations are too reliant on the United States. We must diversify," he said in London. 

- Polling surge -

The Conservatives had seen a surge in support over the past year and their leader Pierre Poilievre looked on track to be prime minister.

But recent surveys show the race will be a dead heat, suggesting some voters are less comfortable backing Poilievre as a counter to Trump.

Queen's University politics professor Stephanie Chouinard told AFP: "There is still uncertainty around Mark Carney, who has never campaigned."

"It's going to be a test in difficult conditions for him," she said.  

Poilievre said Thursday that Canada "needs a strong leader," and added that his plan is to "make the economy less dependent on the United States and put Canada first."

The Tory leader has been praised on social media by key Trump ally Elon Musk, and some Liberals have sought to brand Poilievre as "Maple Syrup MAGA."

But Poilievre is a seasoned politician who has sought to distance himself from Trump.

Trump appears to have noticed, saying the Canadian Conservative is "stupidly no friend of mine."

University of Ottawa politics professor Genevieve Tellier said this will be "an exceptional election in an unusual context."

The Conservatives and other parties, she said, are likely to "try to focus on issues other than Mr Trump's threats because that favors the Liberals for now."

"It's an incredible turnaround for the Liberals," she told AFP, noting Canadians are "also looking for a certain stability" and may see the Liberals, in power since 2015, as less of a risk.

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Originally published as Canada PM Carney to call April 28 snap election