In picking former central banker Mark Carney as its new leader and Canada’s prime minister to succeed Justin Trudeau, the country’s Liberal party has also, inadvertently, given a defiantly ironic response to Donald Trump. The US president, avowedly determined to annex Canada as the 51st state of the Union, had taken to taunting Trudeau as “Governor”. Now he has a genuine former central bank governor as his interlocutor in Ottawa, a tough no-nonsense technocrat who has, courtesy of Trump, galvanised the country and transformed the prospects of his party and the standing of the 10-year-old government.
Angry Canadians are determined not to be a pushover. Spontaneous retail boycotts have sprung up -– “Americanos” rebranded as “Canadianos” – while many have cancelled planned trips south, hurting the US tourist industry.
“America is not Canada. And Canada never, ever will be part of America in any way, shape or form,” Carney insisted in his acceptance speech. “We didn’t ask for this fight, but Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves.”
Apart from Trump’s designs on Canadian sovereignty and the on-off tariff onslaught he has promised, the US’s friend, ally and neighbour faces a whole range of problems, not least housing prices and the cost of living, for which many blame Trudeau, who announced he would step down as leader in January after months of party infighting and poor polling. Carney, who will step into the premiership immediately, has promised to call an election quickly to secure a mandate for the confrontation with the US.
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The Liberals had fallen sharply in the polls behind the Conservative Party under Pierre Poilievre, who had modelled his revived party on Trumpist populism, its slogan “Canada is broken”. He was strongly backed by various allies of Trump, including billionaire X owner Elon Musk, but his “Canada First” defence of sovereignty has not convinced voters and the Liberals may win their fourth successive term. Polls show Carney as the prospective prime minister most trusted to stand up to Trump.
