Trump’s trade war propelled Liberal Party leader Mark Carney’s election win

The trade war between the US and Canada and Trump’s joke about making Canada the 51st US state helped Liberal Party leader Mark Carney win yesterday’s election. Suddenly, leadership and the country’s ability to stay economically stable became the most important issues in the race.

The US president’s threats of tariffs and comments that weakened Canada’s sovereignty had a huge impact on this election. Poilievre, Carney’s competitor, brought Trump up much less frequently during the campaign. He focused his message on domestic issues and Mark Carney used it to his advantage.

Mark Carney’s victory strategy

Justin Trudeau quit as prime minister at the beginning of the year. At that time, Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives were on track to defeat his Liberal Party.

Carney said that Canada was in a crisis moment and said that Trump “wants to break us so America can own us” many times during the campaign and in his victory speech. In addition,  Carney’s credibility as the former governor of the Canadian and UK central banks also helped him.

Kevin O’Leary, a Canadian millionaire who is close to Trump and has run for leadership of the Conservative Party before, agreed that it was a good strategy. He added, “He was able to distract Canadians from his own mistakes… and say ‘Stop looking at that. Look south of the border and I can save you’.”

Carney said that the old relationship with the US is “over,” and he wants to start talks on a new security and economic relationship as soon as the election is over.

Carney says that the US should treat Canada with respect

The prime minister of Canada, Mark Carney, said that the US should treat his country with respect and that they will only talk about trade and security with President Trump on Canada’s terms.

Carney told the BBC the night before the election that he would only go to Washington for a “serious discussion to be had” that respected Canada’s sovereignty. However, economically, the US has the upper hand. About 75% of Canada’s goods go to the US, making it a big market for Canadian companies. A much smaller 17% of US goods go to Canada.

Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on some Canadian goods and a 25% tax on all aluminum and steel imports. However, he has left out products covered by the USMCA trade deal between the US, Canada, and Mexico.

The EU is set to give Canada a shoulder as trade war continues

The election might be the easiest part for Carney. During the campaign, he said that he was the best person to fight Trump and protect Canada’s economy, which depends a lot on being able to trade with the US. 

Dealing with the unpredictable US president will be the ultimate test. Trump has threatened to use “economic force” against Canada and has said he will do so against its car industry and other sectors. 

The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement will definitely be looked at again. Trump signed this trade deal during his first term and called it “the best agreement we’ve ever made,” but he now thinks it is flawed. It couldn’t be more important for Canada’s economy: about three-quarters of its exports, including most of its oil and gas, go to the US.

Meanwhile, European leaders immediately commended Carney and said they looked forward to stronger ties with Canada as it seeks partners other than its southern neighbor. The prime minister of Britain, Keir Starmer, said he wants to “deepen our economic relationship.” 

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said the relationship between Europe and Canada was strong and “growing stronger.”

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