Early voting has begun in Canada as the nation prepares to elect its next prime minister, with the threat of President Donald Trump’s trade war at the forefront of the country’s mind.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, who took office last month without ever having won an election, is riding a tidal wave of resentment against Trump that was on full display Thursday during the five-week campaign’s final debate.
“We are facing the biggest crisis of our lifetimes. Donald Trump is trying to fundamentally change the world economy, the trading system — but really he’s trying to break us so the U.S. can own us,” Carney said at the conclusion of the debate in Montreal. “They want our land, they want our resources, they our water, they want our country. I am ready and I have managed crisis over the years. … We will fight back with counter tariffs and we will protect our workers.”
“We can give ourselves far more than Donald Trump can take away,” Carney said earlier in the debate. “The biggest risk we have to face is Donald Trump. We’ve got to get that right.”
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, once an acolyte of President Donald Trump, is now characterizing himself as the only Canadian politician capable of standing up to the White House and a clean break from almost a decade of Liberal leadership.