Donald Trump Decided the Outcome of the Canadian Election

At the beginning of the year, the Canadian Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was on the verge of electoral defeat. After ten years of governing with rising inflation, high housing costs and political missteps, the Prime Minister's popularity had already plummeted. It was no wonder that the opposition Conservatives led in public opinion polls by a double-digit margin. The change in the prime minister's post last month, when Trudeau was replaced by banker Mark Carney, was intended to soften the inevitable defeat.

However, President Donald Trump reappeared on the scene in Canada's largest neighbor and unprecedented things began to happen. For the first time in 150 years, the ruler of the White House publicly questioned Canadian sovereignty. According to Trump, Canada should become the 51st state of the USA in its own interests. On his Truth Social platform, he colorfully described what Canadians could get: "Much lower taxes and much better military protection for the people of Canada. Canadians rejected it, and so did tariffs. For the Canadian economy, which exports 75 percent of its production to the United States, this is of course a big problem.

But Carney took advantage of the new situation. He became the "patriotic captain" of Canada in the face of Trump's pressure. "I reject any attempt to weaken Canada, to exhaust us, to break us so that America can own us," he declared after taking office. The key election question, according to opinion polls, was simply: "Which party will best deal with Donald Trump's threats to Canada?"

The country was swept by an unprecedented wave of patriotism and national unity, rarely seen in its modern history. It was accompanied by boycotts of American goods in Canadian stores and booing during the American anthem before NHL hockey games. The Liberals, who led the anti-Trump rebellion, eventually defeated the Conservatives.

Their leader, Pierre Poilievre, who has already seen this in the prime minister's chair, may regret that his policies have some "Trump undertones". It did not help that he eventually presented himself in the election campaign as a supporter of a newly discovered Canadian nationalism. The loss of his parliamentary seat is now a bitter point for him.

Where will Canadian politics go now? Carney has already stated that "Canada's old relationship with the United States, based on the deepening integration of our economies and close security and military cooperation, is over."

It will certainly not be that easy. Canada certainly has the will not to submit to its more powerful neighbor in everything. However, finding a new economic model for the country's functioning with a reduction in dependence on the US will be a very difficult task for Carney's premiership.

Miloš Balabán, Právo Daily