New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Sunday (March 23) called a snap election for April 28, saying he needed a strong mandate to deal with the threat that U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs pose to the economy.
Reuters
Liberal Leader Mark Carney defended launching an election campaign in the midst of an escalating trade war with the United States, in which more punitive U.S. tariffs are expected within 10 days, by saying he wants Canadian voters to sign off on his plans to fireproof the Canadian economy against the threat posed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Speaking at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, shortly after asking Governor-General Mary Simon to dissolve Parliament, Mr. Carney told reporters he needs a strong mandate for dealing with Mr. Trump and for changes he’s proposing. These include a one percentage point income tax cut to the lowest tax bracket and efforts to diversify the economy away from the United States.
Mr. Trump has already imposed several punitive tariffs on Canadian imports, including 25-per-cent levies on steel and aluminum, and has promised more are coming April 2 – a further economic hit that Mr. Carney as prime minister will be forced to address in the midst of this five-week election campaign.
The Liberals and Conservatives are roughly tied in the polls at the outset of this campaign – a reversal of fortune for the governing party since then-leader Justin Trudeau announced his resignation and as Mr. Trump has stepped up attacks on Canada, repeatedly talking of his desire to make this country the “51st state.”
On Sunday, Mr. Carney framed both Mr. Trump and his main opponent, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, as threats to Canada.
“President Trump claims that Canada isn’t a real country. He wants to break us so America can own us,” he said at the outset of the campaign. “We will not let that happen.”
The Liberal Leader told reporters that Mr. Poilievre offers “division and Americanism” like Mr. Trump’s administration.
Federal election campaign begins with Canada set to vote April 28
He noted the Conservative Leader has vowed to cut foreign aid, just like the White House has in the United States with significant reductions to the U.S. Agency for International Development. In February, Mr. Poilievre promised he would fund a military base in Iqaluit and “dramatically cut” foreign aid to pay for it.
The promised income-tax cut announced Sunday by Mr. Carney would reduce the marginal tax rate on the lowest tax bracket by one percentage point. His campaign said it would cost roughly $6-billion a year on forgone tax revenue. Mr. Carney said it would save a two-income family up to $825 a year.
The Liberal Leader, who succeeded Justin Trudeau as prime minister after winning his party’s leadership race, has made a slew of announcements since taking office – several of which copy proposals first made by Mr. Poilievre.
At a campaign rally in St. John’s Sunday night, Mr. Carney once again derided his opponent as a Trump copycat and said Mr. Poilievre “would kneel down before” the U.S. President. “Our new government has done more than Pierre Poilievre could imagine in his lifetime of politics – if he had some imagination and didn’t just mimic Donald Trump.”
“His division isn’t strength,” the Liberal leader said of his Conservative opponent. “Because we know negativity isn’t going to win a trade war. Negativity won’t pay the rent or the mortgage. Negativity won’t bring down the price of groceries.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has taken criticism for an interview she conducted with U.S. news outlet Breitbart News in which she revealed she had asked the United States administration to pause its tariffs during Canada’s federal election campaign because this trade action was benefiting the country’s governing Liberals in the polls and hurting Mr. Poilievre’s Conservatives.
Pierre Poilievre kicks off Conservative election campaign under shadow of Trump’s trade war
“I take note of her alignment of Mr. Poilievre with Mr. Trump,” Mr. Carney said of the Alberta Premier. “And would note that that’s one of the decisions that Canadians will have to make, whether they want a government that is unifying, standing up for Canada and is taking focused action to build a better economy,” or whether they want Mr. Poilievre.
The White House calls the coming levies “reciprocal” tariffs and says they are meant to match the taxes or duties that other countries place on U.S. goods, as well as non-tariff barriers that supposedly disadvantage U.S. companies. In the case of Canada, Mr. Trump’s administration has pointed to dairy products, the goods and services tax, lumber and the digital-services tax Ottawa imposed last year.
Mr. Carney on Friday announced a tariff relief package for workers and companies hurt by trade conflict both with the United States and China. Beijing has imposed steep tariffs on Canadian pork, canola oil, peas and seafood in retaliation for Ottawa slapping levies on Chinese-made electric vehicles last year after the United States did the same.
Send us your questions about the federal election
Between a trade war, threats of annexation and a rookie Liberal Leader, it’s shaping up to be a historic election. Globe and Mail journalists are covering every twist and turn of the campaign from across the country, and we want to know what questions you have. Wondering how to vote, which party has the best platform on a certain issue, or what different results could mean for Canada? Ask us your questions in the form below or email us at audience@globeandmail.com. with “Election question” in the subject line.