(L-R) Mark Carney, Canada PM; and Donald Trump, US President
Credit: Reuters Photos
The Liberal Party’s historic win for a fourth term, though a little short of an absolute majority, is a resounding mandate for Prime Minister Mark Carney to deal with President Donald Trump’s bullying on tariffs and his bid to annex Canada as the 51st state of the US. Pierre Poilievre, who led the Conservatives’ charge, may have lost his seat but his party was not badly routed.
Such an outcome underscores that all sections of voters were angry over Trump’s disregard for Canada as a free, prosperous, sovereign, and independent democracy; and, his disrespect for the country’s prime minister. As Trump marks 100 days in office, his administration would do well to reflect on the US “losing” Canada as its closest neighbour, friend, ally, and trade partner in an election that was solely about Trump’s trade war and push for annexation.
This single focus, to resist Trump, enabled Carney, a former central banker not known for political flourishes but hailed as a crisis manager that Canada needed, to win. Weeks after he replaced the ebullient Justin Trudeau as prime minister, when elections were called, the odds were against Carney. Polls at that time showed Poilievre's Conservatives ahead, thanks to Trudeau's performance in recent years. All that is behind Carney now. In his victory speech, Carney declared that Canada’s “old relationship with the US, based on integration, is over” as is the US-anchored open global trade which brought prosperity to Canada. “These are tragedies, but it's our new reality," he said, emphasising the challenges ahead that would require sacrifices. Promising a tough line against tariffs, he said that Canada will need to spend billions to reduce its reliance on the US.
India-Canada relations, which took a hit under Trudeau after accusations of the Indian government's involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, may be in for a reset as both Carney and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have spoken of “shared values”. Carney described the relationship with India as “incredibly important”. There are expectations on both sides of improved ties. Carney acknowledged the strains on the relationship “that we didn’t cause”. But he held out hope of “a path forward to address those with mutual respect”. The positive exchange between Modi and Carney has been followed up by India initiating the paperwork for its next high commissioner to Canada. This would be the first step before posting other diplomats, in the place of those expelled, to Ottawa and New Delhi. Even in the case of two avowed democracies, “shared values” can mean divergent perceptions, and given the problems of the last two years, expectations need to be tempered accordingly in both capitals. By standing up to Trump, Carney has shown that he is no pushover.