How Trump Unified Canada Against Him and Upended Its Election

The animosity also targets prominent Trump supporters from Canada, including hockey icon Wayne Gretzky, who was present at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort on election night and participated in his inauguration. Recently, pictures surfaced from a liquor store in Toronto displaying changed labels on Gretzky’s wine line, featuring phrases like “weak & backstabbery.”

Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien remarked that Trump had “united us as never before.”

“I might suggest him for the Order of Canada,” the highest civilian honor in the nation, Chrétien quipped as the governing Liberal Party convened in Ottawa last weekend to select a successor to nearly a decade of leadership from the highly unpopular Justin Trudeau.

Experts suggest that the man they overwhelmingly selected, Mark Carney, could be ideally suited to counter Trump’s confrontational stance, given his background in finance and crisis management, which includes leading the Bank of Canada after the global financial crisis of 2008 and the Bank of England during the Brexit negotiations.

Like Trump, Carney, who assumed office as prime minister on Friday, had spent most of his career in the private sector and had never held an elected position prior to his role as Canada’s leader.

“He’s been part of the global elite for his entire life,” Malloy noted. “Typically, that’s not the path to success for a newcomer in politics. But these are extraordinary times.”

‘Resurrected from the dead’

Just a few months ago, the Liberals under Trudeau appeared “absolutely finished” ahead of the upcoming Canadian election, which must be held by October of this year, according to Malloy.

With his approval ratings at a historic low, Trudeau’s troubles were exacerbated by Trump’s threats of tariffs, which began shortly after his election in November.

Internal disagreements on how to address those threats led to turmoil within the Liberal Party, with Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s harsh resignation letter in December ultimately prompting Trudeau to announce his intention to resign.

Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s new prime minister on Friday.
Artur Widak / NurPhoto via Getty Images

It was almost a certainty that the Liberals would be decimated in the upcoming election by the Conservative Party, headed by Pierre Poilievre.

Poilievre, often described as “Trump light,” has embraced the populist faction of his party, showing support for truckers who paralyzed Ottawa with anti-vaccine protests in 2022, with Elon Musk among his backers.

Then came Trump.

On his initial day in office, Trump declared a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, both crucial trading partners of the U.S. These tariffs were postponed for a month before being enacted on March 4, leading to immediate market upheaval. In the days that followed, Trump exempted more than one-third of goods imported from Canada until April 2.

Trump justified the tariffs by citing Canada’s involvement in the U.S. fentanyl crisis and illegal immigration, perplexing Canadians who refer to U.S. government data indicating Canada is responsible for less than 1% of the fentanyl and undocumented migrants crossing the U.S. borders.

Canada also faced the 25% U.S. tariff on steel and aluminum imports that took effect globally on Wednesday.

In response, Ottawa implemented its own tariffs on approximately $21 billion worth of U.S. goods and has requested a dispute consultation with the World Trade Organization.

In addition to the tariffs, Trump has repeatedly labeled Trudeau as the “governor” of Canada, which has a population comparable to that of California at around 40 million people.

Trump’s disdain persisted on Thursday, even as his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, embarked on his first official trip to Canada for a meeting of high-ranking diplomats from the Group of 7 industrialized democracies.

“To be honest with you, Canada only functions as a state,” Trump remarked from the Oval Office.

When asked about the matter on Friday, Rubio stated it hadn’t been discussed at the G7 meeting but acknowledged the existence of a “disagreement” between Trump’s perspective and that of the Canadian government.

Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly made it clear to Rubio that “Canada’s sovereignty is not up for debate.”

“You’re in our country; you respect our people. Period,” she asserted at a press conference following the meeting in La Malbaie, Quebec.

Fueled by resentment towards Trump, Canadians have shown increased support for the Liberals in the upcoming election, effectively narrowing the gap with the Conservatives within weeks. According to Canadian polling firm Nanos, the Conservatives, who held nearly a 20-point advantage a month ago, are now only ahead by 1 percentage point.

“The Liberals have essentially been brought back to life” due to the crisis instigated by Trump, Malloy noted.

As Carney began his term on Friday, he dismissed Trump’s statehood suggestion, asserting that “America is not Canada.”

“We will never, ever, in any way, shape, or form, be part of the United States,” Carney, who turns 60 on Sunday, stated after his swearing-in ceremony.

U.S. liquor products have been removed from shelves in Vancouver and beyond.
Chris Helgren / Reuters

Although Carney is new to politics, this could be advantageous, according to Maite Gonzalez Latorre, a program assistant at the Atlantic Council in Washington from Edmonton, Alberta.

“Mark Carney possesses experience in the U.K. and Canada, plus he has private sector experience,” Gonzalez Latorre stated, “which I believe will benefit him, especially regarding tariffs and direct communication with Trump.”

Carney’s immediate concerns revolve around handling Trump and assessing the impact of the U.S. tariffs on Canadians. His subsequent decisions and Trump’s reactions will ultimately determine when Carney calls for an election, which could still result in a Conservative victory.

Like many of Trump’s policies and actions, Malloy commented, it remains uncertain what exactly Trump aims to achieve through his antagonism towards Canada.

His actions may have alienated a potential ally in Poilievre, “who would have been a relatively supportive leader,” Malloy observed. And despite toppling Trudeau, Trump inadvertently revitalized the fortunes of Trudeau’s party, which staunchly opposes his policies.

“What exactly is Mr. Trump’s endgame aside from chaos? What’s the purpose?” Malloy pondered. “Because, so far, he’s only engaging in actions that harm his and the United States’ interests.”