Canada’s newly elected Prime Minister, Mark Carney, announced on Sunday that the nation will conduct early elections on April 28. This is because he wants a firm mandate to deal with economic woes, especially due to US President Donald Trump’s tariff measures.
Originally scheduled for October 20, the general election was advanced after Carney is seeking to take advantage of his Liberal Party’s recent spike in popularity according to opinion polls. The party’s position was notably better since January when Trump increased his trade threats and after Justin Trudeau, former Prime Minister, resigned.
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Parliament Dissolved to Set Election in Motion
Carney met with Canada’s Governor General, King Charles’s official representative, to ask for Parliament to be dissolved, thus opening the election process. He later spoke to reporters, officially making the announcement.
Based on a Reuters report, Liberal Party members had earlier proposed that Carney was weighing his options for holding an early election. Rumor had been spread that the polling would be on April 28, and Carney would get a narrow but crucial window within which to secure the support of voters.
Canada’s Response to Trump’s Remarks
Since taking office, Trump has made controversial remarks regarding Canada, once referring to the country as the “US’ 51st state.” He has not ruled out using economic or even military pressure to assert influence and has referred to former Prime Minister Trudeau as “governor.”
Despite such tensions, Carney has not engaged in direct negotiations with Trump. However, he has responded cautiously, affirming that he respects the US President’s position on trade policy.
Carney’s Leadership
A non-political, former central banker, Carney won Liberal Party leadership on March 9. He gained party backing by positioning himself as the most capable candidate to deal with rising tensions with the US administration.
The opposition Conservative Party, however, has attempted to paint Carney as an elitist who is out of touch with the people, asserting that he will carry on his predecessor’s high-spending policies. They have also questioned the transparency of his financial transactions when taking up office.
Surveys point to the Liberals, who have been in power since 2015, now having a narrow lead over the Conservatives, who were ahead previously. With the snap election looming on the horizon, Carney is running out of time to cement his popularity among Canadian voters.
