Trump’s Tariff Threats Shake Up Canadian Election As Liberals Gain Edge In Final Days, Result On Monday

<p data-pm-slice=”0 0 []”>When former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his plans to resign, his Liberals trailed the Conservatives by more than 20 points in most polls, and the Tory leader Pierre Poilievre looked certain to be Canada’s next premier. However, weeks later, US President Donald Trump rolled out a barrage of stiff tariff policies while repeatedly talking about absorbing Canada into the United States.</p>
<p>The outraged Canadians have since booed the American anthem at sporting events and cancelled US travel plans.</p>
<p>The election on Monday follows a campaign electrified by US President Trump’s threats, with Prime Minister Mark Carney favored to win after promising voters he has the experience to stand up to the United States.</p>
<p>According to news agency AFP, the polls project a liberal government. However, the race has tightened in its final days. The report quoting public broadcaster CBC’s poll aggregator has at various points given the Liberals a seven-to-eight-point national lead, but on Friday it put Liberal support at 42 percent, with the Tories at 38.</p>
<p>In the past polls, stronger support for those parties has curbed Liberal seat tallies in the key provinces of Ontario and Quebec.</p>
<p>According to AFP, Tim Powers, a political analyst, agreed that the campaign is not the one the Tories wanted to run. They had hoped that “there’d be more of a debate around affordability and all of the things that they were scoring points on,” he said, adding Poilievre “envisioned a campaign where Justin Trudeau would be his opponent.”</p>
<p>However, he also called it a strange campaign full of surprises, and Tories will make a final weekend push to turn out their vote. The winner of the election should be known hours after polls close on Monday.</p>