Canadians head to vote in a federal election, covered in Donald Trump’s indignation of the country’s sovereignty and his threat to his escalating trade war.
On the last day of a month’s campaign described by all party leaders as the most consequent general election of their lifetime by all party leaders, the US president reinserted into the national debate with the new threat of annexing the country again. “We don’t need anything from Canada, and I say the only way this really works is for Canada to become a province,” he told Time Magazine on Friday.
And it was a fatal attack at a bustling street festival in Vancouver that shook the country and forced Prime Minister Mark Carney to temporarily suspend the campaign to make gloomy remarks.
“These families live nightmares for all families,” Carney said Sunday morning after the driver killed at least 11 people and was further injured at the Philippine community’s Lapu Lapu festival. “I know I’ll join all Canadians in mourning with you. I know Canadians are united with you.”
Visibly emotional, Kearney spoke about “Bayanihan.” This is the value of Filipinos in the community who serve people in need.
“This spirit must portray these incredibly difficult times. We comfort our sorrow. We take care of each other. We unite for a common purpose,” he added.
Recently in January, Canadian pollers and political commentators struggled to find a fresh way to explain then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s bleak Liberal outlook.
The party has dragged its rival conservatives by 27 points in several polls. Conservative leader Pierre Poilierble has been poised for the biggest and most overwhelming election victory for over half a century. Its strength was the result of a long-standing laser-focused campaign, which undermined the government’s Liberal Party and parties supporting their minority governments.
But Trump’s explosion of America’s closest diplomatic and economic ties fundamentally reshaping how many people feel about their southern neighbors, and heavily influenced by Carney, a former central banker who inherited Liberal control in mid-March, shaping his election bid.
That framing can produce immeasurable results three months ago.
The chances of conservative election victory are now small, and will require significant poll mistakes and a stairway of support on the main battlefield.
“Almost all of this campaign is unprecedented. For the first time in Canadian history, our closest geographical, economic and security partners have placed us across the board, disrupting our sense of economic and physical security,” said Scott Reid, director of communications to former liberal prime minister Paul Martin.
“And you have this unprecedented situation where Mark Carney, who has no election experience, comes out on the scene, reverses the fateful 26-point deficit of his party and brings them to the brink of a majority victory.
Still, the outlook for a liberal term for the fourth consecutive year has irritated many people across the country. They see governments that are unable to keep the costs of the crisis alive on the verge of maintaining power.
“The 10 years of liberal government are long. They had shots. And the changes they made are the worst. We need a new government. We need a new idea, a new people, a new minister.”
He said that Carney cast himself as a beginner, but the liberal leader is a “political insider” and “I’m not saying he’s not a qualified person, but he’s also a businessman, too, Trump.
Running along the message of change, Polyelve, a seven-term councillor, attracted thousands of gatherings to his energetic gatherings across Canada, beating young voters who were drawn to his response to the country’s cost-of-living crisis.
“Canadians are asking a simple question: Can you afford to allow Mark Kearney to have a fourth term for Justin Trudeau? Poiriebre said during the suspension of a campaign in Tory’s base in Saskatoon.
“There is generational disparity in the country and there is a real question as to whether Canada’s dreams can be achieved any more. Polyairer Erde beat the drums about this, and Trudeau’s popularity has plummeted. And we have this threat to the south.
“And the problem is, what is at stake? For the older generation, it is Canada’s sovereignty and integrity. The existential threat to their future is that the existence of Trump (but) the younger generation can own a home and start a family.”
Changes in political calculations put conservatives in difficult places.
“We’ve been making strange reversals of our fortunes. We used to be very strong in the old demographics. People who can really hope to come out and vote on Election Day,” Paradis said. “Now we have a very strong show among young voters, but now we have lost the support of older men.”
The race, dominated by two major party leaders, is also poised to destroy smaller opposition parties, all of which struggle to become part of a debate focused on Canada’s economic and political response to Trump. The new Democrats, who previously supported Trudeau’s minority government, are poised for its biggest losses in history, with its leader, Jagmeet Singh, at risk of losing a federal seat in the Burnaby South constituency.
“The conservative attack on (the NDP’s support for the Liberal Party) was very effective at eroding faith in Jagmeet Singh. But as a result, when you see this threat from Trump, people who normally voted for the party now look at the Liberal Party strategically,” Paradis said.
Green Leader Elizabeth May also risks losing his seat. A wave of patriotic sentiment spurred by Trump threatened the election prospects of separatist Brock Quebekoa in the interests of liberals.
Over 7 million people have already cast their votes early. This is a 25% increase over the previous record, which was largely helped over the long Easter weekend. The first polls concluded at 8:30pm in the Atlantic, with Seatrich Quebec and Ontario closing at 9:30pm east time, with results expected soon after.
(Source: Guardian)