Mark Carney, the shadowy former governor of Canada’s central bank, was elected as Prime Minister on Monday after a bizarre political contest that was centered around U.S. President Donald Trump.
Canada’s Liberal Party took power in 2015, leading to record inflation, dismal economic performance, a broken immigration system, sky-high housing prices, and a crime wave that turned Canada into the “car theft capital of the world.” Justin Trudeau, the party’s previous leader, now widely considered the country’s worst prime minister of all time, was forced to resign from Canada’s top job, and conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre was more or less guaranteed to replace the embattled Trudeau.
(U.S. President Donald Trump has consistently threatened to annex Canada / Shuttershock)
But a curious thing happened at Mar-a-Lago on Christmas Day, a little more than a week before Trudeau’s exit. Trump brought up the idea of annexing Canada and turning it into “the 51st state.” Many brushed off the comments as bad humor, but over the ensuing months, the president dug his heels in and doubled down on the idea.
“I’m really not trolling,” Trump recently told Time Magazine. “Canada is an interesting case.”
It didn’t take long for Trump to become Canada’s public enemy number one, but what no one expected is how Canucks suddenly turned against their domestic conservatives, lumping them into the same category as Trump’s MAGA (make America great again) supporters, or what Trudeau’s former deputy Chrystia Freeland dubbed, “maple syrup MAGA.”
“You know, until I came along, remember that the Conservative was leading by 25 points,” Trump said in a Monday interview. “I’ve thrown the election into a close call,” he added.
Indeed, once Trudeau stepped down, Carney took over after winning a controversial Liberal Party leadership race. The lanky Oxford Economics PhD touted his impressive corporate resume and educational background. He consistently lambasted Trump, and polls began showing that most Canadians thought he was better suited to negotiate with the Americans than Poilievre.
Media outlets such as the government-funded Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the country’s largest public broadcaster, clearly backed Carney, who in turn promised to increase funding to the organization, a move many considered unethical.
(Polymarket odds showing how the Canadian Liberals reversed their fortunes after Trump’s antics / Polymarket)
The Liberals quickly reversed their fortunes, completely erasing the Conservative lead. The contest was close, but by Monday evening 8.3 million Canadians had voted to elect Carney to the country’s top position, with 7.9 million backing Poilievre, although at the time of reporting, a final tally is yet to be delivered. To add insult to injury, Poilievre was voted out of his own riding, an electoral region he had consistently held since 2004. Losing his riding means he can no longer represent the Conservatives in the House of Commons when Parliament resumes, and consequently, may be forced to step down as party leader, although for now, Poilievre doesn’t appear to have any plans of resigning.
“We have much to celebrate tonight. We got the highest share of votes our party has received since 1988,” Poilievre said in his concession speech on Monday. “I will never give up on fighting for everyone who stood with us today.”
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