Canadians are set to head to the polls tomorrow (AEST) in an election that has been transformed by United States President Donald Trump.
At the start of the year, it seemed like the Liberal party was on its way out with leader Justin Trudeau becoming increasingly unpopular. This handed their conservative party rivals a lead in the polls; however, after the party vote, Mark Carney was selected as the new leader, the Liberal party regained momentum.
One of the most contentious issues in the upcoming election is who can deal with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Since Trump entered the White House, he has implemented 25% tariffs on many Canadian goods and belittled Canada saying he wanted to make it the 51st U.S. state, which Carney has strongly opposed.
“The president brings this up all the time. He brought it up yesterday. He brought it up before,” Carney said.
“To be clear, as I’ve said to anyone who’s raised this issue in private or in public, including the president, it will never happen.”
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre rose to popularity last year for his response to an affordability crisis and inflation under Trudeau. However, these plans have since become unpopular echoes of Trump, according to Abacus Data's CEO David Coletto.
“At one point during the campaign, 56 per cent of Canadians told us the most important ballot question was ‘Which party is best able to deal with Donald Trump’s threats to Canada?’” Coletto wrote in a Toronto Star op-ed.
“That number has since shifted slightly, with a growing share now returning to the ‘time for a change’ frame.
“But even among those voters, one in four say they’re supporting the Liberals — an indication that Carney has done enough to distance himself from the Trudeau years and offer a ‘new Liberal’ option that satisfies a chunk of the change-seeking electorate.”
This has led to political researchers believing the centre-left Liberal party is more likely to win the race.
“It’s pretty clear the Liberals are going to win this now,” EKOS Research president and founder Frank Graves said.
“That would have been utterly unthinkable at the beginning of this year.”
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