After Germany, which, with the victory of conservatives led by Friedrich Merz, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), is slowly beginning to take shape with a new government that will also include the Social Democratic Party, Canada also got a new prime minister three days ago. Mark Carney, the former head of the central banks of the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada, will replace the current head of government, Justin Trudeau, who held this position for nine years and announced his resignation last year after his ratings plummeted. On Sunday, Carney was elected leader of the Liberal Party and the next prime minister.
A convincing victory
According to Canadian media, he won with 85.9 percent of the vote, a larger margin than many expected – although he was the favorite throughout the race. His main opponent, former Finance Minister and current member of Parliament Chrystia Freeland, finished second.
Carney will not have an easy task. Together with his cabinet, whose composition is still unknown, he must make strategically important decisions for his country, which is currently negotiating with the United States (U.S.) on lifting tariffs on certain products. It should be recalled that shortly after taking office as U.S. president, Donald Trump stated that the best thing for Canada would be to become a U.S. state.
He will not lift tariffs on the U.S.
“If Canada joined the U.S., there would be no tariffs, taxes would be significantly lower, and Canadians would be completely safe from the threat of Russian and Chinese ships constantly surrounding them. If we were together – what a great nation we would be!” Trump wrote on his social media.
Trump did not stop at this proposal and soon imposed 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, explaining that the tariffs were a response to the unacceptable flow of illegal drugs and undocumented migrants into the U.S. from these two neighboring countries. However, he set one condition: the tariffs could be avoided if China and Canada ensured that their manufacturers moved production to the U.S. Canada’s response came quickly.
“Canada will respond with 25 percent tariffs on 155 billion dollars worth of U.S. products – immediately imposing tariffs on 30 billion dollars worth of goods, with the remaining 125 billion dollars to follow within the next 21 days. Our tariffs will remain in place until U.S. tariffs are withdrawn,” Trudeau said at the time.
Judging by his statements, Canada’s future prime minister will speak in the same tone. Showing that he can speak Trump’s language, he declared that Canada will emerge victorious from this “war.” He promised that his government would keep Canadian tariffs in place until, as he put it, the U.S. showed them respect. He emphasized that the entire revenue from the tariffs would be used to help workers.
“We didn’t seek this fight”
“We didn’t seek this fight, but Canadians are always ready when someone else throws down the gloves,” he said, adding, “So, Americans shouldn’t make a mistake. In trade, as in hockey, Canada will win.”
Photo: Al Jazeera youtube channel/screenshot
