New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Conservative opponent said U.S. President Donald Trump must respect Canada’s sovereignty as they kicked off their election campaigns Sunday against the backdrop of a trade war and annexation threats from Mr. Trump.
Mr. Carney announced there will be a five-week election campaign before the vote on April 28.
“President Trump claims that Canada isn’t a real country. He wants to break us so America can own us. We will not let that happen,” Mr. Carney said.
The governing Liberals had appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Mr. Trump declared a trade war. Mr. Trump has repeatedly said that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state, and he acknowledged Friday that he has upended Canadian politics.
Mr. Trump’s almost-daily attacks on Canada’s sovereignty have infuriated Canadians and led to a surge in Canadian nationalism that has bolstered Liberal poll numbers.
“We are facing the most significant crisis of our lifetimes because of President Trump’s unjustified trade actions and his threats to sovereignty,” Mr. Carney said.
The election campaign for 343 seats or districts in the House of Commons will last 37 days. Although other parties are running, the Liberals and the Conservatives are the only two that have a chance to form a government. The party that commands a majority in Parliament, either alone or with the support of another party, will form the next government and its leader will be prime minister.
Mr. Carney replaced Justin Trudeau, who announced his resignation in January but remained in power until the Liberal Party elected a new leader on March 9 following a leadership race by the governing party.
The opposition Conservatives hoped to make the election about Mr. Trudeau, whose popularity declined as food and housing prices rose and immigration surged. But after decades of bilateral stability, the vote is now expected to focus on who is best equipped to deal with Mr. Trump.
Mr. Carney said the choice for Canadians is a “Canadian Trump or a government that unites the country.” He added, “We have seen what negativity and division has led to in the United States.”
Mr. Trump put 25% tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products — as well as all of America’s trading partners — on April 2.
Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservatives, is Mr. Carney’s main challenger. The party and Mr. Poilievre were heading for a huge victory in Canada’s federal election this year until Mr. Trump’s near-daily trade and annexation threats derailed them.
Mr. Poilievre said he will stand up to Mr. Trump but Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, a conservative ally, said in an interview that Mr. Poilievre would be “very much in sync” with the “new direction in America.”
“The content of this interview is very bad news for the Conservatives because it reinforces the Liberals’ narrative about Pierre Poilievre and his perceived ideological proximity with Donald Trump,” said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal.
Mr. Poilievre said he doesn’t respect how Trump has treated Canada.
“I will insist the president recognizes the independence and sovereignty of Canada. I will insist he stops tariffing our nation,” Mr. Poilievre said as he launched his campaign.
“I know a lot of people are worried, angry and anxious. And with good reason as a result of the president’s unacceptable threats against our country.”
Mr. Carney still hasn’t had a phone call with Mr. Trump, and that might not happen now until after the election. Mr. Trump mocked Mr. Trudeau by calling him governor, but he has not yet mentioned Mr. Carney’s name.
Mr. Carney said there are certain conditions for a discussion with Trump.
“Mr. Trump must recognize that Canada is a sovereign country. He has to say that, he has to accept that, before we can have a discussion about a trade agreement,” he said.
“Let’s just say there is no meeting that has been planned.”
Mr. Carney was the head of the Bank of Canada during the 2008 financial crisis. In 2013, he became the first noncitizen of the United Kingdom to run the Bank of England — helping to manage the impact of Brexit.
Mr. Carney has moved the Liberal Party to the right, scrapping Mr. Trudeau’s signature carbon tax and reversing a capital gains tax increase. He also announced a middle-class tax cut on Sunday.
Mr. Poilievre, for years the party’s go-to attack dog, is a career politician and firebrand populist who says he will put “Canada first.” He vowed to defund Canada’s public broadcaster, and he won’t allow media onboard his campaign buses and planes.
This story was reported by The Associated Press.
