​​​​​​​How Canada's Carney rode anti-Trump wave to win election, stir reawakening

By Hamid Javadi

On the campaign trail in Canada, Mark Carney, former central banker turned political neophyte, declared, “I’m most useful in a crisis. I’m not that good in peacetime.”

These words echoed across the country, gripped by a crisis not of its own making, but one ignited by its southern neighbor and largest trading partner: the United States.

Carney’s victory in federal election marked a dramatic reversal of fortune for the Liberals in Canada, who had been trailing the Conservatives by nearly 30 points in polls just months earlier. That deficit reflected deep fatigue with a Liberal government entering its second decade in power.

Then came Donald Trump’s dramatic return to the White House, reviving his trademark tariffs and even floating threats of annexation. The Liberals seized the moment, riding the wave of backlash against Trump's belligerence straight to the ballot box.

The sudden resignation of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Trump’s aggressive trade maneuvers reshaped the entire political narrative. Into that breach stepped Carney, positioning himself as the steady hand best suited to navigate an unfolding geopolitical storm.

The election morphed rapidly into a referendum on Trump himself, on who could confront him more convincingly, or at least convince Canadians that they could take on the powerful southern neighbor.

Even as ballots were cast, Trump urged Canadians to “elect the man” who could make Canada “the 51st state,” a statement widely interpreted as a reference to himself.

The 2025 election became only the third moment in Canadian history when relations with the United States emerged as the decisive factor.

In 1911, Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier’s Liberals suffered a humiliating defeat after pursuing a “reciprocity” agreement with the US that would have eliminated most agricultural tariffs.

Though intended to invigorate cross-border trade, the deal ignited fears that Canada’s ties with Great Britain were in jeopardy, raising the specter of American annexation. In the aftermath, US free trade vanished from serious political discourse for decades.

Fast forward to 1988: Canadians embraced economic integration under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, the Conservative architect of a sweeping trade agreement with then-US president, Ronald Reagan.

Despite Liberal warnings about a loss of national sovereignty, Mulroney’s free-trade message found resonance and ultimately delivered victory.

Trump’s second coming in the Oval Office rekindled that century-long debate.

Yet Canadians have never completely severed their economic gaze from the US. Since its founding in 1867, Canada has capitalized on its rich natural resources and strategic geography to anchor itself as a trading nation.

During Trump’s first term, Canada entered bruising NAFTA negotiations under threat of tariffs, resulting in the revised USMCA deal. Despite the high-stakes brinkmanship, Canada emerged with its core economic interests intact.

But this time around, Trump, emboldened, unpredictable, and seemingly unbound by precedent, raised the stakes dramatically. The choice for Canadians became stark: sovereignty or surrender.

Carney cast the campaign as nothing less than a battle for national survival. Against Trump’s menacing rhetoric and punitive economic threats, he drew a hard line.

The message resonated.

Liberals crushed the Conservatives, led by career politician Pierre Poilievre. His slogan, “Canada First,” too closely mirrored Trump’s “America First” and alienated swaths of the electorate. Though he focused on domestic issues like inflation and housing shortages, the message rang hollow amid rising fears of US interference and possible annexation.

Carney’s rallying cry — “Canada Strong” — proved far more galvanizing.

Carney’s triumph may herald a new chapter in Canada’s historically complex relationship with its neighbor to the south. In his victory speech, he wasted no time signaling a tectonic shift in diplomatic tone.

“Our old relationship with the United States, a relationship based on steadily increasing integration, is over,” he declared.

He sounded the alarm with stark clarity. “America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country,” he warned. “President Trump is trying to break us so he can own us. That will never happen.”

Now at the helm of the Liberal Party’s fourth consecutive mandate, Carney faces a defining challenge: defending Canada’s economic stability and sovereignty while confronting an emboldened and unpredictable American president.

Though light on details so far, Carney has signaled his intention to diversify Canada’s trade landscape. That includes strengthening ties with the UK and Europe, as well as preserving retaliatory tariffs against US imports.

His first international visit, to Europe, reinforced his commitment to leveraging Canada’s existing free trade agreement with the EU.

Carney has also emphasized removing domestic trade barriers and ramping up investments in housing and infrastructure to fortify Canada’s economic resilience.

While open to negotiating a new trade accord with Washington, Carney has made it clear: Canada will proceed on its own terms, not America’s terms.

Trump’s economic broadsides have already hit hard. Canadian factories have shuttered, jobs have been lost, and national pride has surged.

Targeted sectors include autos, aluminum, and steel, with further tariffs on auto parts looming. In response, Canada has imposed its own levies and a swelling “Buy Canadian” movement has taken root, urging consumers to boycott American products.

But Trump isn’t Carney’s only concern.

At home, the newly elected prime minister faces a host of simmering crises that threaten to erode public trust:

A housing crunch, ballooning living costs, and the pressures of high immigration have left many Canadians frustrated and fatigued with Liberal leadership.

Carney has pledged sweeping reforms. Speaking to jubilant supporters on Tuesday morning, he vowed his government would “do things previously thought impossible at speeds we haven’t seen in generations.”

Nowhere is that urgency more pressing than in the housing sector. With demand vastly outpacing supply, his administration faces a race against time to build more homes while navigating environmental and economic landmines.

Meanwhile, inflation continues to squeeze household budgets.

Carney’s bold assertion that “we can give ourselves far more than the Americans can ever take away” distills the essence of his mission: resist external coercion and rebuild internal confidence.

His ability to deliver on both fronts will shape not just his legacy, but the very future of the Liberal Party in an increasingly polarized Canada.

This election may also signal a broader global backlash against Trump-style populism.

Last year, voters around the world ousted centrist incumbents as right-wing parties surged in places like Austria and France. Canada appeared destined to join that wave until the Trump factor flipped the script.

Whether Carney can truly shield Canada from Trump’s economic and geopolitical salvos remains to be seen. But how he rises to that challenge will determine the trajectory of US-Canada relations for years to come.

Hamid Javadi is a senior Iranian journalist and commentator based in Tehran.

(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV)

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