Under Threat from Trump, Canada Set to Hold Snap Elections

AFP/APP

Ottawa: Canada’s new prime minister, Mark Carney, is expected to announce snap elections on Sunday, seeking a stronger mandate as his country fights off a trade war and annexation threats from Donald Trump’s United States.

The former central banker was chosen by the centrist Liberal Party to replace Justin Trudeau as prime minister, but he has never faced the broader Canadian electorate.

That will change on April 28, if, as expected, Carney announces he is bringing parliamentary elections forward several months from October.

Government sources told AFP that he would announce the decision at 12:30 local time (1630 GMT) in a speech to Canada’s 41-million-strong nation.

In power for a decade, the Liberal government had slid into deep unpopularity, but Carney will be hoping to ride a wave of Canadian patriotism to a new majority—thanks to Trump’s threats.

Trump has riled his northern neighbor by repeatedly dismissing its sovereignty and borders as artificial and urging it to join the United States as the 51st state.

The ominous remarks have been accompanied by Trump’s trade war, imposing tariffs on imports from Canada that could wreck its economy.

“In this time of crisis, the government needs a strong and clear mandate,” Carney told supporters on Thursday in a speech in the western city of Edmonton.