Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced early elections, set to take place on April 28.
Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stepped down earlier this year, resigning from both the premiership and leadership of the Liberal Party. Following an internal election, the party chose Mark Carney as its new leader and prime minister. Carney was sworn in last week, and within a week, he announced the early elections, which was widely anticipated.
Last year, Donald Trump was elected as the President of the United States. Following his election, he took a strong stance against Canada, referring to it as the “51st state of the U.S.” and mocking Trudeau as “Governor Trudeau.” Amid rising tensions and declining popularity, Trudeau announced his resignation. Trump continued making provocative remarks about Canada, initially threatening to make it a U.S. state and later imposing a 25% tariff on all Canadian goods.
After announcing the elections, Carney was questioned about the risks of holding an election amid an ongoing trade war with the U.S. In response, he stated that in his first nine days in office, he and his team had taken steps to secure Canada’s economy.
When asked about potential discussions with Trump, Carney expressed willingness to engage in talks but emphasized that Trump must first acknowledge that “Canada is an independent country.”
Although Carney was sworn in nine days ago, he has not yet held any discussions with Trump.