February 15, 2025 - 8:00am
Canada is in the midst of a national awakening, with a renewed sense of patriotism sweeping across the country in the face of Donald Trump’s tariff threats. The “Buy Canadian” movement which took off as the tariffs were supposed to be introduced on 1 February — now due to come into effect in March — has started having a tangible impact on retail markets. More and more shoppers are forgoing American made goods for their Canadian counterparts. The biggest beneficiary of this newfound love for crown and country seems to be the country’s previously struggling Liberal Party, which is experiencing a level of support not seen since 2023.
Recent polling data shows that if Mark Carney were to win the federal Liberal leadership race to replace Justin Trudeau, his party would be tied with Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives which have been experiencing an unprecedented level of support in recent months. Most Canadians think former central banker Carney would be best suited to deal with the US President as well, with 40% preferring him over Poilievre, whom only 26% would prefer.
One obvious explanation for this sudden turn of events is that ever since Trudeau announced he would be stepping down as Liberal leader, voters who abandoned the party in recent years have begun to return — it wasn’t the party they were against, but the leadership. Now that he’s (almost) out of the picture, supporters are reconsidering their options.
The Tory brand might also have taken a beating in recent months, particularly in light of how Conservative leaders across the country are responding to tariff threats. Ontario Conservative leader Doug Ford has called for a snap election due to take place later this month under the banner that he needs “a stronger mandate from the people of Ontario” to adequately deal with tariffs. But most Ontarians disagree with Ford’s decision to call an election, with many seeing it as a power grab by the Conservatives who already have a majority government in the province.
Then there’s Alberta’s Conservative premier Danielle Smith, who many see as having gone rogue from the “Team Canada” approach the Liberals are rallying for. Voters may not be forgiving of a pro-America stance when the country is not only battling against tariffs but also Trump’s talk of forcibly making Canada the 51st US state.
The Bloc Québécois — a federal party devoted solely to Quebec nationalism and sovereignty — has also seen a dip in support after Trump announced 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports. Quebec is the centre of Canada’s aluminium industry and is the biggest supplier of America’s aluminium. Tariffs would have a devastating effect on Quebec’s economy, which is why voters are turning to the Liberals to address these threats: even if the Bloc Québécois wins the province, it has no chance of forming a federal government. This will force Quebecers to be strategic with their votes.
Lastly, Poilievre might be too Trump-like for voters right now. His rhetoric about closing the border and deporting illegal migrants from Canada comes across as eerily similar to that of his American counterpart. Even Right-wing media in Canada is asking Poilievre to tone down his promises to gut the federal bureaucracy, another MAGA-style pledge. Talking about immigration, the border, and wasteful government spending at a time when the country is grappling with its identity is, in the words of would-be Liberal leader Chrystia Freeland, “not very Canadian”.
The Canadian elections must be held by 20 October this year and, if the polling is to be believed, Poilievre will want them to happen as soon as possible. The electorate is unlikely to opt for a Conservative leader spouting Trump-style talking points while US tariffs cripple the country’s industry.
If Canada is stupid enough to elect Mark Carney, we absolutely deserve the world of pain we will inevitably suffer under his leadership. He is a smarter version of Trudeau, even more committed to net zero and hysterical climate change narratives. He is the architect of the carbon tax Canadians despise and has worked closely with the Libs over the last 10 years.
The author of this essay is clearly a Liberal hack herself. Everything wrong with this essay can be found in this statement.
“Even Right-wing media in Canada is asking Poilievre to tone down his promises to gut the federal bureaucracy, another MAGA-style pledge. Talking about immigration, the border, and wasteful government spending at a time when the country is grappling with its identity is, in the words of would-be Liberal leader Chrystia Freeland, “not very Canadian”.
Right-wing media is not asking Poilievre to tone down his promises. The author of the opinion piece linked in this essay is a long-time, high profile Liberal Party strategist. I can assure you Canadian conservatives are not interested in anything said by Warren Kinsella, or Christina Freeland. If the Conservatives lose the election because it advocates cutting immigration and bureaucracy, Canada is in big trouble.
“If the Conservatives lose the election……Canada is in big trouble”.
This is not just Canada but all of the western world. Generations have grown up knowing that we have (in some way) not earned the right to be where we are today. Anybody approaching 60 years old who owns property and maybe expects a private pension when they retire, is the enemy – a ‘fat cat’ – and must be brought down. Part of this ‘brought down’ plan is to be forced to share their resources with unknown immigrants, who somehow ‘deserve’ that share. Also deserving a big share are those who don’t want to work, who suffer from a malaise which means that the state should give them money, simply because they exist.
Last night I listened to a debate on TV, featuring a woman in her late 20s. She said that she perhaps wanted children in the future but the state should pay her or her partner to stay at home indefinitely to allow her to bring the children up properly. She just shrugged when climate issues were discussed, saying that the planet was more important than people’s demand for cheap energy. She believed that immigrants should be given more funds because they were poorer than us.
What she didn’t say was that she and her partner were going to get extra weekend jobs to help pay for her future familial plans. She didn’t even think about the concept of work, believing that presenting her ideas on the internet was the most important thing for her and for the rest of the world.
There are millions of these people around today and I think that whatever is said on UnHerd will have no effect on their beliefs. Yesterday, a new large gas field was found in the UK. Will it be used? I think not. I am due in Canada in April – see you there.
Canada is in trouble regardless of who wins the election, if the conservatives hadn’t picked a dull unsmiling nitwit for a leader they may have a chance. But no , they chose ‘rabbit fur’, a trumpist wannabe. The reality is that Poilievre was never popular, it’s Trudeau who is unpopular, and when he is gone and when the liberals call the election after Carney wins (probably), the election campaign will reveal the ineptness of Poilievre and the empty platitudes.
Trump has made an incredible service to the liberal party, with his anti Canadian rhetoric and attempts to destroy our economy, the liberals will come across as the saviors of Canada and Poilievre as a Trump accomplice. Poilievre will never get more than 25% of the popular vote, and there will probably be another liberal/ndp minority government. Thank you Mr Trump
Thank you Mr Trump
If the result of the election in Canada depends so much on Trump, Canada is not an independent state
Not every country is as inward looking as the Americans. The Canadians know that their foreign policy (how they deal with America) can impact their economy and thus standard of living at home
I have news for you, no one is an independent state, including the US which is dependent on China and many other countries for low cost goods and to finance it’s deficits, Trump will do nothing, in 4 years they will still have a trillion $ trade deficit and a national debt approaching 50 trillion. No have no idea.
I like people who march to the edge of the abyss and claim that turning “all to the right” makes no sense.
Have you seen our GDP per capita since Trudeau entered office? Only one other time in recorded history has Canada’s real GDP per capita decayed sequentially for six quarters, and it was during the 1981-82 recession — this measure has also been negative in eight out of the last nine quarters. Real per capita GDP is now down 1.4 per cent on a year-over-year basis and lower than it was in the spring of 2017. I’m not a huge fan of PP, but Trudeau has been a disaster and Carney won’t be any better. He’s as anti growth as Trudeau and another net zero zealot.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like the liberals either, and Carney is as globalist elite as it comes, the only solutions the liberals have is adding to the national debt. I just don’t think Poilievre has what it takes to beat the liberal machine after Trudeau is gone, and now with the Trump threats the conservative prospects are in a bind, the election will be about who can best deal with Trump now, which puts the conservatives on the defensive. Poilievre is not popular, and comes across as someone who can’t be trusted. Most people don’t care about GDP per capita ratios, they have no idea. So I think the election will be close, another minority again, maybe conservative, but they lost their edge. Remains to be seen.
Carney as Governor of the Bank of England was a disaster. Highly political, radical Left-wing in his perspectives, a Net Zero fanatic and arrogant, we were delighted to see the back of him. He will be very bad news for Canadians if you vote him into power.
No. It’s a phantom bump.
Trump could mess it up a bit if Poilievre drops the ball.
Another Leftist journalist with Trump Derangement, such a skewed article. I’ll take a guess and say she lives in a leftist bubble too. A dead give away is her quoting Freedland, that wolf in sheep’s clothing who should never be allowed near the levers of power.
But let’s posit she’s half right, if Canada elects Carney they deserve the authoritarian speech oppression, net zero thumping they will get. He’s a Trudeau on steroids.
Canada has been designed as an economic zone to facilitate development across the colonial entities and trade with the US, never been a nation in any sense of the word ( we’re not Americans and we play hockey exhaust Canadian national identity). If we don’t want to end up the 51 state, the task is to build a true national identity from scratch. We need a sharp turn. We need a leader not a banker. Poillievre at least inches in this direction, Carney will keep the “post national” course as if it’s still the bygone liberal era
There’s no doubt that Canada is now stuck between Trump and a hard place. The Liberals are still supported by our major media outlets and are busy selling “not Trump” as the ideal antidote to threats both real and imagined. There’s been more flag-waving in the last three weeks then we’ve seen in the past ten years as the progressives that invented the nonsensical trash narrative of our white supremist colonial past are now googling the latest lyrics of O’Canada.
Once Carney is anointed (the leadership contest is a sham sop to democracy) the true debates will start. Carney is trying to sell himself as a ‘fresh new face’ with new ideas when as already mentioned he’s a card-carrying disciple of the same WEF/Net Zero folly as Trudeau.
That said, with an entrenched and bloated public service and much of the MSM in their corner the Liberals will do better in the next election then they have a right to expect to. They are skilled at convincing voters that they’ll do a better job then the opposition at tackling housing shortages, high food prices and immigration problems rather than admitting their policies caused these problems in the first place.
If Canadians are fooled again then we deserve what we get.
Seems similar to the outcome of the UK election. The Labour Party won, and promptly became unpopular. Now the UK is stuck with a left government for five years.
Given that Trump has a) imposed tariffs on Canada, and b) threatened to make it the “51st State of the USA”, you can’t blame Canadians for being a bit down on the guy.