Facing Trump's onslaught, Canada PM Carney calls snap elections

Ottawa: Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney has called a snap election as his country faces US President Donald Trump’s onslaught, which has helped the ruling Liberal Party recover dramatically in polls.

Carney, on Sunday, set for April 28, the election that could reset Ottawa’s policies, both domestically and internationally, not only with the US but also with India whose ties were damaged during former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s tenure.  Polls indicate that the influence of the New Democratic Party (NDP) that influenced Trudeau’s policy towards India and favoured Khalistanis would be drastically cut in the aftermath of the election.  Framing it as a referendum on how best to deal with the US, Carney said, “We are facing the most significant crisis of our lifetimes because of President Trump’s unjustified trade actions and his threats to our sovereignty.”  “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,” he said.  The former banker without political experience will face Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre.  The Conservative Party led in polls in early January and ironically, Trump, who denigrated Trudeau as a “governor” and imposed 25 per cent tariffs, turned around the fortunes of the Liberal Party that now runs neck-to-neck with the Conservative Party.  Tongue in cheek, Trump said, “I got involved and totally changed the election.”  (IANS)

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