wCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned in early January, and after months of resignation pressure, the approval rate for the Progressive Fire brand fell to 22% from a 65% peak in September 2016.
Pierre Polyable, a conservative leader that many described as “Trump’s Light” at the end of last year, was a clear favourite for winning Canada’s next general election, and was the top pick of 45% of Canadians for the Prime Minister. At the time, all three biggest issues for voters were economic. Reduce the costs of everyday items, inflation and interest costs, and access to affordable housing.
The first few weeks of Donald Trump’s second presidential term have changed some of that, at least for the time being. According to a new survey, “Dealing with US President Trump” is currently the most important issue affecting Canadian votes and precedes the economy.
Canadian polls point to surprising political changes. Poirierbre’s predicted landslide victory appears to have disappeared into thin air. His party is still predicted to win, voting beyond the level of support in 2019 and 2021, but Poilierbre’s proximity to maga politics has pushed the liberals on the left of the centre back only a few points of conservatives.
“The tariffs imposed by Trump are reshaping our political landscape,” said Richard Nantel, 65, from Montreal, Quebec.
“It is predicted that the pro-found Conservatives will win the upcoming federal election. The party is in a hurry to save a solid victory. It is less likely that the Conservatives will win the election.”
Management consultant Scott Duncan, 54, said, “Trump has begun to threaten Canada to its 51st province, so the Canadians around me are much more politically aligned.” Duncan is also from Quebec, a predominantly French-speaking province that has recently had a separatist movement. “Not like people like my mother’s partner, who was previously a pro-trump, anymore. I am extremely surprised by the intense Canadian nationalism on display everywhere.”
“Those who boasted of supporting Trump – their colleagues at work – have been quiet during that time,” says Nicholas Mikkelsen, a 35-year-old structural firefighter in Edmonton, Alberta’s capital, where newly covered prime minister Mark Carney was born, a state that has long been considered a conservative fortress.
Nantel, Duncan and Mikkelsen were among the hundreds of Canadians who shared with their guardians how they, their social circles and people in their communities, were dealing with the US-Canada trade war and political conflict.
The market is responding to a gradually rising panic over retaliatory tariffs and rhetoric between two North American neighbours, with many Canadians enduring the recession and worrying about work and investment.
Over the weekend, various people expressed concern over China’s decision to impose strict retaliatory tariffs on Canadian farms and food imports, but despite these shock developments, the main concern for many voters is now the US president.
“Family and friends on the right and left came to the centre to fight Trump,” said Andrea, 59, a teacher in Toronto.
Andrea said longtime Tories and left-wing New Democrats (NDP) or Green voters had recently joined the Liberals and planned to vote for Carney in the next general election.
“Trudeau’s legacy now looks very different,” she said.
Fiona Mackie, 63, from Comox, British Columbia, was planning to lend support to the left-wing NDP until Kearney threw a hat into the ring.
“I replaced Trudeau by signing up for the Liberals to vote for Kearney because I felt he was the perfect person to lead us in the right direction with tariff threats, Trump, world stability,” she said.
“Many Canadians haven’t heard of him yet because he was ‘poached’ by the Bank of England. I like his view on the EU and am pleased that Canada will be taking part! ”
Mackie was among many Canadians who said Poilierve and his conservatives simply “cashed by Trudeau’s unpopularity” and “will not stand up to Trump.”
“Anti-Trump sentiment” was a unified Canadian behind controversial politicians such as Doug Ford, the polarized right-wing populist prime minister of Ontario, who just won a third term after vowing to “a fight against Donald Trump,” she said. He was “very universally very popular,” Mackie felt that he was “to stand up to America.”
“I think it’s ‘moment’ politics, he stuck his head out to Canada. My West Coast friend who is like him for what he is doing in Canada at the moment. ”
Katie, a mother of three from Ontario in her 40s, said there were still people sympathetic to Trump and his community, but other voters were “quickly returning to their comfort zone (their) as a liberal majority.”
Ford’s record of acknowledging the Caucus and supporters that he was a Trump supporter until the start of the trade war seemed to reflect broader sentiment in Canadian society among right-wing voters, Katie added.
Many left-leaning Canadians who kept in touch reported feeling relieved that Trump had knocked the wind out of the sails of the Conservative Party, but various people noted that strong anti-Trump sentiment allowed politicians to ignore other pressing issues, plaguing politicians with poor track record, such as Ford and Trudeau.
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“(Doug Ford) has been a proactive stance towards Trump and has captured the voter’s focus,” said Christina, a 40-something web design consultant in Ottawa. People had forgotten about education and major property development scandals, she added.
Like others, she feels that Ford has mercilessly hit the opportunity to call local elections in rare moments of mass shock and unity for personal gain, and many predict that Carney will also exploit the anti-Trump mood to call for early elections.
While many shared new optimism about the possibility of winning liberal elections, others warned that many Canadians are still politically aligned with Trump’s overall vision.
Pension recipient Stephen McIntyre, who lives on British Columbia’s low-populated island, was disappointed about “the so-called conservatives who shared the values of the Magazine and found support,” saying “real conservatives” had “lost their political voices long ago.”
Colin Martin, a university instructor in Calgary, Alberta, said:
“The current government in Alberta is functionally and ideologically common to the Trump administration than our own central government that created great tension here.”
Home to most of Canada’s oil and gas production, Alberta is the country’s largest exporter to the United States. According to the survey, 29% of Albertans would have voted for Trump, compared to 21% of Canadians. Alberta Prime Minister Daniel Smith, who accepted Trump’s invitation from Trump to Mar Arago in January, repeatedly warned against tariff retaliation, in sharp contrast to other Canadian leaders.
“Donald Trump’s comments that Canada has become the 51st state created an overnight advocacy group to merge with the United States,” said John Bulassa, 42, of Vancouver. “If Canada should be a territory or a state, there is debate as to where to draw a new election route.”
Trevor*, a farmer in Saskatchewan, said that although new 100% Chinese tariffs on Canadian canola oil, Trump’s election restored his belief in the wisdom of the average voter.
“Personally, I’m in favor of joining the US, but I’m sure it’s not a majority position. The common currency is far more controversial.
“We are waiting for Polyeve’s arrival as our new prime minister and the adoption of Trump’s policies to reduce waste from government and other administrative spending,” he said. “Mr. Poilierbre and the conservatives will have a significant majority in my constituency. I don’t know anyone who has changed their minds.”
Tariffs could mean “a temporary financial blow,” but he thought long-term profits were “completely possible.”
Trevor was critical of “Trudeau, Doug Ford’s ongoing belligerence, and of course Carney,” fearing that markets, political opposition, “nearly completely hostile reporting, global reporting” could completely derail Trump’s US and Western plans.
Trevor’s Polyeble should continue his “already effective” criticism of Canada’s housing costs and housing shortages, and continue with the US president of “we shouldn’t distance ourselves from Trump” or “weak him and say something.”
While many respondents stressed that being Canadian was a kind of antithesis for Trump and the United States for a long time, many reported that they have escaped with American family, friends and colleagues since the start of Trump’s second term and felt an unprecedented sense of hostility towards the United States.
Kelly Anne Grimaldi, 39, of Welland, Ontario, said her family in Canada and Italy have stopped talking to most of her US families. “I see America as our enemy,” she said.
Sarah, 26, a retail worker from Montreal, said: She felt that the assurance from the Americans that they opposed Trump was “selfish” if they had no action to support their Canadian neighbors.
Pamela, a middle-aged expert from Ontario, said she didn’t mind voting in the last general election because she felt that she was “working well in Canada.”
“This time, I definitely want to vote on the question of Donald Trump and who deals with the most. So many Canadians know that our country and lifestyle is at stake, so I look forward to unprecedented turnout.”
*Name changed
