Canadians go to the polls amid backdrop of Trump tariffs, rhetoric

Canadians are set to go to the polls for their federal election Monday amid a backdrop of tensions with the U.S. over President Trump’s tariff policy and rhetoric about the U.S.'s northern neighbor.

In the first few months of his presidency, Trump’s tariff policy has strained relationships with longtime American allies including Canada. Late last month, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that the old U.S.-Canada economic relationship was “over” in the wake of Trump announcing a plan to slap additional tariffs on his country.

“The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over,” Carney said during a press conference at the time.

In an election that has also featured Trump as a significant player, Canadians are set to choose the Liberal Party’s Carney or the Conservative Party’s Pierre Poilievre in their election. 

Carney’s Liberals seemed to be on the path to losing prior to recent tensions over tariffs and talk from Trump about Canada being a part of the U.S., the AP reported, but Poilievre may face a risk in how he is similar to Trump, being a bold campaigner in a manner similar to the U.S. president.

In a recent survey from YouGov of Canadians, 44 percent said the U.S. is “unfriendly” when asked if they see the country as “an ally or an enemy of Canada.” Fifteen percent said the U.S. is an “ally,” 10 percent called it “friendly,” 20 percent called it an “enemy” and 11 percent said they were “not sure.”

Carney also said recently that negotiations with Trump on the U.S.-Canada economic and security relationships will start after the Canadian federal election.

“As President Trump and I have agreed, the U.S. President and the Canadian Prime Minister will commence negotiations on a new economic and security relationship immediately following the Federal election,” Carney said on the social platform X.