(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump’s “antagonistic” relationship with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was enough to invigorate liberals to reject a far more conservative candidate, according to NewsNation political editor Chris Stirewalt.
“There was a conservative candidate in the upcoming elections in Canada, Pierre Poilievre was sort of a MAGA-ish Canada-first kind of guy; the kind of person who American Republicans would probably prefer to be in charge,” said Stirewalt. “But Canadians got so freaked out. They got so rattled by what was going on between Canada and the United States and the threats of trade war that Trump actually managed to resuscitate the Liberal Party in Canada, of which Carney is the leader now.”
Trump said Friday that his first call with new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was “extremely productive” and Carney said talks on a new relationship will begin after the Canadian election next month.
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The call came as Trump declared a trade war on Canada and threatened to use economic coercion to make Canada the 51st U.S. state, a position that has infuriated Canadians. Trump avoided any mention of that in his social media post.
Stirewalt believes Trump “tipped over” Canadian politics by giving Canadians a “common enemy” in Trump and U.S. trade policy.
Despite the current rocky relationship, Stirewalt says the two countries have a common bond and will likely remain allies.
“Something like two-thirds of the Canadian population lives within a short drive to the U.S. border; we’re very closely connected. I assume that in the long run, the strong and healthy and happy friendship between Canada and the United States will be resumed.”
