Trump tariff boosting Trudeau's successor, Conservatives warn ahead of fed election

As the campaign to determine Canada's new prime minister continues, one issue remains at the forefront: President Donald Trump and the United States.

Locked in a close race with the Conservative Official Opposition, the governing Liberal Party got a vote of confidence from Trump himself, posted Friday, March 28, on X and Truth Social that he had phoned Carney and had “an extremely productive call.”

'I am now off to the US yet again to try and speak to Americans ... to convince their president to change course on tariffs against Canada.'

“I just finished speaking with Prime Minister Mark Carney, of Canada. It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, and will be meeting immediately after Canada’s upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Liberal leader Mark Carney, who only became prime minister just over a week before calling a snap federal election for April 28, was initially highly combative toward Trump as the president continued to threaten to impose a 25 % tariff on all Canadian products with the exception of oil and gas, which will be subject to a 10 % tariff.

However, Canada was not subject to any new tariffs when Trump expanded his program on April 2.

Dropped call?

Initially, Carney said that Trump wouldn’t talk to him. The confession was apparently inadvertent because Carney almost immediately tried to walk back the statement.

“The president is waiting for the outcome of the election and to see who has a strong mandate from Canadians or who has a mandate from Canadians. Is it someone … who is in sync with him, or is it someone who is going to stand up for Canadians? I am going to stand up for Canadians. I hope Canadians will back me, and then we'll have a discussion,” Carney told reporters on March 24.

“Did you say that President Trump is waiting to talk to the prime minister of whoever wins this election?” one reporter responded.

“Well, that's an interpretation, but I think it's a reasonable interpretation. I'm available for a call, but you know, we're going to talk on our terms as a sovereign country, not as what he pretends we are and on a comprehensive deal,” Carney said, not adding that Trump has said he would prefer to deal with a Liberal government under Carney than a Conservative one under Poilievre.

'Unjust and unfair'

The escalating trade war has divided provinces from the federal government, with Alberta’s Conservative Premier Danielle Smith, who was invited to the Trump inauguration, asking the president to hold off on the tariffs because the conflict is helping Carney and the Liberals to overtake the Conservatives in the election.

Smith, who has reached out to much of conservative U.S. media, recently told Breitbart that the “unjust and unfair tariffs” have “actually caused an increase in the support for the Liberals. And so that's what I fear, is that the longer this dispute goes on, politicians posture, and it seems to be benefitting the Liberals right now,” she said.

“So I would hope that we could put things on pause, is what I've told administration officials, let's just put things on pause so we can get through an election. Let's have the best person at the table make the argument for how they would deal with them, and I think that's [Conservative leader] Pierre Poilievre.”

Smith went on to say that Poilievre “doesn’t believe in any of the woke stuff” and that his perspective “would be very much in sync with, I think, the new direction in America.”

Pot calls kettle black

Liberals castigated Smith for asking the U.S. to “interfere” in the Canadian election — an ironic accusation since the Liberals have clearly been campaigning more against Donald Trump and the perceived American menace than even their Conservative Party opponents.

Smith appeared on Ben Shapiro’s podcast almost two weeks ago, and before leaving, the popular and populist premier defended that decision in the Alberta legislature.

“I am now off to the U.S. yet again to try and speak to Americans, this time through the second-largest podcaster in the world, whose audience is made up of exactly the people we need to persuade, to convince their president to change course on tariffs against Canada," Smith said. "And what does Team Carney want me to do? They want me to abandon my post, remain in Alberta, and do absolutely nothing to defend our province."

“They want me to cower in the face of eastern media pundits and politicians who favor political grandstanding to effective diplomacy. I'm fiercely criticized for going into the lion's den to change the hearts and minds of the very Americans that we need on Canada's side to avoid a trade war with the most powerful economy on Earth,” she continued.

Smith resolved that “this lady” may be expected to “just sit down and shut up” but that she is resolved to do otherwise.

“I will not be silent. Alberta will not be silent. We will not be pushed around and called traitors for merely having the courage to actually do something about our nation’s and province’s predicament, other than merely indulging in self-righteous tantrums.”