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CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER Mark Carney has called a snap election for 28 April.
Carney, the former head of the Bank of England, took leadership of the Liberal Party from Justin Trudeau nine days ago. He was chosen by his party, garnering over 80% of the vote, to become its new leader.
During a press conference in which he announced the election, Carney said that Canada needs to “fight the Americans” and “take actions” to tackle tariffs touted by US President Donald Trump and make efforts to fix Canada’s economy.
The trade war with the US is one of the “most significant threats of our lifetimes”, Carney told reporters, saying that Trump wants to damage Canada economically so “America can own us. We will not let that happen.”
Live from Rideau Hall • En direct de Rideau Hall https://t.co/xxeWqc0Hsd
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) March 23, 2025
He announced that he had asked for parliament to be dissolved.
Carney’s calling of an election comes as relations between Canada and the United States have reached a low point not seen since the colonial era.
The relationship between the two North American nations has been largely positive since Canada gained autonomy from Britain.
Now, Canadians are living through “dark days”, Carney said earlier this month.
Since his election last year, Trump has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada while also imposing tariffs that have set off a chaotic trade war between the once close allies.
“I think Canada would be much better off being the 51st state because we lose $200 billion a year with Canada. And I’m not going to let that happen,” Trump told Fox News last month.
Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau has previously described the newly aggressive American posture towards his country as “an existential threat”, while stressing that Canada will never be America’s “51st state”.
Carney has kept up the fighting rhetoric since his election as leader of the ruling Liberal Party.
“Canada never ever will be part of America in any way, shape or form,” Carney told Liberal Party supporters in Ottowa earlier this month.
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@mary linton: I would be very interested to read the evidence supporting your assertions….whenever your ready!
@Eugene O’Curry: my parents christened me Mary, NOT Google…….. look up yerself, it there in b&w
@Mary Linton: nobody christened you, you’re a fake ID on here, one of 20+ run by the same person/bot
@Dermot Blaine: haha brenny, paranoid much? LOL
@Mary Linton: Accusing others of paranoia? You seem to have a paranoid delusion yourself, is Brendan in the room with you now?
@Mary Linton: your various accounts keep thinking I’m Brendan, following your around. I’m not. I have one account. I think you’re the paranoid one.
Good luck, Canada.
@Annette Cooke: they will need it
Most of these dudes are nearly always “former bankers”.
@J Cronin: not in Ireland, we could do with some ex bankers if Carney’s level. It was a pointed criticism after the crash.
@Paul Fahey: That’s why I used the word “nearly”.
@J Cronin: which others were bankers? His predecessor, Trudeau, was a teacher
Let’s hope Musk stays out of it
@Simon Carr: 2 chances of that
@Simon Carr: Why? Did the Canadian leaders stay out of the US elections? Or did the on several occasions openly back Harris to win? It amazes how people like yourself don’t mind outsiders having their say on another country’s when they are backing a candidate you like.
@Ger Whelan: Is Musk an American leader? I don’t remember him on any ballot.
@ecrowley ecrowley: Unfortunately he is part of the American leadership. The joys of the American democratic system. Elect a president who can then select whoever he wants to lead the government departments. Blame the Americans for having a bad system.
@Ger Whelan: election interference, as Musk is fond of, differs greatly from backing a particular candidate
@Ger Whelan: I do blame the American system, first of all. But when world leaders, actual world leaders, democratically elected, voice concerns about an incumbent “leader”, as a Joe Soap on the sidelines with no skin in the game, I’d perhaps listen to what they have to say, and why they would say it. Fortunately Trump makes it abundantly clear all on his own how unfit he is for office, so I don’t need their opinions to form my own.
@Kev Kerr: yeah of course it does. When the British governing labour party sent over 200 members to the US to campaign for Harris that was also completely different wasn’t it?. I don’t like Trump or Musk, but many countries governments publicly backed Trump’s presidential rival many times in the hopes of swaying American voters to keep out of the White. it was/is their right to do so and I’ll never argue they shouldn’t. But then those governments now get butt hurt that Trump or Musk back their rivals I say grow up you done the same when I suited you. Trump and musk unfortunately have the same rights they do
@ecrowley ecrowley: Yes because the likes of Michael Martin, Keir starmer are great democratically elected leaders worth listening to aren’t they. I bet you hang on every word they say
@Ger Whelan: Absolutely not Ger, but you know what, I’d regard their ability at diplomacy to be a hell of a lot higher than Musk’s. You seem to hang on HIS every word.
@Ger Whelan:
Well Trump & Musk can tell us there preferred candidate, I am sure Canadians will take their views on board.
@Ger Whelan: As long as everyone knows what they are doing and who they support…
@ecrowley ecrowley: Please show me where I have hung on any of Musks or trumps words?. I don’t like either of them, but unlike yourself I’m not a hypocrite. If Canada’s government feels free to back candidates in US elections then the US government can feel free to can candidates in the Canadian election. That’s how it works.
@Ger Whelan: Show me the evidence of my Starmer or MM support so. And no, I’m not a hypocrite. I never once said Musk shouldn’t comment on world affairs. (He’s desperately ill quipped to do so but he’s perfectly entitled to, as is anyone). You’re perhaps confusing me with someone else.
@Ger Whelan: he has access to enormous amounts of money and social media. Trying to influence the democratic process shouldnt be tolerated. BTW I don’t think he should have been involved in any elections not just Canada
Trump has effectively ensured the Liberals will get reelected. Such a stable genius. What country will he threaten next? Us? Spain? South Africa?
@Billy Meehan: Billy is Ball locks.
@Billy Meehan: Get off your knees freak
In the second last paragraph, you describe Carney as elected.
He wasn’t, he was selected.
The Liberal party was told to choose him.
He has been protected from journalistic scrutiny since his selection, in this upcoming election he won’t have a hiding place and it will be interesting to see how he handles himself.
@Garry Coll: Mark Carney was elected leader of the Liberal Party. Carney got 85.9% of the vote.
https://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/03/09/new-liberal-party-leader/
@Garry Coll: Well he didn’t waste anytime going to the people…
That kind of goes against your narrative…
@David Jordan: by fellow party members – not by the actual people. Then again, should we really be surprised. We saw similar with the coronation of Kamala Harris to the 2024 nomination with zero input from voters. Very opportunistic (translate: desperate) move by Carney considering he’s barely in the door. I doubt somehow it will work in his favour.
@Jack Dermody:
In what way Jack.
I said he was selected, not elected.
Perhaps the pressure of being essentially an unelected totalitarian dictator without a mandate from the Canadian people, forced him into calling the election to hopefully provide him with a veneer of democracy.
But until that happens, he remains selected, not elected.
@Jonathan Moloney: I agree the appointment Harris was clumsy and undemocratic, Biden should have given up the presidency and he should have never tried to run for a 2nd term. He was way too old. This would have allowed the Democrats vote for a presidential candidate instead having Biden pick Harris. The Democrats are out of touch, appear elitist and condescending to American voters who are angry for valid reasons, but angry people are vulnerable to manipulation by narssasists who present simple answers to complex problems. Musk, and indeed other billionaires, know this. Now Musk is tearing apart the federal government, who voted for him?
@David Jordan: Trump campaigned alongside Musk saying that Musk would do exactly what he is doing now. And ‘tearing apart the federal government’ is an incredibly disingenuous statement. DOGE is uncovering enormous amounts of waste & corruption that were hitherto hidden from the American people. We need the same here in Ireland.
@David Jordan: yes, the Democrats were woefully naive, perhaps too naive, as in deliberately so. I’ve come to the conclusion that both the Democrats and the Republicans are the same side of the same coin, i’m beginning to think that voting is just a futile exercise in the US, that none of those votes ever count anyway, and that the election ‘winners’ are predetermined by the wealthy elites, in a lodge somewhere. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but when none of the madness of the last 10 years or so makes any sense whatsoever, you have to start thinking what might, and for me that’s as clear a possibility as anything else I can think of..
@Charlie Crown: it’s some tiles hard to tell the difference be catastrophic incompetence and deliberate malice, but I like this quote from Alan Moore…
The main thing that I learned about conspiracy theory, is that conspiracy theorists believe in a conspiracy because that is more comforting. The truth of the world is that it is actually chaotic. The truth is that it is not The Iluminati, or The Jewish Banking Conspiracy, or the Gray Alien Theory.
The truth is far more frightening – Nobody is in control.
The world is rudderless.
Alan Moore
@Jonathan Moloney: Please give me specific examples of this “enormous waste & corruption”. I don’t want vague statements from Musk. Show me verifiable evidence that proves there is vast waste & corruption in the US Federal Government.
For example, I know Musk claimed there was a “can of worms” in Social Welfare, such as 150-year-olds claiming benefits, however on closer examination it tuned out this was not true.
This was due to a misunderstanding of how old COBOL computer systems store dates and database record (in fact there were 400 million people in the Social Welfare database, more than the population of the US, because there were duplicate records and dead people, it’s simply too costly to remove this redundant data, people no longer in receipt of social welfare payments. For example, only 2% of over 100-year-olds in the database receive any benefits, the rest are redundant dead or duplicates).
The DOGE team did not understand this.
The team Musk assembled were top SpaceX and Tesla employees, yes very smart, but smart does smart not mean knowledgeable, that takes experience. The team is aged 19 to 26 years old, they are not auditors or forensic accountants, one was just 19 years old, Edward Coristine.
DOGE published their data online, it’s riddled with errors and exaggerations. A third of their data is incorrect, e.g. a cancelled 8 billion dollar contract was in fact 8 million.
I absolutely agree that the US federal government is wasteful and likely has some areas of corruption. I also agree this waste need to be addressed.
But DOGE is acting like a steamroller, it’s like someone finding a few rotten trees in a forest and burning the whole forest down.
Some of this is politics and ego.
For example, Voice of America (VOI), Radio Marti, Radio Farsi/Farda, Radio Free Asia, which are US government funded radio stations that attempt to counter propaganda from radio stations and websites operated by China, North Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, Russia, Iran etc. were shut down, because and one of them, VOI, published some news stories that were not flattening of Trump.
These radio stations were vital as broadcasting via radio into e.g. China was theonly reliable way to circumvented internet censorship.
This is absolutely crazy, an obvious own goal, given Trumps focus on countering China. In fact, China celebrated the closure of Radio Free Asia. This saga illustrates
1. DOGE does not know what it is doing
2. The closure of Federal Agencies is often not about saving money and streamlining the Federal Government, but Trump’s thin-skinned ego that drives petty meltdowns resulting in him in rashly closing department he thinks were not loyal enough to him or hurt his feelings
I know all this as one of my hobbies is Shortwave Radio. One of the radio transmitters that VOI used that was shut down, turned off Radio Thailand too, which piggybacked on the transmitter. It is also suspected the delicate transmitter (they are decades old and no one makes them any more) was damaged beyond repair by switching it off.
@David Jordan: there is a really good “On The Media” podcast this week about exactly what the effects of killing of VOI/A
@Jonathan Moloney: no, he’s not uncovering waste, they’re not auditors, they’re techies just closing down sites and slashing jobs without any thought of consequence.
@Charlie Crown: As I said, the World in Rudderless. This just in… “Trump admin officials accidentally text journalist war plans”
@Colm O’ Shea: Thanks Colm, I’ll have a listen.
He looks like the right man to take on the war hungry MAGA who threaten to annex Canada and others. Looks like the Liberals will continue in power but the cons are not far behind
Anything but maple maga Pierre poillievre!
@Jason Ferriter: HairHare!
Dark times ahead.
He said he would lower tax by 1pct on the lowest bracket and that would save over 800 cad a year. Could someone explain how those numbers work please ?
In fairness, this guy is a GRADE A bluffer, was ‘dead man walking’ the minute Trudau got binned…….Carney is the ultimate ‘ mei feiner’ …… not a politican, just a ‘gun for hire’ with a fee catchy soundbites. When one ‘drills’ down a wee bit into the Canadian economy it doesn’t make for pleasant reading…..their whole economy is a bit of a ponzi scheme house of cards. Canada is hovering on the brink of a deep recession– with or without US tariffs
@Mary Linton: Grade A Bluffer. Dead man walking. Me Feiner. Gun for hire. Ponzi scheme. House of cards.
Plenty of cliches to cover up an inordinate amount of drivel. Make one meaningful statement ffs.
@Louis Jacob: me thinks “Mary” is the grade A bluffer
@Buster Lawless: good to see you back Buster— the standard of trolling on here is on the floor lately…… brendan is over on ‘ trustpilot’ these days
@Mary Linton: thanks Mary, just seen that now….. what happened him/ it?
@Louis Jacob: I wouldn’t expect an intelligent comment from Mary
@Mary Linton: Methinks you don’t know what you’re talking about! Canada is one of the most stable economies around. Remember the financial crisis back in 2008. Canada just kept trucking along through it and have been ever since. Very careful. Very conservative… financially. Not so, politically.
10 lost years of Trudeau liberals lost decade now the liberals have this multi millionaire banker who will inflict more misery on the country if elected.
Mark Carney is the most unqualified individual I can think of for Prime Minister of Canada. He already destroyed multiple economies and Governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of Canada. He flooded the markets with liquidity through ultra-low interest rates and massive QE programs. This debased currencies, fueled asset bubbles and contributed to inflation. By keeping interest rates artificially low, Carney wiped out returns on savings, forcing retirees and cautious investors to chase riskier assets. He’s main opponent Pierre Poilievre is not much better either. Poilievre is a crass populist who has spent the entire time attacking the Liberals without laying out any sort of coherent vision for how he would run Canada if he wins next month. Tough times lie ahead for Canadian voters.
@FoxyBoiiYT: Look, it’s the resident Holocaust denier back trolling my account again. Now he’s admitting that he can’t read. I just said above that I don’t like Pierre Poilievre either but Mark Carney had already damaged the Canadian economy as Governor of the Bank of Canada. Since you are economically illiterate, it’s no surprise that you are able to comprehend the basic concepts of central banking and how Carney caused the mortgage crisis that Canada have today through his Quantitative Easing (QE) policies. Why do you view Catholics like myself as “planters?” Is it that you’re a raging Prod yourself and you can’t help engaging in a bit of self-protection? Ah, I have you figured out now.
He should at least sent Trump a hamper or some flowers or something to thank him for the walk-in election the Liberal Party will now hold thanks to his actions.
Any sign of Justin and Melania?
All Canada have to look forward to is becoming the 51st state of the USA under Donald J Trump.
@Rian O’Sullivan: Over my and millions of others dead body!!
@Rian O’Sullivan: it would have to be 3 states at least, which would mean a Republican president could never win again. So it won’t happen. The Conservative wannabe Trump candidate in Canada was miles ahead in polls until Trump put his size 4 foot in it with his tariffs. Trump hasn’t a fkinng clue.
@Máire K: well so be it.
@Máire K: Oh its happening pet its happening
@Dermot Blaine: Canada, Alaska and Mexico all going to be states in the USA very soon.
@Rian O’Sullivan:
Canada has been in existence a long time,and has no intention of being taken over by Trump or any other delusional dictator.
@Rian O’Sullivan:
You have all the delusions of the Maga brigade, and that’s not something to boast about.
@Rian O’Sullivan: Rian ‘Traitor’ O Sullivan.
@Mary.E.: Don’t feed the troll.
Wonder will they do a Romania if the wrong person wins.
Mehole was part of the government that bankrupt our country, he is part of the people, that raped abused and killed ,women children, the sick and those that needed help ,Why do you dickless keep voting for it
have your say