Opinion with Michael Coren As I write this column, I realize that things may have changed, may have changed a great deal in the time gap between authorship and publication. Still, the trends are the same and I can’t see any of the characters I write about being suddenly transformed. Just a few months ago, the Liberal Party of Canada was looking ahead to one of its worst results in the country’s electoral history. The natural party of government was predicted to fall to a rump of a mere 50, or even 40 seats. The party was divided, long-time leader Justin Trudeau had gone from asset to hindrance, and various party backbenchers were calling journalists to inquire about jobs in television or writing newspaper columns. Then things began to change. Trudeau was forced into resignation, former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor Mark Carney was elected Liberal leader, easily beating out Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. There was actually very little to choose between them politically. Both represented continuity, support for Trudeau’s policies of ambitious climate change targets and for a carbon tax (though they claim to have changed their minds about that). What a surprise! They’ve remained firm, however, on generous public spending and socially progressive legislation. Freeland had even said that if she’d won, she would have asked Carney to be her finance minister. I’m afraid victory was never going to happen. Any change in leadership helps a party, albeit briefly, and Carney has a certain gravitas and the novelty of the newcomer. Yet nobody believed that a new leadership alone would be sufficient for the Liberals to dent the enormous lead enjoyed by the Tories under Pierre Poilievre. But a week is a long time in politics, and in the life and world of Donald Trump, it’s much, much longer. Much to Conservative dismay, Trump and his people declared a trade war with Canada, repeatedly insulted the country by declaring it “the 51st state” and told downright lies about the place. I’ve lived here for 37 years and have never seen Canada so united, angry and anti-American. Trudeau’s final days in office were dignified and defiant, and this was juxtaposed with Conservatives, who had long boasted of their ties to Trump and his people. They’d worn MAGA hats and one of their MPs even boasted of his close friendship with JD Vance. You’d expect the Conservatives to be the party of nationalism and patriotism but, under Pierre Poilievre, that’s a difficult one to play this time around. While the party certainly promotes Canada and Canadian values, their ubiquitous cry has been that “Canada is broken,” that we’re a failed state and should look elsewhere for inspiration. That once worked extremely well, but it now carries a completely different interpretation. From seeming proudly Canadian, it currently looks downright heretical. It’s the reason that this has disappeared from the campaign. They may also have to edit their material linking Mark Carney with the carbon tax. For the first time in some years, the Tories have lost the political initiative. Try as he might, Poilievre can’t expunge the link between his party and Trumpian Republicanism. The “Canada is Broken” line may have disappeared, but it’s not enough. He’s doubled down on attacking Carney as being another version of Trudeau, but the problem is that Donald Trump is by far the loudest voice in North American politics; is overwhelmingly disliked in Canada; and it’s the Liberal, rather than the Conservative leader who is regarded as the anti-Trump. Carney has said relatively little about his policies and has hardly set the world alight so far, but truth be told he doesn’t really have to. He’s now Prime Minister and so it’s him and not Pierre Poilievre who meets with King Charles – our head of state – and looks proudly Canadian. Trump’s bombast has enabled the Liberals to close a 20-point gap behind the Tories to less than five and there are no signs that’s going to change. The election will be close, could lead to a hung Parliament and is extremely unlikely to give the Conservatives the overwhelming victory they expected so recently, or even a victory at all. I doubt that Donald Trump cares very much about all of this but the Canadian conservative movement, so long in the wilderness, cares very much indeed. As for Mark Carney, I wonder if he ever thought that he’d be this grateful to President Donald Trump? I doubt that very much. CSANews | SPRING 2025 | 13
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