Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney declared victory in the country’s pivotal federal election Tuesday — and vowed never to let the US “break us” in a blistering warning to President Trump.
“As I’ve been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country,” Carney said in a victory speech to supporters in Ottawa.
“These are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so America can own us. That will never… ever happen. But we also must recognize the reality that our world has fundamentally changed.”
The lefty leader stressed the importance of Canadian unity in the face of Washington’s threats, insisting that the mutually beneficial system Canada and the US had shared since World War II was now battered.
“Our old relationship with the United States, a relationship based on steadily increasing integration, is over,” Carney argued.
“The system of open global trade anchored by the United States, a system that Canada has relied on since the Second World War, a system that, while not perfect, has helped deliver prosperity for our country for decades, is over.”
“These are tragedies, but it’s also our new reality,” he added.
After polls closed, the Liberals were projected to win more of Parliament’s 343 seats than the Conservatives.
However, while Carney retained power in the election, his Liberal Party fell short of the majority government he had wanted to help him negotiate tariffs with Trump amid the escalating trade war.
Carney’s Liberal Party had initially looked like it was heading for a crushing defeat after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau abruptly resigned in January as his popularity plummeted toward the end of his decade in power.
The result capped a notable comeback for the Liberals, who had been 20 percentage points behind in the polls before Trudeau’s resignation and Trump started hurling threats.
Trump’s attacks on Canada’s economy and suggestion it should become the 51st state infuriated Canadians and stoked a surge in nationalism that helped the Liberals flip the election narrative and win a fourth-straight term in power.
Still, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre conceded defeat and said his party would hold the government to account.
“We are cognizant of the fact that we didn’t get over the finish line yet,” Poilievre told supporters.
“We know that change is needed, but change is hard to come by. It takes time. It takes work. And that’s why we have to learn the lessons of tonight — so that we can have an even better result the next time Canadians decide the future of the country.”
During the campaign, Carney had promised a tough approach with Washington over its import tariffs and said Canada would need to spend billions to reduce its reliance on the US.
He emphasized, too, that his experience handling economic issues made him the best leader to deal with Trump.
Poilievre, meanwhile, tapped into concerns about the cost of living, crime and a housing crisis.
Trump, for his part, backed Poilievre — reiterating his call for Canada to become the 51st state as voters took to the polls on Monday.
“Good luck to the Great people of Canada,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
“Elect the man who has the strength and wisdom to cut your taxes in half, increase your military power, for free, to the highest level in the World, have your Car, Steel, Aluminum, Lumber, Energy, and all other businesses, QUADRUPLE in size, WITH ZERO TARIFFS OR TAXES, if Canada becomes the cherished 51st. State of the United States of America. No more artificially drawn line from many years ago.”
With Post wires
