Mark Carney vs Pierre Poilievre: Battle for Canada's future in snap elections

Amid the rising trade concerns between Canada and the USA, the Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney has officially called for snap elections, scheduled to take place on 28th April 2025. He made the announcement few weeks after taking over the leadership of the Liberal Party from former PM Justin Trudeau. 

The elections that were originally scheduled for 27th October, 2025, will now be held nearly six months before of the original date, taking place on 28th April, 2025. PM Mark Carney emphasized on the decision of conducting snap elections and said that he is looking for a fresh mandate to counter and clash the U.S. President, Donald Trump. 

He added that the U.S. President is making efforts to break them so that Americans can own them. He however, expressed his determination to never allow that to happen, therefore, he expressed his desire of having a fresh mandate that could stand up to Trump. 

“President Trump claims that Canada isn't a real country. He wants to break us so America can own us. We will not let that happen. We're over the shock of the betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons. We have to look out for ourselves. We have to look out for each other,” said PM Mark Carney. 

Mark Carney further aimed at cutting down the lowest income tax bracket by one percentage point for a middle-class tax cut that will benefit a two-income family by up to $825 a year. “I'm asking Canadians for a strong, positive mandate to deal with president Trump and to build a new Canadian economy that works for everyone. Because I know we need change, big change, positive change,” noted Mark Carney. 

He also asked all the Canadians to be positive as negativity won’t win a trade war and will never bring down the price of groceries or make Canada strong. 

The opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre also shed light on the snap elections and has positioned himself as a strong candidate, noting that Liberal government cannot handle the economy. Assuring the voters, he added that he recognizes the independence and sovereignty of Canada and the tariffs and will never let Canada become the 51st state of the United States of America. 

Mark Carney’s Liberals vs Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party 

The election campaign is expected to last around 5 weeks, with 343 parliamentary seats up for grabs. This contest is expected to be a battle between Mark Carney’s Liberal Party and Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives party.

 Two other major parties including, the left-leaning New Democrats (NDP) and the Bloc Québécois will also be competing for the seats in the Parliament. The party that secures votes in the majority in Parliament will form the next government. 

Elections not for domestic issues but for sovereignty 

This election comes as the friendly relation between Canada and the United States has soured, with tensions rose in recent weeks following Trump’s tariff agenda and repeated remarks about making Canada, the 51st state of U.S. It is also the first time that a Canadian election is not mostly focused on domestic issues but on sovereignty. 

It would be interesting to know which leader will climb up the polls and win the election as the net Prime Minister will have to come up with several convincing policies to address the major concerns being faced by the Canadians.