Newly appointed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced mid-term elections while tensions are rising with the US. After the resignation of Justin Trudeau, Carney of the Liberal Party was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Canada 9 days ago. He has announced that elections will be held in Canada on April 28.

With Donald Trump assuming the office of president for the second term, the tension with Canada has increased. Trump has not only started a trade war with neighboring Canada, but has been calling for Canada to become the 51st US state. These issues are expected to be the main agenda in the elections after a month.

Experts estimate that the import duties imposed by President Trump will cause economic instability and push Canada into recession. Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods on March 2. Likewise, on March 12, Trump imposed a 25 percent import duty on all aluminum and steel imports into the United States, affecting Canadian importers.

The Trump administration has announced plans to impose additional global tariffs on Canada on April 2nd. In response to the US decision, Canada has so far imposed taxes on US goods worth about 42 billion US dollars. 

It is seen that the upcoming elections will be mainly between the Liberal and Conservative parties. Various polls showed Pierre Poliev's party in the lead since mid-2023. But recent polls have shown that there will be a tough competition between the Liberals led by Carney and the Conservatives led by Poliev.

In the previous election, Liberal won 153 seats in the Canadian Parliament House of Commons. The Conservatives won 120 seats. The Bloc Québécois won 33 seats, the NDP 24 and the Green Party 2.

The Conservatives were 20 points ahead in the polls for a year . But surprisingly, the results seem to have reversed in the past few weeks. Since the election campaign has officially started, it seems that the election results can go in favor of any party. 

The two leaders who are considered to be the main competitors have organized their first election rally on Sunday. At an event held in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Carney said there is a threat of US import tariffs. He says that Canada will win in the trade war with the US as well as in hockey. 

Earlier, speaking at an event in Ottawa, Carney tried to convince voters that a clear, positive mandate was needed to deal with Trump. "We are facing the most significant crisis of our lifetime because of President Trump's unfair trade practices and his threats to our sovereignty," he said.

Likewise, at a rally held in Toronto on Sunday evening, Poliev claimed that Carney's party for change has failed. He said that the Liberal Party has been repeating and breaking the same promises for more than 10 years. 

Carney calls Poliev 'like US President Donald Trump' and Poliev calls Carney 'like former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau'.  Who's in the

competition?

Voters in Canada do not directly vote for the Prime Minister. The leader of the party that wins the most members in the parliament automatically becomes the prime minister. The upcoming election competition seems to be mainly between four parties. 

Liberals, Conservatives, New Democrats (NDP) and Bloc Québécois. The Bloc Québécois has been fielding candidates focused on its regional interests in the French-speaking province of Quebec. In addition, the Green Party and the People's Party of Canada are also in the electoral race.  

Mark Carney, Liberal Party 

60-year-old Carney is the current Prime Minister of Canada. He assumed the responsibility of the Prime Minister only 9 days ago . In the election held in early March, the Liberal Party elected Carney to succeed Justin Trudeau with more than 85 percent of the vote.

Born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Carney grew up in Edmonton, Alberta. He studied at Harvard and  Studied Economics at Oxford University. Carney has made the most of his short tenure, meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron. 

Carney is a familiar figure to many in Canada and the UK. Previously, he was a governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England. Financial expert Carney has taken a strong stance against US President Donald Trump. He vowed to retaliate against US import tariffs and said that Canada would never become the 51st state of America. 

But Carney's political trial has not happened. Carney has never been elected to public office in Canada. In this way, the next election will be his first. In addition, because the French language is also weak, it seems that Carney will have a hard time convincing the voters of the province of Quebec, who are in favor of protecting Canada's French-speaking heritage.

If the Liberals lose the election, Carney may have to step down as the shortest-serving prime minister in Canadian history.

Pierre Poliev, Conservative Party 

45-year-old Poliev from Calgary, Alberta has been active in Canadian politics for nearly two decades. He was first elected to the House of Commons at the age of 25. Since then, he has consistently advocated for low taxes and lean government in Canada. He is also known for his confrontational style in

politics. In recent years, he has attacked the Liberal Party and former Prime Minister Trudeau. He alleges that Trudeau's disastrous policies have worsened the standard of living in Canada.

He claims that if his party forms the government, the situation in the country will be normal. At a time when many Canadians are concerned about the housing crisis, stagnant wages and high living standards, his agenda is expected to attract voters. 

But Poliev's popular style has been criticized. Because of this, Canadians have compared him with American President Trump . He has distanced himself from Trump and said that Canada will take the first policy. Trump himself has also criticized Poliev. But Trump's ally and technology billionaire Elon Musk praised him.

Eve Frances Blanchet, Bloc Québécois 

The Bloc Québécois is a nationalist party in the province of Quebec, Canada. There is no possibility that the leader of this party will become the prime minister as he will only run in French-speaking provinces. Although popular in Quebec, it could play a role in determining the fate of other major parties seeking to form a government.

Blanchett has been leading the party since 2019. He says Trump's call for a 51st state is nonsense. "It's a lot of nonsense," Blanchett said in Montreal in early March. "We can say whatever we want." But that doesn't mean we can do whatever we want.'

In a domestic issue, Blanchett has been urging his business partners to push Quebec for diversity. As Quebec has the largest aluminum mine in the country, he demands that it be given a prominent place in Canada's economic plan. According to election polls, it has trailed the Liberal Party in Quebec. 

Jagmeet Singh, New Democratic Party 

The New Democratic Party is a left-leaning party. The party has traditionally focused on workers and labor issues. 46-year-old Singh is the leader of the party. He created history in 2017 and became the first leader of a major political party in Canada from the ethnic minority Sikh community.

A former criminal lawyer who became an MP from British Columbia in 2019. Since then he has been serving in public office . 

The NDP helped the Trudeau-led government maintain its grip on power from 2021. But at the end of 2024, Singh withdrew his support for the NDP after Trudeau's cabinet directed its Industrial Relations Board to implement binding arbitration to stop work on Canada's two largest railroads.