[Text/Observer Network Wang Yi] The 45th Canadian federal parliamentary election was held on the 28th local time. US President Trump has become an important variable in Canada's election. He appealed to Canadians on that day to elect a "powerful and wise person" to make Canada the 51st state of the United States.

In a post on his self-created social media platform "Truth Social", Trump stated that Canadian voters should elect a "powerful and wise person" to "free up military power to the highest level in the world", increase the scale of the automobile, steel, aluminum, timber, energy and other industries by four times with zero tariffs, and all of this can be achieved as long as Canada becomes the "beloved 51st state" of the United States. "Stop being constrained by artificial boundaries drawn many years ago. Just imagine how beautiful this land would be when united! Complete freedom of movement, no more barriers. All benefits, no drawbacks. It's a perfect match!" Trump wrote, "The United States cannot continue to provide billions of dollars in subsidies to Canada every year as it did in the past. This makes no sense unless Canada becomes a state!"

On the day of the Canadian election, Trump posted again, implying that Canada should become the 51st state of the United States. Social media

Since taking office, Trump has repeatedly threatened Canadian sovereignty, stating that Canada as a country "makes no sense" and should join the United States.

Public opinion holds that Trump's humiliating threats against Canada have aroused "patriotic sentiments" among Canadians, completely overturning the country's political landscape, weakening the Conservative Party, which was rising before Trudeau resigned, and boosting the ruling Liberal Party.

The New York Times reported that it is difficult for observers to interpret the signals sent by Trump on the 28th. Some believe that this is an implicit support for Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party, who is considered Trump's close ideological ally and criticized by many voters for being too Trump-like. Others think that Trump's post may unintentionally help current Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader Mark Carney, whose campaign platform is anti-Trump.

The report pointed out that regardless, one thing is clear: Trump will not give up his obsession with Canada. And the new government elected on the 28th will face a US president who both wants to harm Canada's economy with tariffs and covets its rich resources.

Poilievre condemned Trump's post immediately after it was released. He posted on the social media platform X, calling on Trump, "Do not interfere in our election," and "We will never become the 51st state of the United States."

Carney mentioned in his last campaign speech that the crisis in the United States does not stop at its border, but this is Canada - we decide what happens here. According to the Financial Times, an advisor to Carney described Trump's post as a "gift".

The Financial Times analysis points out that the main competition between Poilievre and Carney focuses on leadership issues rather than party choices or domestic politics. They offer Canada two completely different development paths. Carney uses his experience as a central bank governor to focus on the economic uncertainty brought by Trump's tariffs, while Poilievre concentrates on housing prices, crime, and living costs.

Canadian citizens are casting their votes. Video screenshot

Carney positions himself as the "best candidate" to lead Canada through the crisis, most adept at dealing with the unpredictable US president at present, and planning new economic and security relations.

He has repeatedly publicly accused Trump of attempting to "undermine and annex Canada", but last week, after Trump mentioned the news of making Canada the 51st state of the United States during a call last month, he was criticized for hiding the full truth about his conversation with Trump. After the call, Carney told the public that Trump respects Canadian sovereignty.

According to CBC, it is unclear whether this matter will affect the election results, but Carney has paid great attention to Trump during his campaign. Carney said at a rally on the 26th, "The question I want to ask Canadians is simple: Is Pierre Poilievre the person you want to sit with Donald Trump?"

Poilievre did not pay so much attention to Trump, but focused more on discussing domestic issues in Canada. His strategy is to link Carney with the unpopular Trudeau, calling for "change". Poilievre said at a rally on the 26th, "We cannot afford a fourth Liberal term, and we need change."

However, the Financial Times points out that many Canadian voters are concerned that Poilievre's "MAGA-style" policies will completely transform Canada, so Poilievre's similarity to Trump has become a burden for him.

Politico News Network analysis suggests that Canadian voters are very concerned about how to deal with Trump, but Poilievre insists on avoiding this issue, which may create a "gap" between the Conservative Party and voters. This also diverts votes from smaller parties such as the New Democratic Party because Canadian voters do not want to waste their votes on parties that cannot win.

Dan Moulton (Dan Moulton), a strategist for the Liberal Party, believes: "The third and fourth place parties are weakened because voters are flocking to the Liberal Party to block Poilievre."

In David Coletto's view, the head of the Canadian polling agency Abacus Data, this election has become a "referendum on stability under global uncertainty".

The Canadian federal parliamentary election is held every four years. According to normal procedures, the 45th federal parliamentary election should have been held in October 2025. But on March 23, Carney announced the dissolution of parliament and called for early elections.

In the past two years, Canadians have been dissatisfied with rising prices and a sluggish economy. The Liberal Party's approval rating fell to around 20% last December, trailing the Conservatives by over 20 percentage points. However, Trump's threats have aroused "patriotic sentiments" among Canadians. Moreover, after Carney replaced Trudeau as the Prime Minister of Canada, he took strong measures to counter the Trump administration, announcing retaliatory tariffs on the United States, which quickly reversed the Liberal Party's poll numbers and rapidly boosted its support rate.

From the latest poll data, the Liberals have "turned the tables" from trailing the Conservatives by 20 percentage points at the beginning of the year to leading by a few percentage points now.

This election is the first general election after the seats in the Canadian federal parliament increased from 338 to 343. According to Statistics Canada, the number of registered voters in this election exceeds 28.5 million, with a record 7.3 million voters having already cast their advance ballots.

According to CBC reports, voting will end at 10 PM local time on the 28th, and the final election results are expected to be announced on the 29th.

This article is an exclusive article of Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7498562316808618506/

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