Canadians vote in an election dominated by Trump’s trade war and bluster

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO AP Canadians will decide Monday whether to extend the Liberal Party s decade in power or instead hand control to the Conservatives They ll pick either Prime Minister Mark Carney or opposition leader Pierre Poilievre to lead the way forward but the electoral contest is also a referendum of sorts on someone who isn t even Canadian Donald Trump Liberal Leader Mark Carney holds a rally beside the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor Ontario on Saturday April Sean Kilpatrick The Canadian Press via AP The American president trolled Canadians on polling day with a post on social media post suggesting he was on the ballot and repeating that Canada should become the st state and incorrectly claiming that the U S subsidizes Canada It makes no sense unless Canada is a State Trump posted Until Trump won a second term and began threatening Canada s market and sovereignty even suggesting the country should become the st state the Liberals looked headed for defeat Trump s truculence has infuriated various Canadians leading multiple to cancel U S vacations refuse to buy American goods and possibly even vote early a record million Canadians cast ballots before ballot day Trump also put Poilievre and the Conservative Party on the back foot after they appeared headed for an easy supremacy only months ago Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks at a rally in Oakville Ontario Sunday April Laura Proctor The Canadian Press via AP The Americans want to break us so they can own us Carney declared not long ago laying out what he saw as the stakes for the vote Those aren t just words That s what s at jeopardy Polls have opened in Atlantic Canada Canadians vote as the country grapples with the aftermath of a fatal car ramming attack on Saturday in Vancouver The tragedy on the eve of the vote prompted the suspension of campaigning for several hours Police ruled out terrorism and mentioned the suspect is a local man with a history of mental soundness issues Poilievre a populist firebrand who campaigned with Trump-like bravado had hoped to make the ballot a referendum on former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau whose popularity declined toward the end of his decade in power as food and housing prices rose and immigration surged But then Trump became the dominant issue and Poilievre s similarities to the bombastic president could cost him He appeals to the same sense of grievance Canadian historian Robert Bothwell disclosed of the Conservative leader It s like Trump standing there saying I am your retribution Foreign strategy hasn t dominated a Canadian electoral process this much since when ironically free pact with the United States was the prevailing issue Whichever candidate emerges as prime minister will face a litany of challenges Canada has been dealing with a cost-of-living problem for various time And more than of its exports go to the U S so Trump s threat to impose sweeping tariffs and his desire to get the North American automakers to move Canada s production south could severely damage the Canadian market system Both Carney and Poilievre commented that if elected they would accelerate renegotiations of a free contract deal between Canada and the U S in a bid to end the uncertainty hurting both of their economies Carney in particular has notable experience navigating economic crises having done so when running Canada s central bank and later after becoming the first non-U K citizen to run the Bank of England Trump dialed back his talk of Canada becoming the st state during the campaign until last week when he explained Canada would cease to exist as a country if the U S stopped buying its goods He also explained he s not just trolling Canada when he says it should become a state The Liberals ought to pay him Bothwell declared Trump talking is not good for the Conservatives In response to the threats to Canadian sovereignty Carney pleaded with voters to deliver him a strong mandate to deal with Trump President Trump has particular obsessive ideas and that is one Carney reported of his annexation threat It s not a joke It s his very strong desire to make this happen It s one of the reasons why this problem is so serious