Donald Trump’s ghost will have hovered over this electoral campaign to the end. Still Monday, the day of the country’s voting, the American president invited Canadians to join the United States. An incendiary declaration which recalls how the trade war with our southern neighbors and this threat of annexation monopolized the federal scene, to the detriment of several other subjects of importance.
“Good luck to the big people in Canada,” wrote President Trump on his network, Truth Social, Monday morning, in a long paragraph punctuated by words written in capital letters, in which he invites Canadians to vote for … him. By making the country on the 51e State of the United States, Canadians could benefit from the most powerful army in the world and avoid customs tariffs affecting many sections of their economy, including, among others, the automotive industry and that of aluminum, he argued.
“Noon, the artificial lines traced many years ago. See as this territory would be magnificent, “added the president, according to which the annexation of Canada – in which all the parties which took part in the federal campaign – would only lead to” only positive, without any negative point “for Canadians.
An eclipse named Trump
From one electoral campaign to another, the great national themes of the cost of living, crime, environment and immigration, among others, generally occupy a major place in the debates of the chiefs and the tour of these through the hope of wrapping as many voters as possible.
However, even if the platforms of the various parties are full of electoral commitments on these different themes, these were widely dismissed during this electoral campaign for just over a month, the current trade war with the United States having quickly imposed as “the stake of the urn”, underlines Duty André Lamoureux, professor of political science at the University of Quebec in Montreal.
“Never confuse our kindness [avec de] weakness. Let’s vote and send a message to President Trump, “said the Liberal Party of Canada on Monday.
-“Significant subjects such as the cost of living, housing, the environment” became “secondary” during this campaign, the economic issue “having taken over”, also notes Geneviève Tellier, a teacher of political science at the University of Ottawa. A subject that was “imposed by Donald Trump” and which mainly benefited the liberal training, led by Mark Carney, she adds.
“The Liberals consciously wanted to talk about that”, Mr. Carney being advantaged by his position as Prime Minister and his former government of the Bank of Canada, “said the expert. The Conservative Party has repeatedly hammered its commitments in the fight against crime and the housing crisis, but, as for other parties, the words of its leader, Pierre Hairyvre, on issues other than the trade war found few echoes in the media and the population,me Tellier. In short, “people wanted to hear about the trade war”, and not really other subjects, she summarizes.
Result: many Canadians will have voted this year without knowing the position of the parties in the running on several importance subjects, having little or not having the opportunity to hear these debate something other than relations between Canada and the United States.
“It was not a kidnapping election, where great debates would have invited themselves to the campaign,” deplores Mr. Lamoureux, who is notably surprised to see that the possible construction of pipelines which would cross Quebec and the position of federal parties with regard to respect for provincial skills did not raise passions more in the context of this campaign. There was also “no fundamental debate” on the issue of immigration, this theme was only discussed in surface during the debates of the chiefs, he adds.
However, “four years ago ahead of us when tons of decisions will have to be made [à Ottawa] Who goes beyond Trump’s threat, “said the expert.
Some 28.2 million voters are called to the ballot box today to elect their deputies.
