Canada PM Mark Carney calls polls on April 28; seeks big win to fight US threat

OTTAWA: New Canadian PM Mark Carney Sunday called a snap election for April 28, saying he needed a strong mandate to deal with the threat posed by US President Donald Trump, who "wants to break us so America can own us".

The comments showed the extent to which relations between the US and Canada, two long-time allies and major trading partners, have deteriorated since Trump imposed tariffs on Canada and threatened to annex it as the 51st state.

Although the next election was not due until Oct 20, Carney is hoping to capitalise on a remarkable recovery by his Liberal party since Jan, when Trump began threatening Canada and former PM Justin Trudeau announced his resignation. Upon being sworn in as PM on March 14, Carney had said he could work with and respected Trump. On Sunday, however, he took a more combative approach.

"We are facing the most significant crisis of our lifetimes because of President Trump's unjustified trade actions and his threats to our sovereignty," Carney said after the governor general approved his request for an election. Carney now has five weeks to win over Canadians. Polls suggest the Liberals, who have been in office since 2015 and trailed the Conservatives at the start of the year, are now slightly ahead of their rivals.