Carney Top Choice To Fight Trump: POLL
As Canadians get their first taste of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term tariffs, many are giving more thought to which Canadian leader they’d prefer to deal with the president in the coming months and years.
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This is a poll from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute.
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With days left before a new Liberal leader is announced, new data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds 43 per cent of Canadians say Mark Carney would be best to square off against the U.S. president in the scenario he wins the leadership race, compared to 34 per cent who choose Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre. In a scenario where Chrystia Freeland were to win the leadership race, the former finance minister also – albeit more narrowly – edges Poilievre as the more trusted choice to take on Trump (36 per cent Freeland vs. 33 per cent Poilievre).
This comes as Canadians await the next in a string of unpredictable decisions from Trump and at a time when one-in-three Canadians (34%) say the U.S. relationship is the top issue facing the country, behind only the cost of living (49%) and health care (41%).
With domestic and cross-border machinations unfolding day by day, the Canadian vote intention picture remains a neck-and-neck contest between the Conservatives and the Liberals. For the second consecutive survey the Conservatives hold a 40 per cent to 37 per cent advantage of the Liberals, assuming Carney as leader. With Freeland holding that post the CPC advantage rises to eight points.
The picture continues to reveal itself in key battleground provinces between a Carney-led Liberal Party and Poilievre’s CPC. With these two leaders in place, the Liberals hold a three-point edge in B.C. (39% to 36%), and a 13-point advantage in Quebec (34% to 21%) – though in that province the Bloc Québécois garners 38 per cent of vote intention. In Ontario, the CPC lead by six points (46% to 40%).
Link to the poll here: www.angusreid.org/
For You:
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– The Bulldog – News Feed Enter 
It’s a two-stage process before Carney (or Freeland) can take on Trump in any meaningful way. He has to win the leadership contest and, potentially, then win a federal election.
Since the people being polled aren’t the ones voting this week in the Liberal leadership race, do any the polls really mean anything? They might have some very minor influence on party members if they are looking for a final factor to tip them one way or the other for their choice.
The election is not a sure thing either. It’s quite possible that Jagmeet Singh may decide post-March 9th that it’s more important to have a government in place over the next six months or so to take on Trump than it is to side with the Tories in a non-confidence motion when the House comes back two weeks later. He’s going to have to answer to voters eventually whichever way he goes. Which camp does he want to be seen in?
Whoever is the Liberal leader is still the PM until after any election but will have limited power as the head of a caretaker government. Trump will obviously smell blood if parliamentarians are out on the hustings for a couple of months and will use it to his advantage.
By not supporting the Tories, Singh stands to get some things done that will be to his advantage in an election campaign. It will also contribute to the narrative that Poilievre is focussed on gaining power and not on the best interests of the country. It’s all well and good to trumpet that you’re the guy to take on Trump but, when you are responsible for essentially closing the House for several months, leaving Trump to press forward his agenda and denying Parliament the opportunity to participate in the response to Trump’s threats and actions, it’s hard to simultaneously claim you’re acting for the country.
Will Singh be the one to watch in the coming weeks? The balance of power is a strong thing to possess. We shall see how he uses it.
Oftentimes Bulldog commenters have criticized city councilors for having no previous experience in politics. At the same time, Pierre Poilievre is always criticized for not having worked at a “real” job after he graduated from the University of Calgary. We can see the impact of electing a leader with no political savvy by looking to our southern neighbours. This having been said, Mark Carney is being touted as Canada’s next saviour after he noted, “I’m not a politician”. We know that he has served as a financial consultant to Justin Trudeau in the past. Hopefully he’s NOT the person who told Justin “the budget will balance itself”. In these trying times with our southern (former?) allies it’s time for Canada’s political leaders to work together to determine the best way to deal with the impact of Trumpfism rather than beat each other up on the dance floor during a federal election campaign. DumbOld Trumpf’s activities have shown us all that a new approach to democracy is required and this is a perfect opportunity for Canada to show the world a new way forward since the USA no longer seems to have any interest in leading the free world.
Two points Sisco:
I agree that Bulldog commenters have put emphasis on pre-politics real-world experience.
Not so much about political experience, methinks.
cheers
kgray