After winning the elections, the Canadian Prime minister, Mark Carney, must assume the commitment to defend the interests of his voters and the sovereignty of Canada before the US president, Donald Trumpwith whom he will meet on Tuesday at the White house to begin negotiation on tariffs and the new bilateral relationship between the two countries.
In dialogue with the press, Carney said he hopes to have a “difficult but constructive” meeting with the Republican tycoon, in a context where Canada and the United States also, together with Mexico, integrate the T-MEC, the free trade agreement that links the three countries. “Our approach will be put both in immediate commercial pressures and in the future and broader economic and security relationship between our two sovereign nations,” he explained.
Although he avoided giving more details about his strategy, the elected Premier said that the United States has taken negotiation seriously, since Trump team’s high profile members will participate and considerable time has been reserved for the meeting. “I will fight to get the best agreement for Canada. We will take all the time necessary to do it”said the elected premier. “And in parallel, we will strengthen our relations with reliable and allied business partners,” he said.
“For us, the question is to achieve an agreement that represents a victory for both the United States and Canada, in an increasingly divided and dangerous world. One of the key points is to define whether, in strategic sectors for both countries (such as critical minerals, automotive industry or energy), we want to cooperate or divide the North American market,” said Carney. “At this time that is not clear. The second option is certainly not a good choice. But if (Trump) decides what he wants to do, Canada has other options,” he said.
The bilateral relationship
Solange MárquezDoctor of Law and professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the University of Toronto (UOFT), he said Page/12 What can be expected is a tense bilateral relationship, marked by Trump’s transactional logic and the use of tariffs as a weapon not only economic and commercial, but also political. “Trump’s provocative narrative is not merely symbolic. Beyond the T-MEC, Your administration is using tariffs as a foreign policy toolwhich generates uncertainty for key sectors such as automotive, critical minerals and agribusiness, “he said.
Along the same lines, the academic added that the idea of the Republican president to turn Canada into the “state 51” of the United States does not imply a military invasion, but it does reveal a strategic logic. “As with Greenland, Trump sees Canada as a key territory for his resources – participating critical minerals and rare earths – and seeks to weaken him politically to destabilize him from within”he stressed. “This narrative can feed, over time, internal currents favorable to deeper integration with the United States, so Canada needs an answer that combines firm diplomacy, diversifying its alliances (commercial and geopolitics) and internal unit to contain the impact of an unpredictable partner,” he said.
Márquez also estimated that the nationalist feeling in Canada will continue to rise, partly as a reaction to the Trump -promoted annexation narrative. “In fact, the triumph of the Liberal party in recent elections can also be read as a direct response to those threats: just in January, the surveys placed the conservative party with up to 24 percentage points of advantage over the liberals,” he recalled. “That panorama changed as Trump’s statements activated a strong nationalist reflection in the Canadian electorate. Most ended up seeing a stronger figure in Mark Carney to face the threat that Washington represents “he added.
The new Canadian government will assume its functions in the week of May 12, and on May 27 King Carlos III of England, who is the head of state of Canada, will visit the country. “The king, accompanied by the queen, will attend the official opening of the Parliament of Canada, in Ottawa,” Buckingham Palace reported Friday in a statement.
The 76 -year -old British sovereign, who has been treated since February 2024 of a cancer, whose nature has never been informed, will pronounce the opening speech of Parliament, Carney announced on social networks, shortly after the Palace statement. “This is a historical honor,” said the Canadian politician, who had been received by the king in his palace in March. “This clearly shows the sovereignty of our country,” added the Premier, referring to the aspirations of the Donald Trump’s government of Annexar Canada.
Govern in a minority
Regarding its internal government objectives, Carney – anchor of profession and former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England – said that its program aims to initiate the greatest transformation of the Canadian economy since World War II. He proposed to eliminate federal barriers to internal trade, cut taxes and establish an agency that provides 25,000 million Canadian dollars (18,126 million US dollars) to real estate promoters to double the construction of homes in the country. In addition, he said that the Criminal Code will harden to make it difficult for accused of vehicle robberies, domestic invasions and trafficking of people to obtain bail.
The Liberal Carney party obtained 169 seats, three less than the absolute majority in the lower house of Parliament. The conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre, got 144; the Quebequés Block (BQ), 22 —11 less than in the 2021 elections; and the new Democratic Party (NDP), 7, that is, 18 less than in 2021. For Márquez, governing in the minority will make the prime minister face significant difficulties to advance structural reforms, especially if he tries to redefine Canada’s economic strategy against a more protectionist environment in the United States.
“Parliamentary fragmentation could limit its margin of maneuver in key issues such as energy transition, foreign investment and defense against American isolationism,” said the doctor in law. “Governing in a minority in Canada implies negotiating case by case with other parties, since there are no formal coalitions such as in other parliamentary democracies; That forces the government to build thematic majorities for each legislation, which complicates governance, slows decisions and forces constant political concessions, “he said.
In tune with Márquez’s analysis, the BQ said he is willing to collaborate with the Liberal Party on some issues, such as Trump’s threats. “Without second intentions, I reiterate my offer of collaboration to the Bodye Government. But it is not a blind or naive collaboration. Quebec’s economy is different from Ontario’s,” said the party leader, Yves-François Blanchet, at a press conference.
Blanchet suggested that political leaders sign a partisan truce so that Ottawa negotiates a new bilateral relationship with Washington. “We will continue to be different and we will not agree on everything. There will always be dissension areas. But I sincerely believe that the Quebequenses and Canadians hope that the new camera of the commons will be stable and responsible during the negotiation (with Trump),” he added.
