After the election – the 51st federal state – under no circumstances

Until recently, politics in Canada was one of the least interesting and definitely less popular topics for discussion and analysis. But since Trump came to power in the US, the situation has changed drastically and it is as if the whole nation has woken up from a long political sleep. At the end of April, we took the federal elections. A total of 19.5 million Canadians voted and the turnout of 68.7% (62.6% in the last election in 2021) is the highest recorded since 1993. In Canada, the government parliamentary democracy with as many as 20 registered parties, but in reality, similar to the United States, the political system is actually reduced to a two-party, maximum three-party system. Of the 20 or so registered parties, there are a few that promote communism, such as the Communist Party of Canada and the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada, and there are a few single-issue parties, such as the Animal Rights Party or the Marijuana Party.   And finally, in Canada, we have the so-called a "satirical" party - the "Rhinoceros Party". The name of this party was chosen because "rhinos have thick skin, just like politicians", which contributes to the satirical character of the party, which, among other things, promised "not to fulfill any promises".

But jokes aside, Canadians gave their trust to the Liberals. The Liberal Party practically "rose from the grave" in just six weeks before the election, with eight million more votes gained from "fickle" voters. Mark Carney, the leader of the Liberal Party, actually ran the electoral race against Trump. He impressed voters as highly competent and educated, with an impressive resume not as a politician, but more as an economist who worked for many G7 countries, and in particular gained a reputation as the Governor of the Bank of Canada, under whose leadership Canada avoided heavy consequences during the Great Financial Crisis of 2008. From 2011 to 2018, Carney served as chair of the Financial Stability Board, which is tasked with coordinating regulators around the world, with Carney playing a key role in the global response to U.S. regulations during Trump's first term.

In addition to imposing tariffs on Canada, Trump has repeatedly shown in the past few months that he is very serious when he claims that Canada and Canadians would be better off as the 51st US state, which has caused a violent reaction on the other side of the border, here in Canada. Marc Carney said during the campaign, "To be absolutely clear, what I've said to anyone who would raise this issue, whether publicly or privately, including the president, there's no way it's going to happen."

In the words of Boško Jakšić in Politika, in April 2025: "   Having demagnetized America's moral compass, Trump seems to be copying Putin. He makes an enemy out of  his Canadian ally according to the same matrix in which the president of Russia has made a hostile neighbor out of the once friendly Ukraine."

Trump has insisted that because Canada cannot survive economically without unfair trade with the United States, it should become the 51st state.  It remains to be seen that the Liberals will be able to keep their campaign promises, including finding a way to lead Canada out of a trade war that threatens to plunge the country into a recession.

This article is part of the Local Journalism Initiative