Trump’s threats dominate the debate on liberal leadership in Canada

The candidates competing for replacing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as leader of the Canada Liberal Party faced each other on Monday in a French debate.

The scenario was shared by four applicants: former governor of the banks of Canada and England Mark Carly, former Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, the liberal leader of the Karina Gould’s government house, and the businessman and former deputy Frank Baylis.

The question of how to deal with Donald Trump dominated the first half, since the president of the United States has repeatedly threatened with Canada tariff and turned it into the “state 51”.

The candidates also answered questions about domestic issues such as immigration, medical care and the high cost of living.

At the beginning of the debate, Freeland, whose resignation as Minister of Finance in December triggered the collapse of Trudeau leadership, declared that Trump represented “the greatest threat to Canada since World War II.”

He often resorted to his experience in the government, saying that he had successfully faced Trump during his first term when he helped renegotiate the former Free Trade Agreement in North America.

But Freeland warned that Trump’s second mandate could be worse for Canada.

“He wants to turn Canada into state 51, and it’s not a joke,” he said. “That is why Vladimir Putin’s criminal attempt is supporting the borders of Ukraine again.”

“Trump also wants to draw our borders again,” Freeland said.

To counteract these threats, Freeland and the other candidates suggested strengthening commercial ties with the EU and the United Kingdom.

Baylis proposed a “new economic bloc” composed of Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia, noting that the four countries shared the same values, cultures and government systems.

Carney, who is a favorite in the surveys, focused his message on helping Canada achieve economic prosperity. He proposed to do so taking advantage of his resources, including critical minerals and metals, as well as making Canada a “clean energy superpower” and eliminating commercial barriers between the provinces.

He also agreed with Freeland that Trump’s second mandate was different from the first.

“It’s more isolationist. It’s more aggressive,” said Carney. “In the past we wanted our markets. Now we want our country.”

He added that he would be in favor of imposing dollar rates per dollar to the United States in case Trump progresses with his threat of imposing a 25% tax on all Canadian goods as of March 4.

Gould, the youngest candidate on stage, positioned himself as the candidate “for today and the future”, with a message that referred to how a liberal party under his leadership would work to make life more affordable for Canadians.

The candidates also addressed the change of American policy in Ukraine. When the four discussed, Trudeau was in kyiv marking three years since the Russian-Ukraine war began.

The four candidates agreed that Canada should continue supporting Ukraine. Freeland suggested that Russia’s seized money through sanctions redistributes to help Ukraine’s war effort, while Carney declared that any discussion about the future of Ukraine could not occur without the Ukrainians at the table.

Freeland also suggested that Canada should foster the closest ties with Denmark, which, he said. He also faced Trump’s threats, who has pointed out his desire to take care of Greenland, a Danish territory.

For the second half of the debate, the candidates offered their ideas on how to help Canada reduce their federal budget deficit, address crime and increase their military expenditure.

They were also asked about climate change, with Freeland and Carney saying that they no longer supported a carbon tax on consumers, a key climate policy of the Trudeau government that has become unpopular with the Canadians.

At certain points, the candidates also pointed to the leader of the Pierre Poilievre Conservative Party, saying that it would not be suitable for defending Canada against Trump.

Pailievre currently leads in national surveys, although the gap between him and the Liberal Party has been reduced since Trudeau’s resignation. Since then, the conservative leader has focused his attacks against Carney, arguing that a liberal party under his leadership would not be different from that under Trudeau.

Monday’s debate is the first of two, with a second English debate scheduled for Tuesday. The members of the Liberal Party will vote for their next leader on March 9, after which Trudeau is expected to resign.

The French debate is especially important for the Francophone Canadians in Quebec, whose votes influence to help decide which party will form the next Canada government.

Whoever is chosen as a leader would become the next Prime Minister of Canada until the next general elections, which must be held on October 20 or before.