Carney Receives "Gift" from Trump's Remarks as Canadian Election Voting Nears End

Canadian General Election Voting Held on the 28th (Local Time)
Rising Anti-American Sentiment and Global Tariff War Chaos
Trump Continues '51st State Threat' During Voting

Mark Carney, leader of the Liberty Party, is leaving after voting at a polling station for the general election in Ottawa, Canada, on the 28th (local time). Photo by AFP

Amid rising anti-American sentiment in Canada triggered by the global tariff war initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump, the Canadian general election, held in the midst of chaos, entered its final stages on the evening of the 28th (local time).

The New York Times (NYT) reported, "The first polling stations for the general election have closed," adding, "Polling stations across the country will close sequentially over the next several hours, and the final results are expected to be announced late tonight."

According to the NYT, the first region to finish voting was Newfoundland, which closed its polls at 7 p.m. Eastern Time. The Atlantic Canada and Labrador regions closed at 7:30 p.m. Most polling stations will close at 9:30 p.m.

Public opinion appears to favor Mark Carney, leader of the Liberty Party, who is known as an economic expert and has adopted an anti-Trump strategy. According to a pre-election survey conducted by CBC News, Canada's public broadcaster, the Liberty Party led by Carney had 42.8% support, about 3.6 percentage points ahead of the Conservative Party, led by Pierre Poilievre, which had 39.2%. In Canada, the leader of the party that wins the most seats automatically becomes prime minister.

President Trump continued to make remarks about "becoming the 51st state" while voting for the general election was underway. Through his self-created social networking service, Truth Social, he urged voters to elect a leader who would make Canada the 51st state of the United States. He also added, "The United States can no longer spend hundreds of billions of dollars each year to subsidize Canada."

The Financial Times (FT) in the United Kingdom speculated that President Trump's remarks may have worked in favor of Liberty Party leader Carney. This is because the Liberty Party has made the defense of Canadian sovereignty and opposition to Trump its main election strategies. An aide from Carney's camp even described Trump's post as a "gift" in comments to the FT.

In his final election message, Carney emphasized, "America's crisis is spreading across borders. But this is Canada. We determine our own destiny."