Donald Trump Says He Was ‘Disliked Enough by Canadians’ To Sway Election

Donald Trump claimed he was “disliked enough by Canadians” to sway the election result in the country.

Speaking to The Atlantic days before Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney‘s Liberal Party won Canada’s snap election, the U.S. president said he had contributed to a shift from Conservative to Liberal success in the country.

On Monday night, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) said the Liberal Party had won more seats than the Conservative Party but had fallen short of a majority, meaning they will lead a minority government and rely on other parties to pass legislation.

Why It Matters

Since returning to office, tensions between the U.S. and Canada have escalated.

Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on Canadian imports and a 10 percent duty on Canadian energy imports, escalating concerns about a trade war between the two countries. He has also threatened to annex the U.S.’s northern neighbor, suggesting it should become the 51st U.S. state.

Analysts said Trump’s policies sparked partisan realignment in Canada’s federal election which took place on Monday night. While the Conservatives were previously ahead in the polls, after Trump angered Canadians, who are seen as less aligned with Trump than the Conservatives, Liberals seized a comfortable lead which narrowed in the days leading up to the election before their ultimate win.

What To Know

In the interview, which took place on April 24, days before Canadians voted in the election, Trump claimed that one policy area he had been “most successful with” was foreign relations and repeated his desire to make Canada “a great 51st state.”

After The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg suggested that Canadians would vote for the Democratic Party if integrated into the U.S., Trump said that he had sparked political change in Canada already.

“You know, until I came along, remember that the conservative was leading by 25 points,” he said.

He added: “Then I was disliked by enough of the Canadians that I’ve thrown the election into a close call, right? I don’t even know if it’s a close call. But the conservative, they didn’t like Governor Trudeau too much, and I would call him Governor Trudeau, but he wasn’t fond of that.”

What People Are Saying

In his victory speech, Carney attacked Trump: “As I’ve been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country. These are not idle threats.

“President Trump is trying to break us so America can own us. That will never, ever happen. But we also must recognize the reality that our world has fundamentally changed.”

Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday: “Good luck to the Great people of Canada. Elect the man who has the strength and wisdom to cut your taxes in half, increase your military power, for free, to the highest level in the World, have your Car, Steel, Aluminum, Lumber, Energy, and all other businesses, QUADRUPLE in size, WITH ZERO TARIFFS OR TAXES, if Canada becomes the cherished 51st. State of the United States of America.”