Canadians vote in an election dominated by Trump's trade war and bluster

Canadians voted on Monday on whether to back their new prime minister Mark Carney and extend his Liberal Partys decade in power or hand control to the Conservatives and their populist leader Pierre Poilievre But the election was also a referendum on someone who isnt even Canadian Donald TrumpThe US president trolled Canadians on election day by suggesting on social media that he was in fact on the ballot and repeating that Canada should become the 51st state incorrectly claiming the US subsidises Canada It makes no sense unless Canada is a State Trump wrotePoilievre who has been criticised for not taking a firmer stance against Trump responded with a post of his own President Trump stay out of our election The only people who will decide the future of Canada are Canadians at the ballot box he posted Canada will always be proud sovereign and independent and we will NEVER be the 51st stateUntil Trump won a second term and began threatening Canadas economy and sovereignty the Liberals looked headed for defeat But Trumps truculence has infuriated many Canadians leading many to cancel US vacations refuse to buy American goods and possibly even vote early A record 73 million Canadians cast ballots before election dayTrumps attacks also put Poilievre and the opposition Conservative Party on the defensive and led to a surge in nationalism that helped the Liberals flip the election narrative The Americans want to break us so they can own us Carney said recently laying out what he saw as the elections stakes Those arent just words Thats whats at riskElection day came as the country grappled with the fallout from a deadly weekend attack at a Vancouver street fair that led to the suspension of campaigning for several hours Police ruled out terrorism and said the suspect is a local man with a history of mental health issues Trump became the main issue Poilievre and his wife walked handinhand to vote in their district in the nations capital Ottawa Get out to vote for a change he implored votersSisters Laiqa and Mahira Shoaib said they did just that with Laiqa a 27yearold health care worker voting for the progressive New Democratic Party and Mahira a 25yearold bank worker backing the Conservatives The sisters who immigrated from Pakistan a decade ago said the economy has worsened and job opportunities have dried up under Liberal ruleAfter the sisters voted at a community centre in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga Mahira Shoaib said she thinks Poilievre is best equipped to improve Canadas finances He is businessminded and thats what we need right now she saidPoilievre had hoped to make the election a referendum on former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau whose popularity declined toward the end of his decade in power as food and housing prices rose and immigration surged But then Trump became the dominant issue and Poilievres similarities to the bombastic president could cost himHe appeals to the same sense of grievance Canadian historian Robert Bothwell said of the Conservative leader Its like Trump standing there saying I am your retribution The Liberals ought to pay him Bothwell added referring to the American president Trump talking is not good for the ConservativesForeign policy hasnt dominated a Canadian election this much since 1988 when ironically free trade with the US was the prevailing issueWinner will face litany of challengesCanada has been dealing with a costofliving crisis for some time And more than 75 per cent of its exports go to the US so Trumps threat to impose sweeping tariffs and his desire to get North American automakers to move Canadas production south could severely damage the Canadian economyBoth Carney and Poilievre said that if elected they would accelerate renegotiations of a free trade deal between Canada and the US in a bid to end the uncertainty hurting both of their economies Carney has notable experience navigating economic crises after running Canadas central bank and later becoming the first nonUK citizen to run the Bank of EnglandTrump dialled back his talk of Canada becoming the 51st state during the campaign until last week when he said Canada would cease to exist as a country if the US stopped buying its goods He also said hes not just trolling Canada when he says it should become a state In response to the threats to Canadian sovereignty Carney pleaded with voters to deliver him a strong mandate to deal with TrumpPresident Trump has some obsessive ideas and that is one Carney said of his annexation threat Its not a joke Its his very strong desire to make this happen Its one of the reasons why this crisis is so serious Reid Warren a Toronto resident said he voted Liberal because Poilievre sounds like miniTrump to me And he said Trumps tariffs are a worry Canadians coming together from you know all the shade being thrown from the States is great but its definitely created some turmoil thats for sure he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday 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