Ten years of Justin Trudeau in the Prime Minister's office have ended, and his replacement, Mark Carney, has called a snap spring election the day before Parliament was set to return. Canadians will go to the polls on April 28, or in 36 days—the shortest possible campaigning period per law.
Canadians can look forward to choosing between the enemy of Justin Trudeau—the Conservative attack dog Pierre Poilievre—or World Economic Forum central banker Mark "Carney the Dinosaur" Carney. While initially, Poilievre and the Conservative Party were forecasted to take a strong majority on Parliament Hill, recent polls show that the Liberal Party has caught up, and now the two parties are neck-and-neck for seats in the House.
Quebecers will also have the opportunity to vote for the Bloc Québécois, the political mouthpiece of the government in power in the province. They are, until proven otherwise, the third-largest political force in Canada. Finally, the New Democratic Party and the Greens are projected far behind the two main parties. They would win seven and two seats respectively, according to 338Canada.
The NDP is now trying to differentiate itself from the Liberals by courting the working-class vote, just as Poilievre is doing. Just over five months after tearing up their agreement with the Liberals, ending several years of collaboration, it's hard to believe that the NDP is fully reformed and that the working class is now at the centre of its direction.
The election comes as the United States leverages its economic stranglehold over the Canadian economy, imposing tariffs on Canadian raw materials and energy exports.
Both of the main candidates are portraying themselves as being able to combat and retaliate against the United States. However, both the Liberals and Tories having historically supported the free-trade policies that enriched the resource and manufacturing oligarchy at the cost of decreasing living standards and job loss on both sides of the border.