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

TORONTO (AP) — Canadians voted Monday on whether to back their new prime minister, Mark Carney, and extend his Liberal Party’s 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 isn’t even Canadian: Donald Trump.

The U.S. 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 U.S. subsidizes Canada. “It makes no sense unless Canada is a State!” Trump wrote.

Poilievre, who has been criticized 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 state.”

https://apnews.com/article/canada-election-trump-carney-poilievre-861f5b00794355b231ee3f218568949b