Summary

Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister on March 14, declaring “We will never, in any shape or form, be part of the US,” rejecting Donald Trump’s annexation threats.

Carney won the Liberal leadership with 85.9% of the vote despite having no elected experience.

He called US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s suggestion that Canada would be better as “the 51st state” simply “crazy.”

Carney is expected to call an election soon as he faces the challenge of managing Trump’s trade war that threatens to push Canada into recession.

  • renrenPDX@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 hour ago

    Every time Trump brings up Canada being a state, The Canadian PM should return the favor and refer to us as South Canadian Territories and demote him to mayor instead of president. If Trump gets big mad, just say they were just joking 🙃

  • TooManyFoods@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    42
    ·
    20 hours ago

    It’s aggravating that he keeps pushing it. Maybe his followers brush it off as a joke, but there was no better way to piss off Canada, for no gain. You don’t joke about this, and I don’t really think he actually jokes. Just diarrheas out the mouth and sees what sticks.

    • TachyonTele@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      21
      ·
      19 hours ago

      If you watch his rallies (not recommended for sanity) he does crack jokes. But it’s always punching down at someone. If something gets a response from the crowd he’ll repeat it untill it’s a dead horse and beyond.

      That’s how most of his policy and sayings got started in his first term. ‘Drain the Swamp’ being the most famous example. He’s on video saying he has no idea what drain the swamp even means, but the crowd ate it up so he kept it going.

      He might have randomly threw ‘invade canada’ out in the middle of a meandering speech and people cheered, and so he’s now focused on it.

      • GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        2 hours ago

        The only tangible thing I can remember him saying and not actually doing it is shooting someone on 5th Avenue. “Drain the swamp” is a quaint platitude, but what it actually means is different from person to person. But i can guarantee he wants an awesome military dictator parade, he wants to own Canada, Greenland, and Panama, and while he doesn’t give a fuck about anyone but himself, he is far more willing to express and act on that with marginalized people.

        • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 hour ago

          He doesn’t want to own all of Panama just the canal. Also interesting that he’s not threatening to annex Mexico, wouldn’t that look even better on the map?

          What is it about countries to the south that makes Trump not them to be part of the US, while with Canada he does?

      • floofloof@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        14
        ·
        edit-2
        15 hours ago

        He’s not joking. Trump’s jokes are like all fascist “jokes”: they’re threats, and the humour for them is watching you squirm, and then telling you that they’re only joking, watching your tentative relief, then threatening you again. They’re just playing with their prey.

        Canada needs to be working with its allies on a defensive plan now. And the other four of the Five Eyes need to stop sharing intelligence with the USA.

        • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 hour ago

          Probably Putin too. A war on the North American continent would collapse the US economy and remove the US from doing anything on the world stage for at least decades. Maybe forever.

    • Eldritch@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      7
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      19 hours ago

      Honestly I think at this point any animosity still held about the burning of the White House should be forgotten. Hell I’d even let them Canadians do it again on one condition. Make sure him and as much of his administration are inside and the doors are locked this time.

  • tal@lemmy.today
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    46
    ·
    21 hours ago

    Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister on March 14, declaring “We will never, in any shape or form, be part of the US,” rejecting Donald Trump’s annexation threats.

    Carney won the Liberal leadership with 85.9% of the vote despite having no elected experience.

    In recent weeks, the Liberals have reversed a political freefall, sharply rebounding to such a degree that a previously expected Conservative majority in the next general election looks increasingly unlikely. The shift in the polls has been so dramatic that pollsters have struggled to find any historical precedent.

    A newly released poll from Abacus Data showed the Conservative support had shrunk to 38%, with 34% going to the incumbent Liberals.

    I don’t know what impact the Trump administration is having on the likelihood of conservatives having political power in the US in the future, but it sure isn’t having a positive effect on conservatives in Canada.

    • Godort@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      26
      ·
      20 hours ago

      It’s because their playbook has been the same populist “get the elite out of politics” nonsense that the GOP have been pushing since 2015.

      Turns out that wanting to be like MAGA really backfired once they wanted to make an enemy out of Canada. We have plenty of fascists up here too, but even they still want to be Canadian.

      • tal@lemmy.today
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        7
        ·
        edit-2
        19 hours ago

        since 2015

        Honestly, I’d say that a lot of Trumpism’s stuff is more-or-less in line with the stuff that the John Birch Society has promoted, and that goes waaaaay back. I mean, Trump talking about annexing Canada/Panama/whatever, no — in fact, that’s one of the few cases that I think that they’d take a dead-opposite position on, since they’ve a horror of the North American Union. But there’s a lot of overlap outside that.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birch_Society

        The John Birch Society from its start opposed collectivism as a “cancer” and by extension communism and big government.[29][30] JBS publications referred to the fight against Communism as a spiritual war against the devil.[25]: iv, 156–157  Allegations that so-called “Insiders” have conspired to control the United States through communism and world government are a recurring theme of JBS publications.[31] The organization and its founder, Robert W. Welch Jr., promoted Americanism as “the philosophical antithesis of Communism.”[32] It contended that the United States is a republic, not a democracy, and argued that states’ rights should supersede those of the federal government.[33] Welch infused constitutionalist and classical liberal principles, in addition to his conspiracy theories, into the JBS’s ideology and rhetoric.[34] In 1983, Congressman Larry McDonald, then the society’s newly appointed chairman, characterized the JBS as belonging to the Old Right rather than the New Right.[35] The society opposes “one world government”, the United Nations (UN),[36] the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), and other free trade agreements. It argues the U.S. Constitution has been devalued in favor of political and economic globalization. It has cited the existence of the former Security and Prosperity Partnership as evidence of a push towards a North American Union.[37][38] The JBS has sought immigration reduction.

        The JBS opposed the civil rights movement of the 1960s and the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s.[16][39][40] It has campaigned for state nullification.[41][42] It opposes efforts to call an Article V convention to amend the U.S. Constitution,[43][44] and it has been influential at promoting opposition to it among Republican legislators.[45] The JBS also supports auditing and eventually dismantling the Federal Reserve System.[46][non-primary source needed] The JBS holds that the United States Constitution gives only Congress the ability to coin money, and does not permit it to delegate this power, or to transform the dollar into a fiat currency not backed by gold or silver.[non-primary source needed]

    • null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      11
      ·
      20 hours ago

      Probably a stupid question but how would conservatives differentiate from the liberals on the question of US annexation?

      I’m so used to seeing conservatives play opposites with liberal positions just to be contrarian, the natural assumption is that if liberals are vehemently opposed to US encroachment then the conservatives will be more receptive… but in this case that seems antithetical to a sovereign government?

      Presumably… their message would be something along the lines of strengthening the relationship with US govt while retaining sovereignty and reducing the impact of tariffs.

      • Godort@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        10
        ·
        edit-2
        20 hours ago

        That’s one issue where they both agree. The conservatives want to be more like the US with lower taxes and fewer regulations, but they still want to be Canadian.

        • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 hour ago

          Then why won’t Pollievre even look at the intel on who in the CPC may be a foreign asset?

          It took weeks for Pollievre to come out as being on Canada’s side in this trade war. It’s only when his chances of winning an election started evaporating he did that.

          Pollievre is only Canadian when there’s no other option for him to get power. That dude has collaborator written all over him. He’s only for Vichy Canada.

      • vividspecter@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        17 hours ago

        There’s also an election coming up in Australia and the position of the conservative opposition is to give Trump whatever he wants. So contarianism is alive and well there.

    • NotLemming@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      19 hours ago

      Canadian conservatives can be magas. I know one of them. Absolutely delusional. A dozen excuses for everything trump does and says, up to and including annexing their country FFS.

      • floofloof@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        edit-2
        15 hours ago

        There were Ontarians running around with Trump stickers and Fuck Trudeau flags on their trucks. There were dumbasses talking about their first amendment rights as if they were American already. Canada has its share of Trumpist traitors who would be only too glad to submit their country to the emperor’s rule.

  • solrize@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    18
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    18 hours ago

    There was once a literal war with guns between the US and Canada (War of 1812} and Canada won.

    • moody@lemmings.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      15
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      18 hours ago

      Things have changed a lot since then. The US has over 1 million active personnel to Canada’s <100k. If it comes to a real invasion, things would not go well.

      The real question is how many Americans would be willing to participate in that invasion.

      • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        7
        ·
        15 hours ago

        Given the U.S.’s recent experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq, countries far smaller and with far fewer resources (natural and industrial) than Canada, I like our (Canada’s) chances!

        Plus our military may be small but it’s elite, composed of professional soldiers extremely well-versed in US (and NATO) operations and tactics. If Middle Eastern countries with largely irregular forces can give the U.S. migraines using guerrilla tactics, we can do the same with far better results.

        • NιƙƙιDιɱҽʂ@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          edit-2
          1 hour ago

          They also had the advantage of distance. The US had to ship their resources there. Here, they just drive over the border.

          I’m also Canadian, and in full-scale war, I do not like Canada’s chances.

          Not to mention, it would be a stupid senseless war, much like what’s happening in Ukraine

          • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            43 minutes ago

            Drive across the border… then what? Canada is vast. A million soldiers is not a lot compared to this landscape. Even if you only consider the 100 mile strip of land along the border. It’s a vast area to occupy…. and then do what with it?

            • NιƙƙιDιɱҽʂ@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              edit-2
              32 minutes ago

              Going to Ottawa and completely disrupting and dismantling the government would probably be a solid first step.

              I’m sure Big Balls would be thrilled to help as he’s done in the US.

        • 1337@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          6 hours ago

          A declaration of war from the current leader of NATO will likely fracture what is currently NATO. Europe will want to help Canada, but they will be preoccupied with suppressing Russia’s aggression, because there is no longer a NATO.

          Canada won’t have NATO. At best it will have half of NATO.

          • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            1 hour ago

            That “half of NATO” has nuclear weapons.

            The US hasn’t experienced a war on it’s own soil in living memory. Americans shit their pants when they see a couple of drones over New Jersey. And Americans don’t have the will to endure a long drawn out occupation even when there’s an ocean between them and a war. Canadians will endure it, because we would have no other choice.

            This would be a war of betrayal. Trump would need to have Elon Musk purge the US military of anyone with even an once of honour and courage. Currenttly Trump is demanding Canada to defend the US border for him. The US would need to defend it’s border, and that’s a long border. You’d also need to have checkpoints in the US where soldiers will check your papers because Canadians would be trying to infiltrate the US and hit the soft targets everywhere. There would be raids on your houses to find and Canadians or any sympathizers. How willing are you do have these things happen?

            Because it would be betraying an ally, the US would have zero allies in this war. Canada would get lethal aid from Europe and likely from Asia too. And Canadians know how to make an IED. Because our soldiers served in Afghanistan. Alongside the US military that’s going to betray the soldiers it fought alongside a few short years ago. And why? Because of the whims of a deranged old man? So you might have a slight morale problem.

            While you’re looking at troop strengths on spreadsheet, we’re looking at the willingness of Americans to do what would need to be done for decades to succeed in occupying a neighbouring country. We only need to outlast you, while you need to have the will to watch young people coming back from the north in body bags. For decades.

            The chance of the US winning a war like this is basically zero.

      • Aequitas38472@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        16 hours ago

        The recent film Civil War gives a good example of what could happen. There is certainly a subset of Trump supporters that would follow orders. But a large segment would likely split off and further divide the country.