Canadians Are Set To Vote In An Election Dominated By Trump's Trade War And Bluster
HuffPost
Canadians will decide whether to extend the Liberal Party’s decade in power or instead hand control to the Conservatives.
TORONTO (AP) — Canadians will decide Monday whether to extend the Liberal Party’s decade in power or instead hand control to the Conservatives. They’ll pick either Prime Minister Mark Carney or opposition leader Pierre Poilievre to lead the way forward, but the election is also a referendum of sorts on someone who isn’t even Canadian: Donald Trump.
Until the American president won a second term and began threatening Canada’s economy and sovereignty, even suggesting the country should become the 51st state, the Liberals looked headed for defeat.
Canadians go the polls as the country grapples with the aftermath of a fatal car ramming attack on Saturday in Vancouver. The tragedy on the eve of the election prompted 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’s truculence has infuriated many Canadians, leading many to cancel U.S. vacations, refuse to buy American goods and possibly even vote early — a record 7.3 million Canadians cast ballots before election day. Trump also put Poilievre and the Conservative Party on the back foot after they appeared headed for an easy victory only months ago.
“The Americans want to break us so they can own us,” Carney said recently, laying out what he saw as the stakes for the election. “Those aren’t just words. That’s what’s at risk.”
The war, which shows no signs of ending soon, has upended global air travel, disrupted oil exports from the region and sent fuel prices rising across the world.
Trump's administration has reportedly rebuffed efforts by Middle Eastern allies to start diplomatic negotiations aimed at ending the Iran war.
The U.S. embassy in Baghdad was struck by an overnight missile attack.
Trump said U.S. forces “obliterated” targets on Iran’s Kharg Island — home to the primary terminal that handles the country’s oil exports.
New Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei called on Iran's neighbors to shut U.S. bases on their territory and warned that Iran would continue to target them.
Devices running Microsoft Windows, including cellphones, laptops and others were all wiped.
The conflict has spread across the Middle East and prompted plans for a record release of strategic oil reserves to dampen one of the worst fuel shocks since the 1970s.
The Trump-inspired political veteran won a landslide victory in December against government-backed communist candidate Jeannette Jara.
Russia's Venice Biennale pavilion was closed after the Ukraine invasion but, as the Winter Paralympics show, Russia is now returning to the global stage.
The U.S. Navy says the risk of attacks is too high for now, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Oil prices exceeded $100 per barrel on Monday, reaching peaks unseen since 2022, as the Iran war triggered a global energy crisis.
The officials also claimed that the sharp increase in gasoline prices resulting from the Iran war would last only weeks.
Bahrain has accused Iran of striking a desalination plant as the regional war expands and targets more civilian sites in Gulf states.