The US president has accused the Canadian Prime Minister of trying to use tariff issues to extend his office hours.
President Donald Trump has reiterated his unfounded claim that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is attempting to use US tariffs on Canada as a rift is widening between the two countries.
In a social media post Thursday, Trump said he believes Trudeau is “using the tariff issues he mostly caused to run again for the Prime Minister.”
“It’s so much fun to watch!” wrote the US President.
The statement follows a similar post Trump shared on his Truth social website on Wednesday, accusing Trudeau of using trade tensions as a way to “keep up power.”
“He didn’t tell me when the Canadian election was taking place. Then I realized he was trying to use this issue to maintain power. Good luck Justin!” Trump wrote.
Tensions have skyrocketed between the two leaders as Trump threatened late last year to impose sudden tariffs on Canadian goods if he didn’t do anything more to cross the US border and carry out irregular migration and drug trafficking.
This week, the Trump administration followed that plan, imposing a 25% tariff on most Canadian imports and a 10% tax on oil and gas.
Canada responded by announcing it would implement a 25% tariff on US goods worth $100 billion (Canadians 155 billion). The $21 billion (Canadians 30 billion) tariffs had an immediate impact on Tuesday.
“This is very stupid,” Trudeau told reporters on the US measures Tuesday.
Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister since 2015, is set to step down as the leader of the Governance Liberal Party after selecting his next leader on Sunday.
The new leader is expected to assume the Prime Minister’s duties after a short transition period.
Asked at a press conference Thursday if he would consider staying in the role of caretaker to manage the uncertainty surrounding US tariffs, Trudeau said: I won’t do that. ”
He said, “I look forward to the transition to a formally elected successor in the coming days or week.”
Meanwhile, some Canadian experts say Trump is attacking the attack on Trudeau.
Stewart Perth, a professor of political science at the University of British Columbia, said on social media that the US president’s remarks represent a “reckless disregard for the Canadian democratic system.”
“To be clear, Trudeau will stand aside after a liberal leadership race,” Perst wrote Wednesday on social media platform Brukey.
Under Canadian election rules, the next federal election must take place by October 20th.
However, the Liberal Party, as a party of government, can choose to trigger a vote earlier.
If the opposition votes unconfidently for Canada’s parliament, the election could also be called before. This is scheduled to resume on March 24th.
As is the case, election dates are not officially set.
“Congressional democracy is more flexible than the American presidential system by design, and has its fixed election day,” Pert explained.
“That’s cautious because it’s much easier to remove leaders who are either ineligible or unpopular, or both.”
Many experts speculate that liberals may choose to call out votes shortly after the next leader is selected to take advantage of recent rise in public support.
At the beginning of the year, the Liberal Party had been tracking the opposition Conservative Party by 26% points.
But Trudeau’s decision to resign — coupled with his replacement as a liberal leader and his competition to choose to replace him as a Trump threat to Canada — helped the party return to the vote.
Source link
