By all accounts, Pierre Poilievre is a bit of a Trump clone. He expresses himself pungently on social media; he rails against wokeness and Canadian elites; he is suspicious of immigrants; he loves fossil fuels; and he wants to cut taxes and regulations. Sound familiar?
Given the boundless unpopularity of the current Liberal government, Poilievre is likely to be the next Canadian PM. But he has a problem; while Elon Musk is talking him up on X, Trump is threatening to annex Canada. Trump wants vassals, not allies. As a result, Canada’s relationship with America is now the biggest issue in the campaign, and the Conservatives are no longer a sure bet.
As I’ve noted many times before, agreement on ideological issues such as immigration and wokeness is not a guarantee that reactionary nationalist governments will cooperate on other issues. Poilievre will have to go the extra mile to prove to the Canadian public that he will stand up to Trump and make Canada, not America, great again. Musk may be eating his words before he knows it.