It’s been another long week in Canadian politics — and it looks as if it’s going to end with a snap-election call.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to call an election on Sunday, and April 28 is the likeliest date, our sources tell us.
I spent 48 hours traveling with Mr. Carney to Paris, London and Iqaluit, from Sunday to Tuesday, as part of a small group of journalists who accompanied him on his first overseas trip as prime minister (news organizations cover travel costs).
Today I’ll share some observations on how Mr. Carney’s approach to President Trump’s threats is taking clearer shape and is, subtly but discernibly, different from that of his predecessor. Dealing with Mr. Trump will be one of the most important issues — if not the most important — on the ballot, and Mr. Carney’s emerging strategy tells us a lot about what he would do if elected.
Ian Austen will be back next week with our Canada Letter as we dive into the election period in earnest.
[Read: ‘Most European Non-European Country’: Canada Turns to Allies as Trump Threatens]
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Mr. Carney has placed respect at the heart of how he talks about President Trump — suggesting he will not engage if Mr. Trump carries on calling him “governor” like he did with Justin Trudeau.
Upon accepting his party’s leadership on March 9, Mr. Carney said he wouldn’t remove Canada’s retaliatory tariffs unless the United States showed his country respect.
On his flash Europe tour this week, he honed that message.
In London, at a news conference at the Canada High Commission, he told us of the U.S. leadership, “They’re disrespectful, they’re not helpful and they need to stop before — they will have to stop before — we sit down and have a conversation about our broader partnership.”
No rush
It also seems Mr. Carney is in no hurry to have these conversations with Mr. Trump, and believes that Canada’s approach should be slow, careful and measured, rather than a rush into pleading for easing the tariffs or seeking a deal under duress.
It’s telling that — at the time of this writing on Friday evening — he’s not yet held a call with Mr. Trump since being sworn in as prime minister last week.
In our Iqaluit stop, I asked Mr. Carney if he was changing his strategy toward Mr. Trump. Here’s what he said: “I’m less interested in reacting to every initiative put on the table. We want to have that broader conversation. It won’t happen overnight. There’s no magic one meeting that is going to unlock things.”
He added, “The big issues around trade are going to need to be taken more comprehensively, and they will be taken, from a Canadian perspective, from a position of strength.”
Dollar for dollar
Mr. Carney also mentioned, for the first time, that the dollar-for-dollar retaliatory approach to the U.S. tariffs “has limits,” indicating that while he would stick with the measures put in place by Mr. Trudeau, he may be less willing to escalate.
New friends
Mr. Carney’s whirlwind tour was an effort to highlight that he’s comfortable on the global stage, and is known and liked by foreign leaders. But he also took steps this week that suggest he puts teaming up with non-U.S. powers at the heart of his U.S. policy.
First came the announcement, made in Iqaluit on Tuesday, that he had finalized the selection of Australia as a partner to develop an over-the-surface radar for the Arctic. The ABC, the Australian national broadcaster, reported that the United States was also in talks for a similar deal with Canberra, but that they stalled under Mr. Trump, allowing Mr. Carney to complete Canada’s agreement first.
And on Friday we reported exclusively that Canada was a top non-European Union partner for the bloc’s new military industrial initiative that’s taking shape, one that would allow Canada to gain preferential access to European defense contracts. The motive behind this effort is U.S. allies’ desire to pull away from their reliance on American military equipment.
Mr. Carney discussed this in detail with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, on the phone on Sunday, and with President Emmanuel Macron of France in person on Monday.
[Read: Menaced by Trump, Canada Prepares to Join E.U. Military Industry Buildup]
[Read: Canada Bolsters Arctic Defenses as Trump Sets His Sights North]
Canada confident
Mr. Carney has also indicated he wants to stop talk of Mr. Trump’s “51st state” threats, although he takes them seriously. In London he called the possibility of a U.S. annexation of Canada “unthinkable.”
Instead, he wants to drive home the idea that he believes Canada should be confident in this moment rather than seek external validation.
Some key quotes on that theme include:
“We don’t need another country to validate our sovereign sovereignty. We are sovereign. We don’t need praise from another country. We are proud.” (London, March 17).
“We can stand up for ourselves. Canada is strong.” (London, March 17).
“We can give ourselves more than anything that President Trump or any other trade partner can take away.” (Iqaluit, March 18).
-
As Canadians shun travel to the United States, Myrtle Beach, S.C., a popular snowbird destination, looks a little different this year.
-
The police in Hamilton, Ontario, are investigating after more than 80 cars were vandalized at a Tesla dealership. The carmaker, owned by Elon Musk, has been the target of similar incidents in the United States.
-
The Canadian authorities said the Delta Air Lines plane that crashed in Toronto last month was descending at a high speed before it landed.
-
The research of Dr. Shoo Lee, one of Canada’s most renowned neonatologists, was used to convict a British nurse of murder. But Dr. Lee says his work should have never been cited in the case.
-
Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, has emerged as one of the country’s staunchest defenders against Mr. Trump. That has earned him the moniker “Captain Canada.”
-
Mélanie Joly, Canada’s foreign minister, said China had executed four Canadian citizens in the country over drug-related offenses.
Matina Stevis-Gridneff is the Canada bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of the country. More about Matina Stevis-Gridneff
How are we doing?
We’re eager to have your thoughts about this newsletter and events in Canada in general. Please send them to nytcanada@nytimes.com.
Like this email?
Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up here.