JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Canadian voters have chosen Mark Carney as prime minister in what is seen as one of the most remarkable elections in Canada in decades. Much of the race has been centered on which candidate can best handle President Trump and his unpredictable policies - something that Carney referred to in his victory speech.
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PRIME MINISTER MARK CARNEY: President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. That will never...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Shame (ph).
CARNEY: That will never, ever happen.
SUMMERS: Trump has yet to congratulate Carney. A political newcomer, Carney defeated an opponent whose policies mirror President Trump's. The victory caps a remarkable turnaround for Carney's Liberal Party, which, until a few months ago, seemed destined for the political dust heap. NPR's international affairs correspondent Jackie Northam has this report.
JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE: Canada's election came down to a race between two people - Prime Minister Mark Carney and the leader of the Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre. But it was a third figure, President Trump, that defined the tone, the strategy and ultimately the outcome of the election.
JAMIE TRONNES: A lot of this election really came down to who was going to protect Canada the best from the perceived bully of the United States.
NORTHAM: Jamie Tronnes heads up the Center for North American Prosperity and Security, a project of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, the Canadian think tank. She says Trump impacted the election by imposing some tariffs and threatening more, which could tip the country into a recession, and by threatening to make Canada the 51st state.
TRONNES: A lot of Canadians took that very seriously. And even those who didn't take it seriously were certainly offended.
NORTHAM: Carney presented himself as the guy who can stand up to Trump. He's had a long career in the financial world - on Wall Street, as governor of the Bank of England during the Brexit turmoil and the Bank of Canada during the economic crisis in 2008. Charles Bird with Earnscliffe Strategies, a public affairs firm in Canada, says Carney reminded voters of that time.
CHARLES BIRD: Mr. Carney said very early in the campaign that, you know, when things are good, you probably don't want me. It's when things are in a state of crisis that I'm at my best. And there is no doubt, just given what might be coming vis-a-vis the imposition of tariffs, that we are in a time of crisis.
NORTHAM: But Carney also struck a pugilistic stand, coining the phrase elbows up - an ice hockey term for fight back. Bird says Carney's overall message was he's the guy who can take on Trump.
BIRD: Mark Carney might as well have been sent by Central Casting in terms of his experience, his credentials, his ability to meet the moment. And there's little doubt that Canadians looked at him and said very early on, this is the guy.
NORTHAM: While Trump helped Carney's campaign, it hurt Conservative leader Poilievre's chances. For more than a year, the Conservative Party was 20-plus points ahead of the Liberals in the polls. But once Trump started threatening and taunting Canada, voters were increasingly put off by Poilievre's rhetoric and policies about slashing big government, ending wokeism and the like.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Woo-hoo (ph).
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NORTHAM: At a Carney election celebration, Norman Feliks, a truck driver, said Poilievre rubbed him the wrong way.
NORMAN FELIKS: I think that Poilievre lacks the ability to communicate without sneering.
NORTHAM: Poilievre lost his parliamentary seat, which he'd held for 20 years, but the Conservatives put in a good showing. And the final count between the Liberals and the Conservatives was close. The Liberals were four seats short of a majority, so Carney will have a coalition government. Jamie Tronnes says he has his work cut out for him.
TRONNES: Mark Carney now has the responsibility to turn around an economy that's facing the first major threat of its lifetime from the United States. And it's a really hard time to try and convince investors to get things going in Canada when they're facing such uncertainty.
NORTHAM: But then, Carney works well in a crisis. Jackie Northam, NPR News.
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