Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney has led Canada’s Liberal Party to election victory over the Conservatives in a contest that divided opinion amongst the country’s Jewish voters.
In a result that seemed unlikely only a few months ago, the Liberals won the federal election in a result clearly influenced by US president Donald Trump’s anti-Canadian rhetoric.
But going into the election, Canada’s Jewish population of around 400,000 appeared split over political allegiances, with some raising the problem of growing antisemitism in the country, and claims former Liberal prime minister Justin Trudeau was soft on the issue.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre made a strategic push leading up to Monday’s election attempting to court Jewish voters, openly criticising the Liberal’s response to Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
But Poilievre saw his party’s hefty lead in the polls evaporate, and he ended up losing the Ontario seat he had held for 20 years.
Prime Minster Justin Trudeau delivers remarks during a Liberal fundraising event in Toronto, on Wednesday, June 28, 2023. Credit: The Canadian Press/Alamy Live News
Carney’s Liberal party was projected to win more of parliament’s 343 seats than the Conservatives.
But with results still to be declared it remained unclear whether the Liberals will win the 172 needed to secure an overall majority.
Carney – who has been critical of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in Israel, and has repeatedly stressed his support for a Palestinian state – has also attempted to crack down on antisemitism in Canada.
He promised to create safe bubble zones around places of worship, and to criminalise the intimidation of people attending places of worship, schools or community centers.
“In Montreal, in Toronto, across this country, [there are people] who fear going to their synagogue, fear going to their community center, fear taking their children [and] leaving their children in school, and this has to stop,” said C,arney during the federal leaders debate last week in Montreal. “It’s totally unacceptable.”
But some of Canada’s Jews have expressed concern about a Carney government, and alarmist calls for the community to leave the country raised in some chat groups.
The Liberal Party has attempted to assure the community that it would maintain economic, social, and cultural relations with Israel, and would support the Jewish state’s “right to defend itself and its civilians, in accordance with international law.”
The Adath Israel Poale Zedek Anshei Ozeroff Synagogue in Hampstead, Que., was one of more than 100 Jewish institutions across Canada to receive a bomb threat by email Wednesday morning. (François Sauvé/CBC)
While Conservative Party leader had said he would stop funding the Palestinian relief agency UNWRA, Carney has committed to continuing aid to the organisation.
Concerns about Carney also mounted after during an April 8 press briefing he was interrupted by a pro-Palestinian protester shouting, “There’s a genocide happening in Gaza.”
Carney responded, “I’m aware, and that’s why we have an arms embargo.”
It was reported that Jewish voters, particularly in voter-rich areas of Toronto and Montreal, have been disappointed in Liberals’ handling of the Israel-Gaza war
His victory is unlikely to be celebrated in Israel by the Netanyahu government.
But concern about the impact of Trump’s policies on the Canadian economy still appeared to be the main factor in influencing this week’s election result.
The US president had used tariffs and a pledge to turn Canada into America’s 51st state to openly in a call with Carney last month.
Trump placed a 25% tariffs on goods imported to the US from Canada, but exempted products covered by a North American trade deal known as USMCA.
While the Conservatives embraced populist policies employed by Trump, including condemning lax immigration controls, and growing budget deficits, Carney continued to maintain his belief in free market economics.
He turned the fortunes of his party around after Trudeau was deeply unpopular with voters ahead of his resignation.
Carney – a former Goldman Sachs executive, and governor of two central banks in both Canada and England – said in his victory speech:”As I’ve been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water. President Trump is trying to break us so he can own us. That will never happen.”
