Maritimers react to prime minister’s federal election call

Nova Scotia is getting ready for an expected federal election announcement this week.

Prime Minister Mark Carney held his new post for less than a week before calling a federal election. Now, the only question that remains is what day Canadians will go to the polls.

“This is a special kind of March Madness that we’re witnessing,” said Cape Breton University political scientist Tom Urbaniak.

Urbaniak said what happens after Carney officially calls the election on Sunday will be largely dictated by how party candidates respond to what’s happening beyond Canada’s borders.

“The ballot box question appears to be Trump,” Urbaniak said. “And the secondary ballot box question is, ‘Who is most qualified to stand up for Canada vis-a-vis Trump?’”

“I hope he (Carney) does (call an election),” said one woman at Sydney’s Mayflower Mall who wore a t-shirt protesting Trump’s tariffs.

Another woman said one topic will be top of mind when she casts her ballot. “The tariffs, and the difficulties with the U.S.”

Urbaniak said Canadians can expect to go to the polls on April 28 or May 5, but the election date will be confirmed Sunday when the writ drops.

Urbaniak said there is no clear frontrunner at this point. Some polls show the Liberals and Conservatives are neck-and-neck. Others show the Grits in a clear lead.

Urbaniak said this is the most dramatic turnaround he has ever seen for a single party during a pre-election campaign period in his years as a political observer.

“We all have Donald Trump to thank or blame for this extremely dynamic political situation that we are seeing in Canada now,” he said.

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