Canada's Prime Minister, Mark Carney, has declared the country ready to "protect its workers" and "fight back" against Donald Trump's aggressive tactics. Mr Carney, who only assumed office in March, has set a target of achieving free trade within Canada's 10 provinces and three territories by July 1.

Despite threats from Donald Trump to eliminate trade barriers within Canada, a defiant Mr Carney insists his plans will only serve to benefit Canadians.

"We can give ourselves far more than Donald Trump can ever take away. We can have one economy. This is within our grasp," Mr Carney stated, speaking in a country that has long been plagued by interprovincial trade barriers. However, Mr Trump has threatened to double tariffs on Canada and make the border between it and the US "disappear."

Furthermore, Mr Trump's tariffs have fundamentally altered the relationship Canada has enjoyed with the US for the past four decades, Mr Carney continued during a speech in Toronto on Thursday.

Mr Carney, who served as governor of the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020, said: "We are facing the biggest crisis of our lifetimes. Donald Trump is trying to fundamentally change the world economy, the trading system, but really he's trying to break us so the US can own us. They want our land, they want our resources, they want our water, they want our country. I am ready and I have managed crisis over the years... We will fight back with counter tariffs and we will protect our workers," reports the Mirror.

Mr Trump's aggressive trade stance and outlandish propositions of making Canada the 51st state have sparked a wave of Canadian patriotism, boosting the Liberal Party's standing in opinion polls. Amid this surge, Conservative opposition head Pierre Poilievre is campaigning vigorously for Canadians to thwart the Liberals' bid for a fourth consecutive mandate.

Poilievre aimed to frame the election as a judgment on Justin Trudeau but with Trudeau’s dip in popularity due to increasing living costs and high immigration numbers, the political landscape appeared uncertain.

However, the ascension of Mr Carney, age 60, to the helm of the Liberal Party and the role of Prime Minister last month has infused new dynamics into the equation. He has immediately taken to challenge the 78 year old Mr Trump, who continues to stir controversy by suggesting that Canada become part of the US to settle tariff disputes.

During an event in Toronto, Mr Carney made it clear: "Mr Poilievre, you spent years running against Justin Trudeau and the carbon tax and they are both gone. I am a very different person than Justin Trudeau."

Meanwhile, Poilievre, age 45, has labelled the Carney-led Liberals as adversaries of the national energy industry and pipelines. He criticises the party for debilitating the economy and pledges that under his leadership, a Conservative government would dismantle "anti-energy laws, red tape and high taxes."