New Delhi:

In his first speech after being overwhelmingly elected Justin Trudeau’s successor, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned of “dark, dark days” brought on by US President Donald Trump. Taking a defiant stance, he accused Trump of “attacking Canadian workers, families, and businesses.”

Carney said the US President is trying to weaken the Canadian economy by imposing “unjustified tariffs”, while vowing that he will not be allowed to succeed. “We will build new relationships with reliable trading partners and secure our borders. We will impose retaliatory tariffs with the maximum impact on the US, which will remain in place will the Americans show us respect,” he said, to a round of thunderous applause.

The 59-year-old accused the US of wanting Canada’s resources, water and land, adding that Ottawa will never be a part of America in “any way, shape or form”. “Canada didn’t ask for a fight, but if it comes to that, we will win,” Carney said.

Carney, who previously led both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, soundly defeated his main challenger, Trudeau’s former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, who held several senior cabinet positions in the Liberal government that was first elected in 2015. Carney won 85.9 percent of the nearly 152,000 votes cast. Freeland took just eight percent of the vote.

However, he may not have the top job for long. Canada must hold elections by October but could also see a snap poll within weeks. Current polls put the opposition Conservatives as slight favorites.

Trump has repeatedly spoken about annexing Canada and thrown bilateral trade, the lifeblood of the Canadian economy, into chaos with dizzying tariff actions that have veered in various directions since he took office.