Carneys tough talk, bland competence boost Liberals ahead of Canadian election | U.S. & World [Video]

By Anna Mehler Paperny, David Ljunggren and Wa Lone

HAMILTON, Canada, (Reuters) – For someone trying to win an election, Mark Carney appeared taken aback by the crowd of about 300 chanting his name at a meet-and-greet in this steel town menaced by tariffs.

But the Liberal leader and two-time central banker soon warmed to his topic: United States President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs and his jibes about making Canada the 51st state.

“His strategy is to break us so America can own us,” Carney told the crowd in this town in the crosshairs of Trump’s trade war – who responded with a smattering of boos at the mention of the U.S. president. “We are over the shock of the betrayal. But we should never forget the lessons.”

With less than two weeks until Canadians go to the polls on April 28, 60-year-old Carney, a Harvard-educated technocrat two months into his political career, has capitalized on his image …