“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 U.S. can own us,” Carney said at the conclusion of the debate in Montreal. “They want our land, they want our resources, they 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.”

“We can give ourselves far more than Donald Trump can take away,” Carney said earlier in the debate. “The biggest risk we have to face is Donald Trump. We’ve got to get that right.”

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, once an acolyte of President Donald Trump, is now characterizing himself as the only Canadian politician capable of standing up to the White House and a clean break from almost a decade of Liberal leadership.

Poilievre claims Carney is a simple copy-paste of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a continuation of failed policies that have left Canada vulnerable to American bullying.

“Are you prepared to elect the same Liberal [members of parliament], the same Liberal ministers, the same Liberal staffers all over again for a fourth term?” Poilievre asked the audience at the debate before pivoting to address the prime minister directly.

“Mr. Carney, Justin Trudeau’s staffers are actually here with you, at this debate, in Montreal, writing the talking points that you are regurgitating into the microphone,” the Conservative leader asserted. “How can we possibly believe that you are any different than the previous 10 years of Liberal government?”

During the first debate on Wednesday, Poilievre made a rare direct comment on the Trump threat, emphasizing that Canada should focus on its domestic policy to strengthen its position instead of trying to influence the U.S.

“I will never compromise Canada’s interests, and I will control what we can here,” he said. “We can’t control the decisions of Trump, but we can control our domestic economy and overturn Liberal policies that weakened our economy and made us more dependent on the U.S.”

New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet joined Carney and Poilievre for both debates, sitting in distant third and fourth-place positions, respectively.

The Liberal Party experienced a phoenix-like resurrection in the polls at the beginning of this year after Trump unleashed his tariff campaign against Canada over perceived trade imbalances and allegations that fentanyl is entering the U.S. through its northern border.

Support for the Liberal Party bottomed out in early January, when they were polling at just above 20% compared to the Conservatives’ then-dominating lead at 44.2%.

The existential threat to Canada’s economy posed by the U.S., coupled with the resignation of Trudeau, a leader who had grown unpopular with the public, rallied supporters under the Liberals’ nationalist banner.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, hemorrhaged voters due to their previous glowing praise of Trump.

Poilievre and Trump have cut all ties. Trump called the Conservative leader “no friend of mine” after he voiced opposition to the U.S. economic punishments enforced on Canada.

“I don’t care [who wins the Canadian election],” Trump told Fox News in March. “I think it’s easier to deal, actually, with a Liberal, and maybe they’re going to win, but I don’t really care. It doesn’t matter to me at all.”

CANADA DROPS RETALIATORY TARIFFS ON AUTOMAKERS, PAUSES OTHERS

Polls show Carney is currently enjoying a significant lead, with 43.7% compared to Poilievre’s 37.7%, but it is too early to tell if the debate has shifted voters’ perspectives, according to public broadcaster Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Singh is currently in third place with 8.5%, followed by Blanchet with 5.4%.

The election is scheduled for Apr. 28, but advanced polls opened Friday and will stay open through Monday.