President Donald Trump’s statements and policies toward Canada have sparked backlashand fueled a resurgence of support for embattled Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party.

Trudeau’s popularity had been in decline for years and his party faced an almost certain fate of losing plurality power in Parliament.

But a recent Ipsos poll showed the Liberal Party has now edged ahead of the rival Canadian Conservative Party that had enjoyed several years of dominance in the polls.

And a CBC poll tracker shows the Conservatives’ lead has shrunk considerably since the start of the year.

Since Trump took office over six weeks ago, he’s pursued sizable tariffs on Canada, talked about making Canada the 51st state and called Trudeau, a “governor.”

Canadians have been “galvanized” in their rejection of Trump’s ideas for them, said Terri Givens, an American teaching politics in Canada.

“People are rallying around the flag,” she said.

And Canadians are largely happy with the way Trudeau has stood up to Trump in recent days, she said. Trudeau said this past week that the “United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend.”

He announced retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. and vowed Canada “will not back down from a fight, not when our country and the well-being of everyone in it is at stake.”

Trump has since postponed 25% tariffs on some imports from Canada for a month.

Trudeau won’t be prime minister much longer. He announced his resignation in January, and his party is set to announce a new leader this weekend.

That person, likely either former central banker Mark Carney or former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, will hold the post of prime minister at least until a new national election. An election must take place by October, but one could happen much sooner.

A new prime minister could call for an earlier election, likely April or May, as they try to leverage momentum the Liberal Party is experiencing with the resistance to Trump’s policies.

Or an early election could be triggered by a no-confidence vote by the New Democratic Party in Canada that has been a coalition partner for Trudeau’s party but pulled support last year amid the Liberals’ falling popularity.

Delton Daigle, an associate professor at George Mason University who has studied Canadian politics, said Trump set off a wave of anti-American sentiment in Canada.

“You can see this shift begin actually prior to inauguration, as the shift looks to begin around the American election certification date,” Daigle said via email. “In the period from early January to today you can see a steady increase in Liberal support and a decrease in Conservative support … .”

The rallying effect has been real and does seem to have had a substantial impact on the polls, Daigle said. But he said the Conservatives still hold a strong lead over the Liberals.

Givens, a professor at the University of British Columbia, said the U.S. government will always have an outsized influence on Canadian politics. The impact has increased with Trump turning his attention to Canada, she said.

Carney, the front-runner to replace Trudeau, is viewed as a strong leader, Givens said.

If Canadians vote in the next election because they want a known quantity as a leader “to deal with this existential crisis,” then that’s good news for the Liberal Party, Givens said. If Canadians vote purely on economic interests, then the Conservative Party, led by Pierre Poilievre, is likely to come out on top, she said.

But Canadians are hurt by Trump’s actions, Givens said. And that could certainly motivate voters. “The word ‘betrayal’ is not an overstatement,” she said.

Givens said the U.S.-Canada relationship might not ever be the same, even after Trump’s time in the White House is over.

“I don’t think Canada, and frankly Europe either, will ever trust the U.S. the way they did before,” she said.

Have a news tip? Contact Cory Smith at corysmith@sbgtv.com or at x.com/Cory_L_Smith.