Neil Young slams Trump in Mark Carney endorsement

👉 Click Here to read in detail 👈

'The U.S. president could use a soul'

Get the latest from Mark Daniell straight to your inbox

Published Apr 16, 2025  •  Last updated 17 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

Join the conversation

Neil Young, of Crazy Horse, performs during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 4, 2024. Photo by Amy Harris/Invision /AP, File

Canada-born music legend Neil Young is wading into the upcoming federal election, throwing his support behind Liberal Leader Mark Carney.

Advertisement 2

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Don't have an account? Create Account

or

View more offers

Article content

Article content

Article content

In a message posted to his website, Young, who resides in the United States, said he wanted to tell the newly-minted prime minister, “How much I appreciate and support what you are trying to do for our great country, Canada.”

“Although I have lived in the United States for most of my life, and recently became a citizen of the USA, I am a Canadian and always will be,” Young wrote.

Article content

Donald Trump has been continually questioning Canada’s sovereignty since being re-elected president last November, referring to former prime minister Justin Trudeau as “governor” and saying the country is a “serious contender” to become America’s 51st state.

“We don’t need anything from Canada,” Trump told reporters in Washington last month. “It costs us $200 billion a year in subsidies to keep Canada afloat. So, when I say they should be a state, I mean that because we can’t be expected to carry a country that’s right next to us on our border. It would be a great state; it would be a cherished state. The taxes for Canadian citizens would go down (to) less than half. They don’t spend money on military because they think we’re going to protect them.”

Your Midday Sun

Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond.

By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.

Thanks for signing up!

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of Your Midday Sun will soon be in your inbox.

Article content

Advertisement 3

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

Trump referred to Canada as “tough” on trade, but said the country isn’t operating from a position of strength. “You know the expression I use, ‘Some people don’t have the cards,'” he quipped.

Advertisement 4

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

Despite softening his tone since Trudeau stepped down and Carney took over last month, on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump still wants to see Canada become part of the U.S.

“I would reject the president’s position on Canada has shifted,” she told reporters, according to the Wall Street Journal. “The president still maintains his position on Canada: the United States has been subsidizing Canada’s national defence, and he believes that Canadians would benefit greatly from becoming the 51st state of the United States of America.”

Watching Trump’s rhetoric continue unabatedly has left Young worried about the future of his home country.

“Canada is facing threats to its very existence, incredibly from people we thought were our friends,” Young wrote. “They want our resources, they want our land, they want our fisheries, they want our water, they want our Arctic, maybe they want our souls. I know the U.S. president could use a soul.”

Advertisement 5

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

Before naming his pick as Carney for Canada’s next prime minister, Young said that it will take “more than bravado to fight this kind of threat,” saying that the country’s next leader will have to have “brains, deep economic knowledge of how the world works (and) strong, intelligent strategies.”

“Mr. Carney, I believe you are the person to do it. I believe you are the person our country needs to lead us through this crazy situation and bring us out the other side as a stronger, smarter, more resilient Canada, our core values of caring and fairness and generosity intact, along with our souls,” the two-time Grammy winner wrote.

Young ended his message of support by saying Carney has “the chops to get it done,” urging Canadians to vote Liberal when they head to the polls April 28.

Advertisement 6

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

“Man, you have got the guts to take it on. It’s a heavy lift for sure, Mr. Carney. But I, for one, am with you all the way.”

On X, Carney thanked the two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, writing, “Thank you, Neil, for your support. Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World.”

Advertisement 7

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content

Young has frequently sparred with Trump, posting a message on his website earlier this month in which he worried that the president might stop him from being allowed to re-enter America when he returns from his upcoming European tour.

Other recent posts on his website accuse Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who the president tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, of wanting to “Make America White Again” and making cuts to the Department of Education that primarily affect people of colour.

Young’s support for Carney comes after the Liberals tapped comedian Mike Myers — who also doesn’t live in Canada — for a series of political ads last month.

The spot, which generated over 13.5 million views on X, ends with Myers asking Carney a question that’s been on the minds of a lot of Canadians lately: “Let me ask you, Mr. Prime Minister, will there always be a Canada?”

“There will always be a Canada,” Carney says confidently. 

mdaniell@postmedia.com

Recommended from Editorial

Neil Young worried Donald Trump will bar him from America

Mike Myers backs Mark Carney with 'elbows up' ad aimed at Trump

Article content

Share this article in your social network

👉 Click Here to read in detail 👈

Miatamil

Listed here the latest Trending News