Trudeau says that 'Canada is not a given' in farewell speech amid Trump threats

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finishes his speech at the Liberal leadership announcement in Ottawa on Sunday, March 9, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that freedom, democracy and Canada “are not a given” in his farewell speech to Liberals just before former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney was announced as the new Liberal leader.

This comes as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens Canada with economic annexation and places tariffs on Canadian imports coming into the States.

“This is a nation-defining moment. Democracy is not a given. Freedom, it’s not a given. Canada is not a given. None of those happen by accident. None of them will continue without effort,” Trudeau said.

“It takes courage, it takes sacrifice, it takes hope and hard work.”

In his speech, the outgoing prime minister said he doesn’t want to look too much at the past as the Liberal party looks to the future.

Ella Grace Trudeau, his daughter, introduced the prime minister to the stage and says she is looking forward to seeing less of her dad in the news and being able to just see him more.

As the Liberals get ready for the first election in a decade without Trudeau at the helm, he says that you should never count the Liberals out.

“You remember where we were 15 years ago with just 35 seats in the House. You remember our ups and downs and all those times that people counted us out, all the times they said our party was on its last breath,” Trudeau told the crowd.

“Like all Canadians, it’s when you try to count us out that we Liberals show our true metal.”

That fight will likely come in handy sooner than later, as an early election call is anticipated in the near future.

Carney has not ruled out calling a snap election, and the opposition parties have said they are ready to bring the Liberal government down shortly after the House is scheduled to return on March 24.

However, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh recently said he would hold off on topple the government if it meant passing legislation to support workers affected by U.S. tariffs. Once that happened, he said he would then vote non-confidence.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Mar. 9, 2025.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press