{"text":[[{"start":8.429,"text":"Ontario premier Doug Ford said he was doing “cartwheels” when US midterm results showed voters had rebuffed US President Donald Trump’s economic agenda."}],[{"start":17.98,"text":"Ford, one of the loudest critics of the president’s tariffs, which have targeted his province’s auto and steel sectors, said the election results were also “a victory for Canada”."}],[{"start":27.648,"text":"“I’m directing our ministers as soon as everyone gets sworn in, go down to Washington, connect with the senators, the Congress people, and of course, I’ll be talking to the governors and seeing how we can move forward,” he said on Wednesday."}],[{"start":40.64,"text":"The pugnacious premier, who has baited Trump on social media, cautioned that while Canada may now have “leverage” in the trade war, it is far from over."}],[{"start":49.28,"text":"Trump has singled out Canada with relentless attacks over the past 18 months, threatening to annex it as the 51st state and imposing tariffs on its steel, aluminium, forestry and auto industry in an effort to rebuild the US’s manufacturing base."}],[{"start":63.444,"text":"In return, Ottawa has imposed its own levies that have hit US border states such as Maine and Michigan especially hard. Democrats held the Senate seat in Michigan and flipped the one in Maine on Tuesday."}],[{"start":76.4,"text":"“Picking a fight with America’s closest ally fed into a general feeling of the incompetence and bullying nature of this presidency,” said professor Brian Rathbun, from the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto."}],[{"start":88.76,"text":"“Given his lame-duck status and the decline in Trump’s influence that will become dramatic in light of the results, [Canadian Prime Minister Mark] Carney’s bargaining position is strengthened,” he said."}],[{"start":99.74,"text":"Carney has yet to comment on the Republicans’ electoral wipeout but on Tuesday said a US trade deal may soon be agreed after talks spectacularly collapsed in August in another low for relations between the neighbours."}],[{"start":112.021,"text":"“We are making progress, but it’s not over yet,” he told reporters at a conference in Antigua."}],[{"start":120.2,"text":"Manitoba premier Wab Kinew posted on X that the American people have delivered “a resounding rejection” of the president’s two years in power."}],[{"start":125.703,"text":"“Canadians are ready to rebuild the relationship and strengthen our economies,” he posted on Wednesday."}],[{"start":133.38,"text":"Washington-based Justin Angotti, a lawyer in the international trade and national security group at law firm Reed Smith, said Trump will stay in control of tariff policy so trade relations could remain volatile."}],[{"start":144.346,"text":"“But the presidential election is in two years and you can’t talk about the economy without talking about the tariffs,” he said."}],[{"start":151.089,"text":"Kenneth Frankel, president of the Canadian Council for the Americas, told the FT: “There’s a pretty easy-to-understand straight cause and effect line to Canadian tariffs and the Iran war.”"}],[{"start":151.589,"text":"“The Dems painted that in neon,” he added."}],[{"start":164.973,"text":"The change in US political dynamics comes as Carney’s government prepares to table its second federal budget on Thursday."}],[{"start":173.24,"text":"A survey by Ottawa-based Abacus Data found affordability remains the biggest concern of Canadians."}],[{"start":183.28,"text":"Abacus said: “Almost two-thirds (63 per cent) identify the rising cost of living as one of Canada’s three most important issues, followed by the economy and Trump (38 per cent each), housing affordability (33 per cent) and healthcare (31 per cent).”"}],[{"start":198.12,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1793843880_9997.mp3"}