O, Canada!

Donald Trump has now been crushed in two major elections this month, both essentially referendums on his leadership so far.

Earlier this April, the liberals not only won a Wisconsin Supreme Court race that was supposed to be close, but they won it by 10 points. And last night, Liberal Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney defeated a Trump wannabe, Conservative Pierre Poilievre.

The Canadian outcome was closer, but still decisive when you consider that the Liberals overcame a 30-point deficit that just a few months ago had people predicting a Conservative landslide. And Poilievre even lost his own seat in Parliament, which he had held for 20 years. He may now be ousted as his party’s leader.

What turned things around? Donald Trump. His talk of annexing Canada is practically the sole reason for the Liberal victory. Poilievre tried to oppose Trump on this, but by that time he was so heavily tied to the Orange Man — even mimicing some of his rhetoric and all of his main themes — that it was too late. Just as Trump’s surrogate, Elon Musk, helped push votes to the liberal in Wisconsin, Trump himself is responsible for the Liberal victory north of the border.

It adds up to another stunning defeat for hard-right populism. And it suggests that there is a soft underbelly to all this. Of course there is a hard core for Trump, but there are more voters who can be moved away from him under the right circumstances and with the right candidate. Carney, understated and emphasizing his financial and management competence, was the right kind of Liberal. He was the most moderate of Liberals.

Add to this Trump’s dismal performance in recent polls and it’s possible we’ve seen the high water mark of hard-right populism.

O, Canada.